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Wednesday May 2 11:02 PM ET By DANIEL COONEY, Associated Press Writer UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund are outdated institutions that need to be overhauled, a U.N. think tank said Wednesday. The three organizations, set up at the end of World War II, have not changed despite the end of the Cold War and a move toward globalization, the United Nations University report said. ``The process of globalization has given rise to new problems and governance needs'' but the U.N. system has yet to adjust, it said. The report also said the moral authority of the United Nations is ``seriously undermined because its laws or principles are enforced selectively when it suits the interests of the rich and powerful.'' It called for repeal of the veto power enjoyed by the five permanent U.N. Security Council members - the United States, China, Russia, Britain, and France - that allows them to block resolutions. The Tokyo-based United Nations University is an autonomous institution within the U.N. framework that operates through a worldwide network of academic and research institutions. Its findings are likely to fuel calls by disgruntled foreign governments and international organizations pushing for reform within the three powerful institutions, which have long been accused of being overly bureaucratic, slow to respond to crises and ineffective. The report said the United Nations should move away from its current system of financing, in which nations pay annual dues. The world body should have an independent source of funding that would ``loosen the reins of political control now exercised by the powerful member states,'' it said. The study called for the establishment of an ``Economic Security Council'' as a means of governing globalization and to provide a platform for discussions on international economic policy. It also suggested setting up a permanent peacekeeping force that would allow the United Nations to respond urgently to humanitarian crises without having to muster troops from foreign countries, a process that often takes months. The report said the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - which lend money to governments often on condition of economic reform - sometimes make problems worse in countries they are trying to assist. The World Bank should stop lending money and instead should ``transform itself into an institution more concerned with development'' in poor countries, the report said. The study also called for an end to the secrecy surrounding the IMF's operations and programs, and for greater scrutiny and independent evaluation of its activities. ``It is time to reform the reformers,'' the report said.
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