Reform

Since its founding, there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations. But there is little clarity, let alone consensus, about how to reform it. Some want the UN to play a greater or more effective role in world affairs, others want its role reduced to humanitarian work. There have also been numerous calls for the UN Security Council's membership to be increased to reflect the current geo-political state, for different ways of electing the UN's Secretary-General, and for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly.

Reform programme
An official reform programme was begun by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan soon after starting his first term in 1997. Reforms mentioned include changing the permanent membership of the Security Council (which currently reflects the power relations of 1945); making the bureaucracy more transparent, accountable and efficient; making the UN more democratic; and imposing an international tariff on arms manufacturers worldwide.
In September 2005, the UN convened a World Summit that brought together the heads of most member states, calling the summit "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take bold decisions in the areas of development, security, human rights and reform of the United Nations". Kofi Annan had proposed that the summit agree on a global "grand bargain" to reform the UN, revamping international systems for peace and security, human rights and development, to make them capable of addressing the extraordinary challenges facing the UN in the 21st century.
World leaders agreed on a compromise text, including the following notable items:
the creation of a Peacebuilding Commission to provide a central mechanism to help countries emerging from conflict;
an agreement that the international community has the right to step in when national governments fail to fulfill their responsibility to protect their citizens from atrocious crimes;
a Human Rights Council (established in 2006);
an agreement to devote more resources to UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS);
several agreements to spend billions more on achieving the Millennium Development Goals;
a clear and unambiguous condemnation of terrorism "in all its forms and manifestations";
a democracy fund;
an agreement to wind up the Trusteeship Council due to the completion of its mission.

Management Reform
The UN has been accused of bureaucratic inefficiency and waste. During the 1990s the United States, currently the largest contributor to the UN, gave this inefficiency as a reason for withholding their dues. The repayment of the dues was made conditional on a major reforms initiative. In 1994 the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was established by the General Assembly to serve as an efficiency watchdog. Further management reforms have been proposed through the World Summit, including changes to the OIOS, the establishment of an ethics office, and a review of UN mandates that are older than five years.
The Office of Internal Oversight Services is being restructured to more clearly define its scope and mandate. It will receive more resources. In addition, to improve the oversight and auditing capabilities of the General Assembly, an Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC) is being created. In June 2007, the Fifth Committee created a draft resolution for the terms of reference of this committee.
An ethics office was established in 2006, responsible for administering new financial disclosure and whistleblower protection policies. Working with the OIOS, the ethics office also plans to implement a policy to avoid fraud and corruption.
The Secretariat is in the process of reviewing all UN mandate that are more than five years old. The review is intended to determine which duplicative or unnecessary programmes should be eliminated. Not all member states are in agreement as to which of the over 7000 mandates should be reviewed. The dispute centres on whether mandates that have been renewed should be examined. As of September 2007, the process is ongoing.