Sessions Introduction

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Background
Since its foundation in 1946, the United Nations has undergone a continuous process of reform, each phase reflecting the renewed priorities of its membership.
The decolonization period and the subsequent independence of numerous States in Africa and Asia provided a unique opportunity for the United Nations to address the needs of the newly independent nations. Within twenty years of its creation, UN membership more than doubled reaching 118 by 1965. The emergence of new States showed the need for a strengthening of the United Nations system in the area of socioeconomic development. Various institutions, funds, programs and agencies were established to meet the needs of the expanded membership. The United Nations Development Programme was founded in 1966 as the main arm of the development strategy of the United Nations. UNITAR was established in 1965 to provide training and support to the new Member States in meeting their challenges as new Members of the Organization.
With the end of the Cold War a new chapter opened for the Organization. The first half of the 1990’s saw the launching of a string of new peacekeeping operations by the Security Council in Europe and Africa. Suddenly the United Nations was entrusted with huge peacekeeping operations which stretched its managerial, financial and administrative capabilities to the maximum.
Recognizing the limitations of peacekeeping operations and the realization that absence of military conflicts does not ensure peace and security, the United Nations Security Council decided in 1992 to reform its approach and also give priority to address non-military sources of instability. It identified specifically economic, social, humanitarian and ecological fields as potential source of threats to peace and security. The concept of post-conflict peace-building was born.
In late 1997, Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched a series of reforms to improve the coherence of the United Nations and the ability of the Organization to respond to increased challenges in socio economic development, humanitarian assistance and human rights. The United Nations Millennium Development goals were agreed upon in 2000. The Global Compact, a platform to engage private corporations in adopting accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption was launched.
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A next reform phase started as of the 2005 World Summit, which reaffirmed the importance of an effective multilateral system and the need to provide multilateral solutions to increased challenges in the fields of development, peace and collective security, human rights and the rule of law. The United Nations Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding Commission were established. In 2007, the United Nations launched Delivering as One to streamline the work of all UN Funds and Programs in the area of development, humanitarian assistance and the environment.
At another level, calls for the reform of the Security Council have been debated since 1993. Demand for the reform of the USCR came from both major contributors like Germany and Japan as well from India, Brazil, the African Group. No consensus has emerged on an expansion of the UNSC. Ideas have also been advanced to revitalize the work of the General Assembly
The membership also called for increased efforts to strengthen the Organization through a series of management and secretariat reforms. Under Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations consolidated its activities aimed at empowering women through the establishment of one agency, UN Women. The disarmament and non-proliferation agenda of the United Nations was also re-energized. A robust accountability system has been developed with emphasis on transparency and integrity.
Challenges
In 2020, the United Nations will mark its 75th anniversary. While there is general agreement that the Organization is more indispensable than ever for the peace and security of the world, there are major disagreements on how best it can fulfill its role. Reform is not an end in itself. It is a process which allows the Membership to review the agenda and structure of the Organization.
When the United Nations was created, the alliance among the founding Members was built on the ashes of the some eighty million deaths of the preceding two world wars. Today, the United Nations has evolved into a high complex system of organizations and programs tasked by the membership to solve problems that cross nations and often seem unresolvable. The number of international treaties keeps increasing.
An interconnected world does not translate into a more unified world and challenges to the role of the United Nations are ever growing and ever more numerous. Globalization has been accompanied by decentralization. Priorities and interests of the UN Membership are diverse and all encompassing. The role of States has also evolved. Civil society, non-governmental organizations and private corporations cross national boundaries and impact on core national priorities. A growing network of NGOs now complements the capabilities of
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governments. The wealth of some private individuals is greater than the GDP of many member states. The increased number of international and regional organizations created outside the United Nations system is also a challenge for the Organization as some States believe that some global problems can be more effectively tackled through other institutions.
The United Nations operates today in a volatile economic environment governed by financial crises and a global redistribution of the geography of poverty and exclusion. During the past years, an increasing number of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) has achieved sustained economic growth. This entailed less reliance on Official Development Assistance (ODA). However, the distribution of wealth and inequalities persist and they extend today to middle and high income countries. The United Nations is faced with the challenge of reinventing the global development agenda.
Keeping the process of reform is vital to help galvanize new resources and arrangements for international cooperation that transcend boundaries of geography and sector. Reform is key to the survival of the United Nations.
Objectives and Outcomes
• Discuss the priority areas for the United Nations in addressing the challenges of the 21st century;
• Discuss the characteristics and changes of the development landscape;
• Review the role of both the public and private sector in improving global governance;
• Consider possible new models of global partnerships;
• Discuss the role of China in the global governance of the United Nations. Background
The United Nations has been the international platform of global affairs since the Second World War, reforming and adjusting its priorities according to the needs of its membership. An agenda limited under the Cold War has slowly expanded. The United Nations is now tasked with programs that are all encompassing, and span across most of the world’s greatest challenges. China has played a pivotal role in all United Nations businesses, particularly since 1971 3
when the People’s Republic of China (PRC) took over the seat previously occupied by the Republic of China (ROC). China’s role is unique as it is the only developing country which holds a Permanent seat at the Security Council. As such it has been able to lead in representing developing countries on peace and security issues which are the prerogatives of the Security Council.
China has always given priority to development issues and expressed unwavering solidarity with developing countries, and as such has been an active member of the Group of 77. Over the years, China opened its doors to all major United Nations agencies and programs which worked together to provide support to the Government to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. China is among the 62 countries that have achieved the first Millennium Development Goal, namely halving extreme poverty rates prior to 2015.
The role of China in the field of development has also been, under the framework of South-South Cooperation, to support other developing countries with their development endeavors and to contribute to the achievement of MDGs worldwide. It has always kept increasing donations to the core resources of relevant funds, programs and agencies of the United Nations.
China has emerged as a leader in peacekeeping operations. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has a major say in the peace keeping activities of the United Nations. Starting in the late 1980s, it launched an active participation in peacekeeping operations. China is now the sixth largest financial contributor to peacekeeping operations 1Currently, with close to 2,000 peacekeepers, China outnumbers the combined contribution of the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Challenges
The 21st Century opens a new narrative for the United Nations. The challenge for the United Nations to maintain its leadership role in international affairs will stem from the complexity of identifying roads maps that can meet the priorities of an increasingly fragmented and at the same time, interconnected membership. Emerging powers have separate agendas, making international integration difficult. The rigor of the United Nations processes also deter some Member States who prefer to conduct businesses outside the United Nations arena. The 21st century has also seen an increased role in world affairs of non-state actors, some positive like civil society and private business, others nefarious like terrorist organizations.
At the same time, the United Nations remains the backbone of and a unique platform to address the core objectives set out in the Charter : to maintain peace and security, to solve international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and to promote human rights. These objectives are timeless and universal.
The challenge for China will be how best to leverage its unique position among Member States and specifically among developing countries to tackle issues of a global nature. China’s population is the largest in the world and is likely to remain so in the 21st Century. China's per-capita income is expected to double in the next decade to $7,000. This will bring China's membership fee to the United Nations to rise to the third highest in the world, behind the United States and Japan.
China’s responsibility in world affairs will grow commensurately. It will need to find solutions to global problems while protecting its own interest take a more active approach to issues which to quote Kofi Annan, “do not carry a passport” and affect security, stability and development.
China can and should take a leading role in reforming the UN Security Council and the revitalization of the United Nations General Assembly to ensure that the United Nations remains this unique and vital institution for future generations to live in peace and prosperity.
Objectives and Outcomes
• Consider current views on how the United Nations can keep its place as the prime platform for international affairs in the light of the emergence of international, regional organizations and institutions who are not part of the UN family.
• Discuss the challenges posed to the United Nations by non-state entities, specifically terrorist organizations;
• Discuss a roadmap for China to broaden its engagement in United Nations affairs and affirm its leadership role. Background
Some 1.4 billion people have no access to electricity and a billion more only have access to unreliable electricity networks. About 3 billion people rely on 5
solid fuels to meet their basic needs. Access to energy is central to sustainable development and poverty reductions efforts. Even when energy services are available, millions of poor people are unable to pay for them. The “energy- poor” suffer the health consequences of inefficient combustion of solid fuels in inadequately ventilated buildings - killing nearly four million people a year, most of them women and children. None of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be met without major improvement in the quality and quantity of energy services in developing countries.
Where modern energy services are plentiful, the challenge is different. Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from fossil fuels are contributing to changes in the Earth’s climate, to the detriment of those who depend on the planet’s natural systems for survival. UN-Energy, the United Nations’ mechanism for inter-agency collaboration in the field of energy, was established in 2004 to help ensure coherence in the United Nations system’s multidisciplinary response to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), and to support countries in their transition to sustainable energy. The core fields of access to energy, renewable energy and energy efficiency have garnered major attention and experienced rapid growth in investments and policy-related focus with an ever-growing number and variety of players involved. The ecological impact of access to energy is already felt. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon made sustainable energy one of his priorities that will guide his second 5-year term. The General Assembly declared 2014-2024 United Nations Decade of Sustainable Energy for All.
Challenges
Rising competition for energy resources can pose major challenges for economic growth, peace and security. With a global population expected to exceed 9 billion people by 2050, the pressure on governments to provide affordable energy and mitigate the impacts of climate change will be tremendous. Energy security is at the heart of the interest of the global community and cuts across countries and continents.
The United Nations is the ideal institution to convene this broad swathe of actors and forge common cause in support of three inter-linked objectives:
• Ensure universal access to modern energy services.
• Double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
• Double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
All are to be achieved by 2030. The challenge will be for the United Nations to galvanize the efforts of all relevant international and regional organizations, the civil society and business to achieve the common goal of energy security. 
The role of business in the energy sector is essential. Businesses and private corporations have always driven the energy sector in investments, exploration and research. Some energy based corporations see regulations as stifling economic growth while others see economic opportunities. Can the United Nations system provide a platform of negotiations to reconcile divergent views?
Objectives and Outcomes
The objectives of this Panel are to:
• Discuss the global nature of clean technologies and share examples of clean energy initiatives;
• Provide an overview of the current situation and challenges with regard to the impact of sustainable energy on development;
• Address key factors on the role which developed countries can play in their management of clean energy on the global scene;
• Identify best practices initiatives and policies that combine the efforts of the public sector and business to provide clean energy;
• Discuss China’s support to the United Nations global energy agenda. Can China reach its energy needs in the 21th Century in the context of the United Nations energy and ecological agenda? Background
The World Food Summit that took place at the FAO in Rome, in 1996, was a historic event, providing a forum for debate on one of the most important issues facing world leaders in the new millennium: the eradication of hunger. It defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”. Food security is a complex sustainable development issue, linked to health through malnutrition, but also to sustainable economic development, environment, and trade. It is based on three pillars: food availability (sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis); food access (having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet), and food use (appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation).

Established in 2000 the first goal of the Millennium Development Goals is to reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. The current situation is that although 30 million fewer people were chronically malnourished today than in 2010-12, the number of hungry people in the world remains between 840 to 870 million. These men, women and children around the world face chronic hunger. Lack of access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food is thus one of the major obstacles to reducing poverty in developing countries. What sustainable path can be taken to achieve global food security in our world today and tomorrow, which population is growing, and which resources are limited and why are the world’s populations under increasing pressure?
Challenges
In 2050, the global population is anticipated to exceed 9 billion people and food supply will therefore need to more than double under increasingly tight land and water constraints. The global economic crisis has exacerbated food insecurity, and shortfalls and volatility in global food supplies and prices are likely to intensify due to higher costs of production, greater demand for food and energy, and climate change.
Perhaps the more astonishing paradox we are facing today is that there is enough food in the world to feed everyone adequately, though 840 million people do not have access to food security. What are the reasons? Are distribution and lack of incentives the only problems, or do we need to add challenges of low productivity, high costs, and a lack of modern techniques and technology?
The risk can be alleviated through policy reforms, targeted investment and innovative ways to increase production and access to food. New initiatives, innovative financing and multi-stakehodler partnerships are gathering momentum in the fight against food insecurity. We thus can ask ourselves the following questions:
• What is the net impact of the further liberalization of food and agricultural trade, considering the widely differing situations in developing countries?
• To what extent can domestic economic and social policies - and food, agricultural and rural development policies - offset the diverse (and possibly negative) impacts of international policies, such as those relating to international trade?

• How can the overall economic gains from trade benefit those who are most likely to be suffering from food insecurity?
• How can food and agricultural production and trade be restrained from the over-exploitation of natural resources that may jeopardize domestic food security in the long term?
• How to ensure that imported food products are of acceptable quality and safe to eat?
Objectives and Outcomes
• Provide an overview of the current situation and challenges with regard to global food security and development;
• Discuss options for global responses to food security and development;
• Identify principles and various best practice policies for increased food security;
• Discuss the role of the United Nations and China to achieve food security and development in a sustainable way. What type of development for sustainability?
Background
North-South dialogue has taken many forms since the creation of the United Nations but one of its key functions has been as the backbone of the technical assistance programs. During the decolonization period, it was essential for the North to provide support to the emerging nations in forms of technical assistance, grants and loans. To this day, some 90% of global development aid stems from the European Union, the United States and Japan.
The maturing of emerging nations has transformed the concept of development assistance into one of cooperation. The traditional situation in which the relationship was dominated by the wealth and specialized knowledge of one side has transformed itself into a partnership of ideas. Too often the assistance from the North to the South was donor-driven.
At the same time, migration movements from the South to the North have persisted and grown as the South economies have not been able to absorb their
growing populations while the North has known slow or even negative population growth. These migration movements have led to their own set of economic and political problems
The establishment of the G-20 in 1999 was a benchmark in North-South dialogue as the North recognized the importance to strengthen alliance with the major economies of the South to discuss global issues with regards to economic development, access to financial markets and clean energy. The BRICS nations, Brazil, Russia India, China and South Africa joined their efforts in 2010 to influence regional and global affairs.
One of the most contentious problems in North-South dialogue stems from the connection between economic growth and the emissions of Greenhouse gases. The debate centers on the need for the South to have access to sources energy to support its industrialization, a process that engaged the North over a century ago.
Challenges
The dynamics of the North-South relationship in the 21th Century will be quite different to that of the previous century. It is assumed that sometimes between 2027 and 2050, the economies of the BRICS, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will overtake the economies of the richest countries of the world. When looking at the future of the populations grouped under North-South, it is clear that the largest population growth is coming from the South. This means that the world economy will be driven more and more by the demands of the South. Growing economies also mean demands on natural resources and energy.
Labor forces will continue to increase at an accelerated rate in the South provoking challenges for labor forces in the North which can see the South as unfair competition. These migrations can also strip the South from their ’best and brightest.’
The need of the South for energy can be seen as a burden by the North and add to the tensions between countries.
The 20th century model North-South of ‘father-child‘ relationship is no longer relevant. How should it be reformulated?
Objectives and Outcomes
• Discuss the relevance of the concept North-South to address current global issues;
• Discuss the relationship North-South in the economic and political field. 10
• Provide a vision of how traditional North-South relationships could be reconsidered to recognize new types of partnerships;
• Discuss the potential role of China in the development of new models of partnerships. Background
During the past decades, developing countries have undertaken efforts to address common challenges, creating common regional markets, institutional and regulatory frameworks, custom unions, and inter-state transport and communications networks. These are all forms of South-South co-operation, a broad concept which also includes a specific development co-operation dimension: the provision of expertise and financial support to developing countries from developing countries to promote sustainable development.
Developing countries laid the foundations for South-South co-operation in the Declaration on Promotion of World Peace and Cooperation, adopted in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955, which included principles such as: respect for fundamental human rights and for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, equality of all nations and promotion of mutual interests and co-operation.
The concept of South-South cooperation was firmed up in 1978 through the Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA) for promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC). The United Nations Development Programme, through the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) mainstreams South-South cooperation across the UN system and throughout the international development community. It engages a wide range of partners, including Member States, UN entities, multilateral bodies and private-sector and civil society organizations. The governing body of the Special Unit is the High-Level Committee (HLC) on South-South Cooperation (SSC), a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly (GA).
The Buenos Aires Plan of Action has since been reaffirmed and reinforced in resolutions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and the High-Level Committee on the Review of Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries. In 2009, two important documents were endorsed by developing countries to guide efforts toward better co-operation: i) the Ministerial declaration of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the member states of the Group of 77 and China; and ii) the outcome 11
document of the High Level United Nations Conference on South-South Co-operation held in Nairobi.
Involving two or more developing countries, South-South can take place on a bilateral, regional, subregional or interregional basis. Developing countries share knowledge, skills, expertise and resources to meet their development goals. Recent developments in South-South cooperation have taken the form of increased volume of South-South trade, South-South flows of foreign direct investment, movements towards regional integration, technology transfers, sharing of solutions and experts, and other forms of exchanges. Many innovative solutions are being developed in the South to effectively contribute to sustainable development and result in progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
Challenges
In recent decades, both the potential and the prospects of the South have improved markedly. This rise is reflected in increased resources, life expectancy, school attendance, and other indicators of human well-being. There are now stronger South-South ties in the form of regional and sub-regional organizations, such as the African Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council and ASEAN, to name but a few.
SSC needs to assess its effectiveness and strengthen the political commitment of individual countries to promote, coordinate and support South-South and triangular cooperation. Despite efforts made by many organizations at mainstreaming SSC into their work and operational activities, lack of understanding of the definition and concept of SSC and of the differentiation between the regular technical cooperation programs and those dealing specifically with SSC remain problematic.
The organizational support provided by the United Nations should also be reviewed to support maximum interaction with decision makers at the country and regional level. Most triangular assistance is not additional aid provided by Southern contributors but rather part of Northern donor flows.
Objectives and Outcomes
• Discuss the impact of South-South cooperation on the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG);
• Address key factors on the role that South-South cooperation could play in the post-2015 development agenda;
• Suggest new mechanisms to increase the interest of businesses in supporting public sector efforts to increase cooperation between developing countries;
• Discuss China’s potential role in helping developing countries realize energy efficiency as an example of South-South cooperation. Background
In 2000, 189 nations made a promise to free people from extreme poverty and multiple deprivations by 2015. This pledge became the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs focus on three areas: human capital, infrastructure and human rights (social, economic and political), with the intent of increasing living standards. The MDGs emphasize that each nation's policies should be tailored to that country's needs; therefore most policy suggestions are general. The MDGs encapsulate eight globally agreed goals in the areas of poverty alleviation, education, gender equality and empowerment of women, child and maternal health, environmental sustainability, reducing HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases, and building a global partnership for development. Developed countries are to support fair trade, debt relief, increasing aid, access to affordable essential medicines and encouraging technology transfer.
The world has made significant progress in achieving many of the Goals. But progress has been far from uniform across the world, or across the Goals. There are huge disparities across and within countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of crisis and a widespread shortfall for most of the MDGs. Asia is the region with the fastest progress. Other regions have mixed records, notably Latin America, the Middle East and Northern Africa.
Although developed countries' aid rose during the Millennium Challenge, more than half went towards debt relief. Much of the remaining aid money addressed disaster relief and military aid. At the 2010 High Level Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly to review progress towards the MDGs, governments called for accelerated progress and for thinking on ways to advance the development agenda beyond 2015. In 2012, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon appointed 27 civil society, private sector, and government leaders from all regions of the world to a High Level Panel (HLP) to advise him on the Post-2015 Development Agenda
Challenges
United Nations projections for 2015 indicate that almost 1.3 billion people will still live in extreme poverty, mothers will continue to die needlessly in childbirth
and children will suffer and die from hunger, malnutrition, preventable diseases and a lack of clean water and sanitation. Private investment in developing countries now dwarfs aid flows. Thanks to the internet, seeking business or information on the other side of the world is now routine for many. Yet inequality remains, and opportunity is not open to all. The 1.2 billion poorest people account for only 1% of world consumption, while the billion richest consume 72%. Scientific evidence of the direct threat from climate change has mounted. Inequality is rising in rich and poor countries alike.
The challenge for the 21st century will be to address the challenges of sustainable development in the face of ever changing economic, social and political conditions. How can the international community partner to reach the new post-2015 goals identified by the High-Level Panel? These include a move from reducing to ending extreme poverty, in all its forms; the integration of the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability; an economic transformation to end extreme poverty by harnessing innovation, technology, and the potential of business; freedom from conflict and violence and good governance; a New Global Partnership which should include civil society organizations, multilateral institutions, local and national governments, the scientific and academic community, businesses, and private philanthropy.
Objectives and Outcomes
• Assess current views of the post 2015 framework and its indicators;
• Discuss possibilities for new partnerships to support the framework;
• Consider the challenges that emerging economies will face; Background
Over the past 15 years, the United Nations has recognized the need to engage all actors to respond to new global challenges. The period has witnessed an accelerated era of globalization and the world community is more interdependent than ever before. An interconnected world has not necessarily meant a more unified world. Global engagement, once the exclusive province of governments and diplomats, is now, more than ever, a stage shared with non-governmental organizations and the private sector. The United Nations realized that it needed to engage effectively with the global business community and with private philanthropy. 14
A benchmark in the role of private individuals in global affairs came about with the 1997 Turner pledge of $1 billion to partner with the United Nations in support of core areas of the Millennium Development Goals. The partnership has proven that the United Nations family - the Secretariat, the specialized agencies, programs and funds - can be flexible and responsive to the standards of the business community, including monitoring and reporting to meet the private sector's needs. Other public-private partnerships initiatives followed.
Another major step in the increased role of the private sector in United Nations affairs has been the establishment of the UN Global Compact which asks companies to embrace universal principles. Many companies recognize the need to collaborate and partner with governments, philanthropies, financial institutions, civil society, labour and the United Nations.
Other initiatives come from various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which increasingly recognize the need for business to align its success with the objectives and priorities of the United Nations, and have such been awarded consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Academic and research institutions throughout the world also now seek closer relationship with the United Nations.
Challenges
It is clear that public resources are shrinking and cannot meet the need of future generations to prosper and live in peace and security. Global partnerships are required across sectors and new sources of financial and operational supports are needed for effective solutions across sectors.
Business is the primary driver of globalization and can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere. Financial institutions are already interested in playing a role in ‘emerging markets’. The challenges of the 21th century will be to provide a framework for market-based solution to development challenges.
Economic development, full employment, energy, diseases, climate etc all require the involvement of business, philanthropies, financial institutions, NGOs. The United Nations needs to promote and identify new collaborations and alliances to advance the agenda outlined by its membership and to provide support to new initiatives of the Secretary-General. These will drive many of the solutions to the challenges outlined above.
Objectives and Outcomes
• Provide an overview of the relationship between the United Nations and non-State actors;
• Discuss the benefits and limitations of these types of collaboration and cooperation for the United Nations during the 21th Century;
• Identify some new ways to stimulate and incorporate knowledge sharing and resources from the private sector into the global agenda of the United Nations;
• Outline a vision for China to identify key areas and partners within China to support the work of the United Nations.