Has the United Nations system sufficiently adapted to the challenges of the 21st century world? If not, how does it need to change? These were the central questions addressed during the launch of the summary report of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM), entitled “Pulling Together: The Multilateral System and its Future," which was held in Vienna on December 14 at the (…)
Twelfth ICM Retreat Examines Weapons of Mass Destruction, Non-Proliferation, and Disarmament
The United Nations has been seized of the issue of weapons of mass destruction since its very beginning. There have been many achievements in the fields of non-proliferation and disarmament, but the multilateral system has not been able to deliver on its promises dating back to 1946. This is in part due to the fact that the required efforts to fill the legal gap in the non-proliferation and disarmament framework too often clash with the interests of the Permanent Members of the UN Security (…)
Eleventh ICM Retreat Discusses Humanitarian Engagements
An alarming number of countries are trapped in humanitarian crises that are increasingly protracted or recurring due to a combination of complex conflict dynamics, economic and development challenges, political instability, insecurity, and cyclical natural hazards. There are humanitarian needs on an epic scale occurring in simultaneous crises around the world. And in spite of the considerable growth of the international humanitarian sector and record levels of humanitarian financing, the gap (…)
Tenth ICM Retreat Analyzes Justice, Human Rights, and the International Legal System
Justice and accountability for human rights violations occupy a major place on the stage of international relations, both in the multilateral system anchored in the United Nations, as well as more globally. In recent decades, human rights norms and treaties have proliferated, a wide variety of international mechanisms to address violations were created, and a general commitment to combat impunity for those who violate these rights has emerged.
Regardless of the widespread implementation of (…)
Public Consultation on Fragile States and Fragile Cities
The ICM hosted a public consultation on December 16th on its discussion paper “Fragile States and Fragile Cities.”
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Nearly 1.2 billion people live in fragile states, including one‐third of the world’s poor. Challenges emerging from fragile states, such as transnational threats, regional spillovers, local insecurity, and underdevelopment require the attention of multilateral institutions. While there is no agreed upon definition of a “fragile state,” limited (…)
Public Consultation on Refugees and Migration
The ICM hosted a public consultation on December 16th on its discussion paper “Forced Displacement, Refugees, and Migration.”
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The exponential rise of forced displacement, including massive migration and refugee flows, has shocked the consciences of peoples and unsettled institutions worldwide. As the humanitarian space is shrinking, many on the move today are increasingly desperate and seeking protection.
The scale and complexity of the current challenge is testing (…)
Ninth ICM Retreat Examines the Relationship Between the UN and Regional Organizations, Civil Society, the Private Sector, and NGOs
In an age of globalization, crises seldom remain contained within a single country; they tend to cross borders with frequency, whether through forced migration, the spread of conflict risk, or the rippling out of economic consequences. As a result, the fundamental challenges of the 21st century are all beyond the capacity of any single state to respond in isolation.
At the same time, due to a lack of resources and persistent geopolitical obstacles, among other factors, the multilateral (…)