Re. Nordic views on the report of the High-level Panel and of the UN Millennium Project

Dear Mr. Secretary-General,We, the Nordic Ministers for Foreign Affairs and for Development Cooperation, are strong sup-porters of multilateral cooperation, and our countries have been firmly behind the United Nationssince its establishment in 1945. With this letter, we wish to support your ambition to reform theUN in order to strengthen our collective capacity to counter the multifaceted security situation oftoday. We agree that the UN Summit this September will be an event of critical importance. It willprovide us with a unique opportunity to take decisive steps towards the implementation of the Mil-lennium Declaration, including the MDGs, and at the same time to ensure a safer and more secureworld. It will represent an opportunity - which should not be missed - to modernize and adapt theUnited Nations to the challenges of the new century. Let us assure you that the Nordic countrieswill play an active and constructive role in supporting the necessary reform efforts aimed atstrengthening the UN. Our goals are to further consensus and reach concrete results in cooperationwith the UN system and all member states.The Nordic countries have considered the reports from the Secretary General’s High-level Panelon Threats, Challenges and Change as well as from the UN Millennium Project. Following yourrequest for comments and views in preparing for your report to the 2005 Summit, we would like tohighlight some of the issues and concerns which we would like to see addressed. Thus, we suggestthat the following issues be given special attention in your upcoming report:1) Use of forceWe agree with the High-level Panel that the Security Council is fully empowered underChapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations to address the full range of security threatswith which States are concerned. On the right to self-defense, we support the recommenda-tion that article 51 of the Charter should be neither rewritten nor reinterpreted.2) Responsibility to protectWe fully align ourselves with the strong statement made in the HLP-report regarding the in-ternational responsibility to protect individuals in the event of genocide or other serious vi-olations of international humanitarian law. Sovereign governments always have the primaryresponsibility to protect their own citizens, but when they are unable or unwilling to do so,the responsibility rests with the wider international community, in accordance with the Char-ter of the UN and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Security Council has theresponsibility to act with authority, efficiency, and without hesitance in the event of geno-cide and other large-scale killings, ethnic cleansing or serious violations of internationalhumanitarian law. We emphasize that the responsibility to protect must be coupled with aresponsibility to prevent. We need to build greater consensus around the need for collectiveaction and early diplomatic response, which can prevent the need for military intervention.3) TerrorismThe fight against terrorism requires collective action. We welcome your decision to preparea comprehensive anti-terrorism strategy for the United Nations and look forward to your1

presentation in Madrid next month. The specific factors behind various terrorist groups andconditions promoting extreme ideologies and violent methods must be studied and addressedappropriately. The international community needs to join forces to combat terrorism in all itsforms. We must find ways to take decisive action while upholding the respect for humanrights and the rule of law. We are very pleased that the High-level Panel was able to reachconsensus on elements of a definition of terrorism. We hope that the process might now leadto the completion and adoption of the comprehensive convention.4) Weapons of mass destructionOur overall assessment of the HLP-report’s recommendations on disarmament and non-proliferation is positive. While supporting the report’s recommendations related to disarma-ment and non-proliferation, we also wish to emphasize the crucial role of effective verifica-tion and compliance mechanisms, on disarmament commitments, and on the need for meas-ures to avoid accidental nuclear war. We are pleased with the clear message in the HLP-report about the need to strengthen the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and theChemical Weapons Convention. We agree that new negotiations should be initiated underthe BTWC to establish a verification protocol and a new bio-security protocol. The HLP-report notes the role of the Security Council resolution 1540. In our view there could beeven more emphasis put on the potential of SCR 1540 for the further strengthening of the in-ternational non-proliferation efforts.5) The Rule of LawThere is an emerging consensus among the international community that strengthening therule of law lies squarely in the nexus between security and development. Not only does therule of law work towards conflict prevention and post-conflict peacebuilding; it is also animportant prerequisite for creating conditions for sustained economic growth and sustainabledevelopment. Strengthening the rule of law is therefore another essential factor in efforts toachieve the MDGs.The widespread availability of small arms and light weapons in many parts of the world is amajor contributor to poverty. They fuel conflict, crime and terrorism, and present a majorobstacle to sustainable human development. They are among the issues, which must con-tinue to be addressed if we are to achieve the MDGs especially in Africa.6) Security Council reformThe challenge for any reform of the Security Council is to increase both the effectivenessand the legitimacy of the Council and to enhance its capacity and willingness to act in theface of threats. We are in favour of a more fair representation of all continents on the Coun-cil. We support the principles for reform as suggested by the HLP, including that involve-ment in decision-making of those members that contribute most to the UN financially, mili-tarily and diplomatically should be increased. We have some concerns that the new regionalclassification proposed by the Panel may run counter to these objectives and reduce smallcountries’ participation in the Council’s deliberations. We support the basic premises thatSecurity Council reform should not include expansion of the veto, and that processes to im-prove transparency and accountability in the Security Council be integrated and formalizedin the rules of procedure. Finally, we consider that a decision on Security Council reformshould be made this year, and that the process should not be allowed to block reformprogress in other important areas of UN-activities.7) General Assembly reform

The General Assembly is the world’s main global forum for policy debate. To ensure its le-gitimacy and relevance, the Assembly’s efficiency and effectiveness must continuously bereviewed by the member states. Repetitive resolutions, and resolutions that bring no addedvalue should be removed from the Assembly’s agenda. Instead, current issues of importanceshould be discussed, leading to operational decisions.8) ECOSOC reformECOSOC needs to be more relevant. It could become an arena for monitoring progress inthe achievement of the MDGs. Its role in operational coordination and in promoting dia-logue and partnerships could be strengthened, and its agenda and work program rationalized.We also believe that its mandate includes the development aspects of security and thus, link-ages should be established to the Peacebuilding Commission.9) Peacebuilding CommissionWe need to strengthen the UN’s capacity to build lasting peace in war-torn societies, and wetherefore support the proposal to establish a Peacebuilding Commission. Supporting states infragile post-conflict situations is a decisive factor in preventing the resurgence of conflictand in paving the way for sustainable development. Clearly, there is a UN-system gap be-tween peace-building activities and long-term development activities. A post-conflict transi-tion phase needs to be carefully planned and coordinated between UN peace-keeping, hu-manitarian and UN development entities. Therefore, the mandate, function, organization andcomposition of the Peacebuilding Commission need to be defined with care. The member-ship needs to reflect the involved actors, i.a. troop contributors, major donors, the BrettonWoods Institutions, and the affected country. A corresponding strengthening of the Secre-tariat needs to take place.Sufficient financing for peacebuilding activities needs to be ensured. We support increaseduse of assessed contributions for the civilian components of a peacebuilding mission, thedisarmament and demobilization, as well as for early activities in the areas of rehabilitationand reintegration.10) Human rightsThe linkages between human rights, sustainable development, and peace and security havebecome increasingly clear and widely accepted. We support the idea of further mainstream-ing human rights into the work of the Security Council, including the more active and fre-quent involvement of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Security Council de-liberations. Nevertheless, concrete efforts at mainstreaming human rights throughout the UNsystem are often challenged. To support the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner,all parts of the United Nations system should be mandated to concretely implement relevanthuman rights related decisions.There is a clear contradiction between a regular budget allocation of 2 percent for theOHCHR and the obligation under the UN Charter to make the promotion and protection ofhuman rights one of the principal objectives of the Organization. Therefore, we would beencouraged if the Summit could result in a commitment to raise the level to 5 percent of theregular budget within a given deadline.We also agree that there is a clear need for reform of the UN human rights bodies, and wel-come the fact that the Panel made concrete proposals to this effect. Universalising the mem-bership of the CHR or establishing a new human rights body, could well improve the credi-bility and legitimacy of UN's human rights work, and we welcome a through discussion on3

these proposals. The High-level Panel suggestion to upgrade the Commission on HumanRights to a Human Rights Council should be discussed in the longer term.11) MDG-based national poverty reduction strategiesWe support the three main recommendations in the Millennium Project Report to concen-trate the increased efforts to meet the MDGs within the framework of MDG-based povertyreduction strategy papers (PRSPs). We would, however, like to stress that MDG-basedPRSPs must not create new planning exercises. Rather, existing PRSP processes should beadjusted to incorporate the MDGs. National authorities need to “own” the developmentprocess, and PRSPs must be created and implemented through broad-based national partici-patory processes. In some countries, this may require a somewhat longer timeframe than theend of 2006 as suggested in the report.12) Mobilizing necessary resources, including increased ODAWe agree with the basic premise in the Millennium Project Report that further joint effortsto meet the MDGs must be based on the Monterrey consensus, and that simultaneous effortsin all relevant fields are required. Financial resources must be mobilized through a variety ofmeans: domestic resource mobilization in developing countries will be key, and mobiliza-tion of private resources should be encouraged. Furthermore, we believe that a stronger em-phasis on good governance, anti-corruption, and proactive furthering of education, humanrights and democratization processes as important elements of an environment conducive todevelopment.We consider that a timely finalization of the Doha trade round would contribute significantlyto increasing the resources available in developing countries to combat poverty. We particu-larly welcome the Millennium Project report’s emphasis on complementarity between im-proving market access and addressing supply side constraints, and we look forward to amore detailed discussion on the recommendations. We believe the integration of trade in na-tional poverty reduction and development strategies requires attention in this discussion.Nevertheless, the MDGs will not be met in the poorest countries – particularly in Africa – inthe absence of increased ODA. The best option for securing more aid would be for donors tomove towards the UN objective of 0.7 percent of GNI. It should be noted in this connectionthat the ODA target as agreed also includes a sub-target for a minimum ODA proportion forthe Least Developed countries. We underline that funding by donors should be predictable,timely, adequate and long-term. Also, proposals for effective, timely and well-functioninginnovative sources of international resources would be welcome as important supplements toregular sources of development finance.13) Aid effectivenessEfforts to increase volumes of aid must move in tandem with efforts to increase aid effec-tiveness. The changes in aid modalities, increased emphasis on ownership, alignment andharmonization and need for greater policy coherence agreed on within the framework ofOECD/DAC at the High-Level forum on Harmonization in Rome in 2003, to be followed byoperational and specific mutual commitments by donors and partner countries in Paris inearly March, will greatly improve the effectiveness of aid. They need to be fully imple-mented by 2008. Furthermore, coherence in the application of development related policiesis of critical importance. All governments should ensure greater national policy coherence inorder to contribute to global sustainable development.14) Reform of the UN development system4

Changes are also required to ensure the continued relevance of the UN in development activ-ities. The UN needs to join forces in broader undertakings, harmonized with other donorsand aligned with national programs. The paper on “The United Nations Development Sys-tem - Issues for Strengthening and Change”, which was presented to you last June by agroup of like-minded donors contains ideas and concrete proposals which could usefully bepursued in the preparations for the Summit. In particular, there is a need to establish a morepredictable funding system through alternative means of funding such as negotiated contri-butions. We should strive for binding multi-year pledges. We also need to set a firm timelimit for achieving full implementation of UN Country Team reform.15) Quick-winsThe Millennium Project Report prominently calls for increased efforts to finance and im-plement a number of “Quick Win” opportunities. While some of the “quick win”-proposalscould be implemented immediately, we believe that care should be taken not to promote thisapproach too vigorously. There are no shortcuts to meeting the MDGs. They require long-term, systemic and predictable efforts. The importance of national ownership for thesemeasures must best stressed.16) Fast-track countriesWe welcome the increasing number of countries that are improving governance and workwith dedication to create the necessary enabling environment to meet the MDGs. Thesecountries deserve our support and positive feedback. Identifying a number of MDG “fasttrack” countries is an interesting option, although it should be pursued with care. We stressthat rapid scale-up of ODA will have to be carried out under the leadership of national gov-ernments.For a variety of reasons, other developing countries may not qualify as “fast track”. Many ofthem will still need the support and attention of the international community and UN. This isparticularly true for countries affected by or emerging from armed conflicts.17) Sexual and reproductive health and rightsWe support the strong focus in the Millennium Project Report on the importance of sexualand reproductive health and rights in meeting the MDGs. The ICPD Program of Action iskey to poverty reduction. Sexual and reproductive health is directly linked to MDG 4, 5 and6, and the MDGs cannot be attained without progress in achieving the ICPD goal of sexualand reproductive health and rights for all in 2015. For this reason, we support the proposal inthe report of the Task Force on Child Health and Maternal Health to establish a specific tar-get and accompanying indicators under MDG 5 on universal access to sexual and reproduc-tive health services by 2015 through a strengthened primary health care system. With regardto MDG 6 it should be emphasized that sexual and reproductive health and rights are essen-tial components of HIV/AIDS prevention.18) Cross-cutting issues - gender mainstreaming, environment and sustainable development.Some key crosscutting issues need to be clearly spelled out both as essential ends in them-selves and as fundamental premises for meeting the MDGs and strengthening our collectivesecurity. One of these is gender equality. The equal rights of women and girls compared tomen and boys must be ensured, as must their equal access to economic and political oppor-tunities, right to control assets, freedom from violence and implementation of efforts to meetthe MDGs.

With regard to environment, this cannot only be seen as linked to MDG 7. Rather, it needsto be brought out clearly that environmental sustainability is just as important as economicand social sustainability in any effort to achieve the MDGs. The Millennium Project Reportstates that most developing countries are not on track to achieve environmental sustainabilityand that environmental policy is often neglected. The Johannesburg summit made importantdecisions and formulated targets and objectives, which could be of use in reversing this neg-ative trend and thus avoiding a serious setback for achieving the MDGs.Employment and decent work as part of the social dimension of globalization should also beconsidered among the development goals.Finally, development is based on human rights. The rights-based approach means that thenotion of empowerment, the ability to participate and the right to voice dissent are crucial toreaching the development goals. This understanding must also underpin the approach wetake in reinforcing our efforts to meet the MDGs.Mr. Secretary-General, as evidenced by our positions set out in the above, we support the compre-hensive concept of collective security outlined in the report from the High-level Panel: the threatsand challenges of today’s world require a collective response. We subscribe to the call in theHigh-level Panel Report and the Millennium Project Report for a new consensus on collectivesecurity and the shared responsibilities of all member states. Our commitment to an equitable andsustainable development rests on our solidarity with the poor, and on our common obligation tocontribute to a better future. The UN has to be effective, swift, and unbiased in its efforts to meetthe threats and challenges facing us all.Please be ensured that we stand firmly behind your reform efforts.