September is the showcase month at the U.N. headquarters in New York. In 2009, in addition to rolling out the red carpet for newly elected leaders from the U.S. and Japan, the organization also made ambitious attempts to address climate change and nuclear nonproliferation. Compared to past years, expectations were sky high, as President Barack Obama delivered a speech detailing his administration's commitment to multilateralism after years of U.S. neglect. With Washington's full backing, the U.N. seems ripe for an image makeover to accompany the structural facelift currently in progress. However, despite the optimism, no one is forecasting any progress on one recurring U.N. headache: reform of the Security Council.
Since the U.N.'s creation in 1945, the Security Council has been the organization's central decision-making body, responsible for maintaining international peace and security. And for almost the past 20 years, countries have been lobbying to reform the Council to make it more reflective of the current balance of power. Every year, countless hours are spent on a never-ending carousel of fruitless negotiations, and 2009 promises to be no different. ...