on the Strengthening the United Nations System

- having regard to the major UN conferences and summits and the incumbent declarations notably the Agenda 21, the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation

 - having regard to

* the report by the Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations, headed by Fernando Henrique Cardoso

* the report of the16 member High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change making proposals to strengthen the collective security system

* the report of the 250 experts headed by Geoffry Sachs, who undertook the Millennium Project with the aim to produce a plan of action to achieve the Millenium Development Goals by 2015

 1. believes that the state of the world, its environmental degradation, growing inequality between people and states, as well as increasing threats to peace and security resulting thereof demand a strong world body to arbitrate the differences of interest

 2. believes that the United Nations is the only body to be able to fulfil such a role and insists that reforms are imperative in order to enhance its capacities

 3. expresses its high appreciation for the well prepared and inclusive reform process initiated by Secretary General Kofi Annan and the resulting package of concrete reform measures to be endorsed by the UN Summit

 4. is utterly disappointed by the summit outcome marked by the lack of will on the side of the heads of state and government to seize the historic occasion and condemns the decisive last minute efforts by the US government to block concrete reform commitments

 5. considers that the European Union represented by its leaders, notably the British Presidency, failed remarkably to defend Kofi Annan's reform proposals which it had fully endorsed before the summit

 6. considers it to be an error of historic proportions that the heads of state and government did not have enough sense of responsibility to follow Annan's appeal for majority voting and once again fell into the trap of agreeing on the lowest common denominator

 7. deplores particularly the complete lack of any attempts to improve global governance on ecological, social and economic matters and is shocked by the blatant removal of the entire chapter on disarmament and non-proliferation from the conclusions

 8. insists that reform efforts have to continue and calls on the EU Council to bring its weight to bear in order to reach concrete results within the 60th General Assembly until the end of next year

 9. acknowledges the limited positive results in almost complete absence of measurable targets or deadlines and calls on Council and Commission to present an EU plan on future financial contributions to the newly created voluntary funds.  Notes in particular:

 a) the universal affirmation of the need for an effective multilateral system in accordance with international law

 b) the pledge to enhance the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, accountability and credibility of the UN system

 c) the public endorsement of numerous voluntary individual initiatives with the goal to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals, such as a fixed ODA target of 0,7% by 2015, the Action Against Hunger and Poverty, the International Finance Facility, the Tax on Air Tickets, the World Solidarity Fund, the G8 initiative on debt cancellation for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, the Brussels Programme of Action of duty-free and quota-free access for all LDCs products to the markets of developed countries, the OPEC Fund, the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Assistance, the Digital Solidarity Fund

 d) the commitment to take action on certain "Quick Win initiatives" such as the distribution of malaria bed nets, anti-malarial treatments, the expansion of local school meal programmes and the elimination of user fees for primary education and (where appropriate) heath care services

 e) the affirmation that the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations regarding the use of force are sufficient thereby indirectly outlawing pre-emptive strikes of individual members

 f) the creation of an initial operating capability for a standing Police Capacity

 g) the establishment of a Peace Building Commission as an intergovernmental advisory body, supported by a Peacebuilding Fund with voluntary contributions

 h) the doubling of the regular budget of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights over the next 5 years

 i) Support for the establishment of a rule of law assistance unit within the Secretariat

and for the Trust Fund to Assist States in the Settlement of Disputes through the International Court of Justice on a voluntary basis

 j) the establishment of a Democracy Fund with voluntary contributions to strengthen countries' capacities to implement the principles and practices of democracy

 k) the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and the obligation of the Security Council to react

 l) the commitment to discuss and define the notion of human security in the General Assembly

 m) the reaffirmation of the central position of the General Assembly as the chief organ of the UN

 n) the recognition of the need for a more effective Economic and Social Council, and its role as monitoring instance for progress on internationally agreed development goals

 o) the transformation of the Human Rights Commission into a Human Rights Council

 p) the strengthening of the Office of Internal Oversight Services to audit the functioning the UN secretariat

 q) policy of zero-tolerance regarding sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel

and on the other hand, engagement for a additional protocol on the Safety of UN and Associated Personnel

 10. calls on the EU member states and the Council to bring all their weight to bear on the within the 60th General Assembly for the following reform proposals

 a) the adoption by the General Assembly of clear criteria for the use of force by the Security Council along the lines proposed by the High Panel Report

 b) the adoption of the definition of terrorism which would make it clear that in addition to actions already proscribed by existing conventions, 'any action constitutes terrorism if it is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants when the purpose of such an act is to intimidate a population or to compel a Government or an international organisation to carry out or to abstain from any act' and the establishment of a special rapporteur on the compatibility of counter-terrorism measures with international human rights law

 c)  a more inclusive international framework for climate change beyond 2012 taking into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities

 d) the definition of international rules aimed at clarifying the relationship between trade and environment with a view to ensure the safeguarding of Multilateral Environmental Agreements against trade rules;

 e) the establishment of the modalities of the Human Rights Council as a standing body while safeguarding the aquis of the existing Human Rights Commission (notably the special procedures such as special rapporteurs and country reports); introduction of a Peer review mechanism; membership dependant on respect for human rights criteria such as the obligation for a member state to issue a standing invitation to the UN mechanisms; support for the reform of the Committee of NGOs with the aim to reinforce the role of independent NGOs within the HR Council;

 f) the upgrading of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) into a United Nations specialised agency for the environment, equipped with sufficient financial, material and human resources, with universal membership, entitled to ensure compliance with legally binding multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) by governments, international economic institutions and transnational corporations, as well as to ensure MEA prevalence over WTO agreements in case of conflict and serves as a reference body for scientific, technical and legal expertise on the environment

 g) the further upgrading of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to bring together the key developed and developing countries to address the critical inter-linkages between trade, finance, the environment, economic and social development; and as a first step the transformation of the G20 group into a leader's group to replace the G8, with regular attendance by the IMF, WB, WTO, the European Union, the UN Secretary General, the President of the ECOSOC and the High Commissioner of Human Rights.

 h) the establishment of the peace building commission as an advisory body not only to the Security Council but also to the ECOSOC, and which is supported by a secretariat with additional new staff

 i) a concerted EU initiative for the reform of the Security Council on the lines of the 10 September draft compromise proposal for the composition of the Peace Building Commission which is in line with criteria as developed by the High Panel of experts for Security Council enlargement to 24 members as well as an EU initiative to limit the use of the veto by Security Council members in cases of the newly established 'responsibility to protect'

 j) a new initiative for nuclear disarmament which includes obligations of the nuclear weapons states

 k) Establish one permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the EU to replace the current seats of EU member states