Early in October 2006, the UN General Assembly has focused on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and an independent initiative on UN reform has been launched.

On 2 October 2006, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) discussed the proposal by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to incorporate the 2010 biodiversity target into the framework of the MDGs. While the Netherlands and Ethiopia supported the proposal, the US expressed concern about amending the MDGs that were identified in the outcome of the 2005 World Summit as those that had been agreed at the 2000 Millennium Summit. On 6 October, UNGA President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa announced an informal thematic debate for the UN, donor and recipient countries, NGOs and the private sector, focusing on global development, to be held by December 2006. She proposed that the debate review practical measures and strategies aimed to advance efforts to achieve the MDGs.
Meanwhile, four countries have launched an alternative initiative to discuss UN reforms. The ‘Four Nations Initiative’ was launched by Chile, South Africa, Sweden, and Thailand to focus on reform of UN governance and the management of the Secretariat in a proposed 18-month process of five phases.
Links to further information
UN press releases (October 2006):
2 October 2006; and
6 October 2006
“Reform the UN” release, 6 October 2006
Website of the Four Nations Initiative