Introduction to International Democracy

Primacy of the UN General Assembly

Security Council Reform

Strengthening the UN Economic and Social Council

Selection of high-level officials for international institutions

UN Parliamentary Assembly

Expanding Citizens’ Rights

Accountability and Transparency

International processes for democracy

Implementation of UN Conferences and Summits of the 1990s

ReformtheUN.org

Strengthening the UN Economic and Social Council

WFM asserts that the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) must be empowered to fulfill its role as envisioned in the UN Charter - to address economic and social concerns with the same authority that the Security Council commands over peace and security. WFM advocates for a strong ECOSOC capable of making decisions on international economic matters and dealing with the socio-economic threats athat are the root causes of war and conflict.

Each of the ECOSOC functional commissions needs to be significantly strengthened. ECOSOC should consider convening meetings of the bureaus of its subsidiary and other relevant bodies for the purpose of enhancing implementation and coordination by reducing unnecessary duplication of efforts. Along the same lines, in order to address the cross-sectored nature of many conferences’ outcomes, each functional commission should be granted a role in reviewing and ensuring that world conferences’ implementation efforts are harmonized with one another and abide firmly within the frameworks established. Through these considerations, mutual interests and complementary efforts may be identified.

An increased collaboration between ECOSOC and Security Council is needed in order to integrate socio-economic development perspectives into conflict prevention and peace building.