The UN General Assembly recently reached an impasse in the reform process. On May 8, 2006, the assembly adopted a resolution that significantly slows the reform process and rejects certain proposals for management flexibility and budgetary procedures proposed by the Secretary-General. This presents a problem because many governments have expressed the intention to link the release of UN dues to progress on reform.

Unresolved, these two items — a budget tied to reforms and a stalled reform process — threaten a standoff that undermines the spirit and interests of the UN. It is even possible that this stalemate could force the UN to cease some essential core operations, including a range of critical missions of relevance to all peoples of the world — from development projects to the UN's life-saving humanitarian work to ongoing efforts essential for international peace and security.

In response to this situation, the message of Resolve the Crisis: Don't Shut Down the UN is simple: failure to nurture, preserve, strengthen, and adequately fund the UN does not serve the interests of any nation or group of nations and would reflect poorly on all world leaders and governmental representatives. A UN shutdown — of diplomacy, operations, or the reform process — would represent a failure of all nations to take the necessary steps, make the necessary compromises, and undertake the necessary actions to ensure that the UN's vital and irreplaceable efforts continue uninterrupted.

The United Nations has stood as a beacon of global peace and progress for over 60 years. Given the world's large and growing agenda requiring international cooperation, now is not the time to undermine the foundations of the UN.

Resolve the Crisis: Don't Shut Down the UN provides a means for people around the world to call all Member States to undertake the dialogue and deliberation needed to reach agreements that will allow the UN to continue its work without disruption.

A number of sources provide information about UN Reform, including:

• United Nations
• Reform the United Nations — a project started by the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy
• The United Nations Association of the United States of America
• Friedrich Ebert Foundation

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