Abstract

This essay aims at highlighting progress and failures on UN reform and focuses on the successful reform of the procedure for selecting and appointing the Secretary-General (laid down in General Assembly resolution 69/321) and on the failed attempt, to date, to enlarge the membership of the Security Council. It devotes particular attention to procedural and substantive disagreements between States demanding for more permanent seats and States supporting alternative solutions such as longer-term seats and transitional options. Conclusions analyse States' political stances hindering the reform of the Security Council.