UN@70
The 70 anniversary of the UN in 2015 and the election of a new Secretary General provide a possibility to reflect upon what the UN has achieved, what we want the UN to be and how we can enable the UN to better solve the tasks of the world today.
Follow the debate on Twitter through #UN70 #unreform #nextSG and #UNSGcandidates.
It is possible to give suggestions to which messages Norway should give the new Head of the UN. The suggestions should be as brief as possible, have a clear message, and place itself within the latitude of the Secretary General.
Contributions, comments and questions are welcome at FN70@mfa.no.
Further reading and information is found on the Government's web pages.
The following events has been organized as part of the project:
UN70: Rethinking the humanitarian-development nexus?
Advocacy, action and obligations: The UN’s work to promote human rights
Project Manager
Participants
Articles
Next step for the United Nations
The new Secretary-General of the United Nations takes office the 1st of January 2017. Will we be needing a new agenda?
New publications
Synthesis Report: Reviewing UN Peace Operations, the UN Peacebuilding Architecture and the Implementation of UNSCR 1325
In 2015, three reviews in the field of Peace and Security were undertaken: the UN peace operations review, the review of the UN Peace building Architecture and the review of the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325. These reviews reflect the acknowledgement that the changing dynamics of conflict in the world necessitates a revision of the UN’s tools in order for the organisation to maintain its relevance and ability to meet these challenges. This report presents the key recommendations as well as common themes across the reviews. The common themes are: the changing nature of conflict; the importance of the women, peace and security agenda for the UN’s work;the primacy of prevention and the need for a long-term focus; the necessity to shift towards people-centred, inclusive processes; the primacy of politics; the need for field focus and context awareness; the privileging of the military response to violent conflict is counterproductive; partnership with other actorsis important; leadership and professionalisation of the UN is needed; and a call for stronger UN system coherence. It ends by offering some recommendations to the current and next UN Secretary General.
The Human Rights Pillar of the United Nations: Challenges and the Way Ahead
Last year the United Nations (UN) turned 70 years old, and this year marks the tenth anniversary of the Human Rights Council and the 50th anniversary of the two international human rights covenants. As the organisation is in the process of choosing its ninth Secretary-General, who will take office on 1st January 2017, it is timely to take stock of the UN human rights pillar and to identify areas that can be improved in order to make this pillar more suited for fulfilling its intended purpose and for dealing with contemporary challenges. This policy brief offers suggestions as to what the next UN Secretary-General can do to consolidate and strengthen the human rights pillar.
Rethinking the Humanitarian-Development Nexus
In this policy brief, the author outlines the first steps taken in the rethinking of the humanitarian-development nexus. The next Secretary-General would be advised to continue on the same path in order to make sure that the recent commitments made by member states and expressed in various documents are realised. The author sums up five areas the next Secretary-General should prioritize. This policy brief is to a large extent based on the seminar titled Rethinking the humanitarian-development nexus, which was held at NUPI on 15 March 2016. The seminar was co-organised by NUPI, the Norwegian Centre for Humanitarian Studies and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of the UN 70: A new Agenda project.