G-20 nations agree to push for reform of global governance institutions

By Simone Iglesias

Group of 20 nations agreed to push for overhauls of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and multilateral lenders in a breakthrough following one-and-a-half months of negotiations. 
 

A call for reforms will be launched on Wednesday during a meeting of G-20 foreign ministers proposed by Brazil on the sidelines of UN General Assembly, according to a draft communique seen by Bloomberg News.

It’s the first time that the world’s 20 largest economies formally agree to make a joint effort to modernise global governance institutions that were created about 80 years ago, reflecting a post-World War II reality. 

“There is a growing perception that the United Nations, the Bretton Woods Institutions and the World Trade Organization are in urgent need of reform,” reads the draft of the communique that will be released during the G-20 meeting, which for the first time will be open to all UN member states. 

“It is essential that these institutions update their governance structures and practices to better represent the diversity of their membership and improve their capacity to address today’s web of political, social, and economic challenges,” according to the statement. 

The reform of global institutions has been a long-standing battle cry for Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who’s presiding over the G-20 this year. The joint statement to be published under his leadership is a step in the direction of reforms, even though the nations have not agreed on a timeline for the changes to be implemented.

The three-page document details the reforms agreed on by the G-20 on three different fronts: the UN, the international financial architecture and the multilateral trading system.

Among the changes proposed to the UN are the G-20’s calls for a reform of the Security Council, with an expanded composition that improves the representation of underrepresented and unrepresented regions and groups. It also demands a more representative UN Secretariat, with transparency, equitable geographic distribution, merit and gender balance.

On the reform of the international financial architecture, the G-20 seeks more financing for developing countries to fight poverty and tackle global challenges, including climate change. It also calls for enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries in decision-making.

Finally, the G-20 describes the WTO as “indispensable” to a well-functioning system to settle trade disputes, and calls for policies that enable trade and investment as an engine of growth and prosperity.