In Our Common Agenda the UN Secretary General proposed to repurpose the UN Trusteeship Council to provide better governance for the Global Commons, i.e. the oceans, atmosphere, outer space and seabed.
The proposal has been supported by the Stimson Center (see Repurpose the Trusteeship Council to Better Govern the Global Commons), Parliament of the World’s Religions (see Background to UN Agenda for Peace; Repurposing the Trusteeship Council), Earth Trusteeship Initiative, World Future Council and earlier by the Commission on Global Governance in its 1995 report, Our Global Neighborhood.
A repurposed Trusteeship Council could exercise collective trusteeship over the commons highlighting and assisting to implement obligations under international treaty law and customary law to protect the commons for current and future generations.
The revitalized Trusteeship Council could consider reports or petitions on steps to protect the Global Commons submitted by Member States, UN specialized agencies and programs, and accredited civil society groups. It could facilitate the sharing and further development of good practice between the regimes currently managing the oceans, atmosphere, outer space and sea bed. It could provide recommendations to the UNGA on management of the global commons. And it could monitor the use and protection of the commons, oversee compliance with relevant international laws, and report any infringement thereof to the General Assembly or, if so authorized, to the International Court of Justice.
Such repurposing of the Trusteeship Council could be achieved through UN General Assembly process without necessarily having to amend the UN Charter.