Yearbook of the United Nations, 2002. Part 5, Institutional, administrative and budgetary questions. Chapter 1, Strengthening and restructuring of the United Nations system

Abstract

The programme of reform of the Organization, initiated by the Secretary-General in 1997, was given renewed impetus in 2002, when the General Assembly, in December, adopted new reform measures proposed by the Secretary-General, the broad parameters of which had been set in 2000 by the United Nations Millennium Summit and subsequent world conferences. The latest reforms were intended to ensure that the UN programme of work was aligned with the Millennium Declaration's principles and priorities. The Assembly conducted the first review of the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. It noted uneven progress in that regard and urged Member States to undertake measures towards its full implementation. The Assembly, in considering the reform of its working procedures, decided to elect its President and Vice-Presidents and the Chairmen of its Main Committees three months before the opening of a regular session, which was seen as a major step towards strengthening the Assembly by enabling smooth transitions between successive Presidencies and thus encouraging the President and other officers to play their role in a much more efficient manner. Efforts also continued to reach full agreement on increasing the membership of the Security Council within the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters related to the Security Council. The Economic and Social Council, based on proposals submitted by the Secretary-General, adopted measures to meet new challenges that called for more flexible and responsive approaches in how it organized its work, particularly in the light of the objectives set out in the Millennium Declaration for its strengthening and to help it fulfill the role ascribed to it in the Charter of the United Nations.