1. Application
Answer sheet
IF You had the Opportunity What actions
would you demand of the United Nations
Security General, and Why?
Jad Kharma
January 2018

2. If I had the opportunity to demand actions from the United Nations Security General (SG) António Guterres, there
will be numerous issues to address, however for this assignment I Shall address the four main priorities that will
have the most impact on strengthening the UN Body and allowing it to fulfill its goals and duties.
Please note the actions are in “Blue” with their respective reasons in “Green”:
Since it was established in 1945, the organization has not been able to adapt to the notable changes of the
world after World War II, thus not being able to properly reflect the 21st century
It goes without saying that the U.N. has fulfilled numerus successes, yet due to its outdated structure and
limited power, it has been struggling with the arising new challenges and threats that had threatened its
mission of ensuring world peace. Epidemic outbreaks and terrorist groups that emerged controlling large
areas of its member countries had been among the biggest threats to the positive change that the
organization have tried to bring. Changes have been discussed for decades, but agreement has proven
impossible because of conflicting interests.
I-Breaking the Veto Power
Taking up with great determination the
Reformation of the Veto Power:
Currently the Security Council is incompatible with the
principle of sovereign equality of States .
• Veto often leads to near-paralysis and deadlock
at the security council on some major ongoing
crises like Syria and Ukraine
Over the past decades, a reform was proposed several
times by SG Kofi Annan and
French diplomats among others, however the reform
failed the light, and today, the
power of change and hope that the Security Council can
bring to elevate world crisis
remains blocked by the opposing opinions of the
permanent members of the council.
If the Secretary General was successful in
realization a global compromise, this will result in
a more effective Structure able to support one of
its four goals that it was founded upon:
Maintaining worldwide peace and security
II- Revisiting the Foundation
Reforming the Operating Systems of the UN Body
Equally Urgent are reforms to improve the operation
of the General assembly,
Human rights council, and Social and Economic
council and their agencies. (Figure 2,Figure 3)
The Secretary General should be undertaking renewed efforts
to promote better internal governance, transparency and
accountability. Observe both Member States and UN staff to
adapt less bureaucratic processes in order to be more agile
and effective, and able to better respond to evolving realities
in the field. This needs to be done through:
• Better Regional Representation
• Revisiting Categories of Membership
• Building a stronger relationship between the
Security Council and General Assembly
• Revising the UN’s working methods and size
These reforms will achieve a more effective,
transparent, democratic, accountable,
representative system, capable of looking after
the best interest of Humanity and not only the
ones of a State.
Figure 2. Reform impact
Figure 1.Number of resolutions vetoed by the 5 permanent
members of the Security Council between 1946 and 2016. /
Wikipedia

3. UN has 15 autonomous agencies, 11 semi-autonomous
funds and programs, and numerous other bodies, there is
no central entity to oversee them. the SG merely
coordinate their actions but has no authority.
III- Conflict Prevention Before Resolution
Conflict prevention and strengthened political
engagement must be brought to the forefront of the UN’s
Agenda.
The UN Secretary General needs to be more creative in
presenting to the Security Council the full spectrum of
instruments he has at his disposal to prevent and de-escalate
conflicts, from special envoys, regional political offices and
political missions, to peacebuilding support efforts and
specialized, interdisciplinary teams that can provide host
governments with focused support.
This will allow the Secretary General to bringing
together stakeholders to negotiate political settlements
and resolve conflicts before violence erupts.
Figure 3.The United Nations Systems as of 2017
Figure 4. photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty images
“Peace cannot be kept by force it can only be
achieved by understanding” A. Einstein
Figure 5.The 17 Global Goals the UN 2030 Agenda
IV-Talk to the People
Taking measures in implementation of
the 2030 Agenda.
The 2015 landmark agreements, Agenda 2030, the Paris
Climate Agreement and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda,
laid out a clear and defined strategy for action.
Unfortunately these actions have been slow coming, The
world needs to start addressing these issues for what they
are – a growing disaster of a phenomenon that is
impacting the survival of the human race, rather than
beneficial add-ons of political agendas.
The SG needs to bring change to his communication
platform. He needs to start talking to the mass, the youth,
the people through new channels. As it is only the power
of the people that is able to pressure governments to
invest in and commit to global non-economical issues.
Achieving the 17 goals that have been set out by
the UN to ensure Sustainable
Development has direct implications for peace and
the realization of humanity’s
basic needs. For many it means survival and
ensuring no one is left behind.

4. References:
1- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_veto_power
2- Les Organisation internationals, Armand Colin
3- Histoire des idees des Nations unies, Ed. L ;Harmattan
4- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08
5- https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/ecosoc/high-level-segment.html
6- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/antanio-guterres/
7- https://www.un.org/sg/en/priorities/sustainable_development.shtml
Bottom-line, if the Secretary General succeed by addressing the above raised issues of
reforming the power of Veto, bringing efficiency to the operations of the UN body and its
various committees and agencies, preventing conflict before it happens and focusing on
measure to drive and ensure the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The SG will enable the UN to realize it goals of maintaining worldwide peace and security,
developing relations among nations, and fostering cooperation between nations to tackle
and solve economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian international problems. It is truly
then that the UN can move towards total globalization governance, away from geo-
political gains with a focus on sustainable development that ensures the survival of the
Human race..