The UN needs reform to help meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Over the past 60 years, the role of the UN has evolved against the backdrop of a more complex and larger international arena as the world has globalised and nations have become more interdependent.

Specifically, the UN membership has grown to 192 current members, most recently with the joining of Montenegro on 28 June 2006.

But member states are only one of the many actors that play a part in modern international affairs, which include businesses, charities, and NGOs.

Resolution of conflicts between states remain one part of the UN’s remit, with an increasing number of threats occurring within national boundaries and caused by non-state actors.

As President of the UN Security Council in April 2007, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) promoted the first Council debate on climate change. The debate, which achieved unprecedented participation, focused on the security implications of climate change, including causes of conflict such as border disputes, migration and access to energy, water and food.

The FCO also worked to ensure that the UN Security Council met its responsibilities in response to threats to international peace and security, including events in specific countries.

The Prime Minister’s subsequent launch of the MDG ‘Call to Action’ in New York at the end of July 2007 was designed to boost international collective action to meet the MDG targets by 2015. The FCO will continue to play a key role in building international support in the run-up to the high-level meeting called for by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon and the President of the General Assembly on 25 September 2008.