The UN was established in 1945 immediately after the Second World War.The way it was organised and the way it functioned reflected the realities of world politics after the Second World War. After the Cold War, those realities are different.Here are some of the changes that have occurred: The Soviet Union has collapsed. The US is the strongest power.The relationship between Russia, the successor to the Soviet Union, and the US is much more cooperative.China is fast emerging as a great power, and India also is growing rapidly. The economies of Asia are growing at an unprecedented rate.Many new countries have joined the UN (as they became independent from the Soviet Union or former communist states in eastern Europe).A whole new set of challenges confronts the world (genocide, civil war, ethnic conflict terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, environmental degradation, epidemics).REFORM OF STRUCTURES AND PROCESSESIn 1992, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution. The resolution reflected three main complaints:The Security Council no longer represents contemporary political realities.Its decisions reflect only Western values and interests and are dominated by a few powers.It lacks equitable representation.In view of these growing demands for the restructuring of the UN, on 1 January 1997, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan initiated an inquiry into how the UN should be reformed.