New think tank on the structure of the United Nations and global governance established
Earlier this year, a new think tank was established in Brussels that intends to provide research and policy recommendations concerning the Charter and structure of the United Nations. A focus of the Center for United Nations Constitutional Research (CUNCR) will be to identify and promote mechanisms and reforms that strengthen the legitimacy and efficiency of the UN and global governance as well as measures to strengthen the rights of the world’s citizens.
Three of the founding members of CUNCR: Daniel Schaubacher, Shahr-yar (the center's director), and Marjolijn Snippe
“Recognizing that the UN and current international law are primarily state-centric and therefore democratically deficient, the association will focus on the promotion and protection of global citizens’ rights in a representative global governance paradigm,” the center’s website explains.
Among other things, the center’s work will include “in-depth study and research into the UN Charter, including the Charter’s strengths and weaknesses, and taking into account the relevance and effectiveness of the UN in the current fragmented international-law and governance regime.”
According to the Center, “in many respects international law is ill-equipped to tackle the various urgent problems posed by globalization, climate change, global poverty, and nuclear weapons, or to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security and the protection of fundamental human rights and delivery of global justice.”
In order to promote discussion and the exchange of ideas around these issues, CUNCR will host international seminars at various locations on a wide array of topics relating to the most pressing challenges we face today.
A first 2.5-day seminar on “International Environmental Laws and Climate Change” is scheduled to take place in Greece in July. Further seminars are intended to deal with international parliamentary institutions, regional and international criminal courts, international sanctions regimes, and a reform of the UN’s Security Council, among others.