UN-Reform is more than Security Council expansion: de Cuellar

At a high-level "Cafe Crossfire" organized by Friends of Europe in Brussels, former UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar stressed that the reform of the United Nations can not be reduced to the question of Security Council reform. Economic and social questions are just as important said de Cuellar, who held the top job at the UN from 1982 to 1991. Co-panelists Andreas Bummel, chairman of the Committee for a Democratic UN, and Reed Brody, Counsel at Human Rights Watch, focussed on citizen participation and human rights respectively. While Bummel stressed the need for the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, Brody expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the new Human Rights Council at the UN. During the debate de Cuellar demonstrated support for the cause of a UN Parliamentary Assembly.