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The National Observance of the 58th United Nations Day will be held at the John de Silva Memorial Theatre, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7 commencing at 3.00 p.m. on October 25 to which the public is cordially invited to participate.

by Dr. Vernon L. B. Mendis, Honorary Life President, United Nations Association.

The UN in session - a question of common will

The celebration of UN Day this year coincides with a time when it has undergone shocks and is facing challenges to its image and reputation. This was, of course, the invasion of Iraq by the US in disregard of the authority of the UN and resolutions of the Security Council on the subject of armaments in Iraq. This invasion was a shattering blow to the standing of the United Nations and others followed it such as the attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad resulting in the death of a senior UN official.

Invasion

The invasion resulted in the establishment of a foreign-based administration in Iraq and foreign troops amounting to a foreign occupation which amounts to a violation of the independence of that country.

No doubt steps are being taken to restore independence but these do not conceal the fact that the sovereign independence of a State has been violated and equally the authority of the United Nations. This poses the question of the right of States to undertake aggression against other States thereby challenging the authority of the United Nations and its responsibility for international peace.

In fact, the United Nations in its origins was designed to deal with the issue of aggression by States resulting in war and the elimination of war became its statutory and primary responsibility. Historically it began its career with the role which it played in the Korea war in 1950 when it led a coalition against North Korea and this has been its keynote role in the world ever since.

This role was really an affirmation of the circumstances in which it came into being which was the end of the Second World War in 1945 when the victor powers decided to establish a world body that would ensure the elimination of war in the world and the result was the United Nations based on a Charter which was universally accepted by all sovereign States in the world at that time.

Peace making and peace keeping has since become the solemn role of the United Nations which it has steadfastly pursued through five decades of recurrent inter State conflicts and which earned for it the reputation of the custodian of world peace. Peace making was the mandate given to it by the Charter and this involved an elaborate process of acting through key agencies of the United Nations such as the Security Council, the General Assembly and involved a variety of operations such as negotiations, military action and peace keeping by UN forces all of which made the UN the custodian of peace in our time.

One of its key operations was peace keeping which meant military action by UN forces followed by effective peaceful settlement of issues. These conflicts arose under various circumstances such as the Cold War, decolonisation, unilateral aggression and in the name of peace the UN was invariably drawn in sometimes at grievous cost like the death of the UN Secretary General, Hammersjeld in the Congo and of course the lives of peace keeping forces.

The presence of the UN though it did not prevent wars was a deterrent and the relative peace in the world at the present time and the end of the Cold War could really be regarded as its achievements. The greatest achievement of all was the absence of resort to nuclear weapons despite the abundant and lethal stocks of nuclear arms possessed by nations. This was partly the impact of UN initiatives such as non-proliferation pacts and comprehensive test bans.

One-sided impression

The achievements of the UN in peace keeping which was in accord with the objectives as stated in the Charter to rid mankind of the scourge of war has given a one sided impression of the contribution of the UN but its actual record is far more comprehensive and widespread. Indeed the UN has revealed itself to be not only an architect of peace but of a new world altogether in fulfilment of the ambitious objectives envisaged in the Charter.

Its achievement indeed has not only been to give peace but to create a new world order which has the potential to realise the highest aspiration of mankind. This new world order has come into being as a result of a series of UN initiatives.

One of the most far-reaching was its decolonisation programme through which it progressively realised the independence of countries under colonial rule. It began with the liberation of Asian countries like India and Sri Lanka and African such as Nigeria and Ghana but over the years it became a flood, which by 2000 had freed all the countries under colonial rule and created an international community of up to 190 sovereign States.

This was a virtual international revolution considering that at the inception, the UN had only around 50 member States but this increase was phenomenal and transformed the entire character of the UN from a mere collection of States to a universal society which it is now.

This has meant a profound change in the character and role of the UN from a kind of Parliament of States which met from time to time to discuss and resolve issues to a community virtually in fact a family of peoples.

This has generated a spirit of fellowship as against pure association. A feature of this new world order is the emergence of the developing world to a commanding position. They are an overwhelming majority among the community of nations and are in a position to dictate terms. There is however no confrontation as such but the UN has become a forum in which their needs are orchestrated.

As a result the UN has become the medium through which the developing world is endeavouring to meet their basic needs which is primarily for their economic and social upliftment. This has transformed its earlier role of peacemaker to one of championing the aspirations of the developing world which constitutes the vast majority of mankind, for economic and social justice.

This has assumed various forms the best known being the initiatives to promote aid to the developing world and undertaking programme for their implementation. This is an endeavour to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor where 1.3 of the world's population live in conditions of abject poverty.

This in fact is a major pre-occupation for the UN which has caused structural changes, in the creation of a variety of agencies and the adoption of a host of programmes all aimed at ameliorating the conditions of the third world. These embrace areas such as population, social and economic advancement, environment, the status of women and children to an extent that the UN has become the major development agency in the world.

An index of the scale of these undertakings are the number of international conferences and summits which they have occasioned such as the world Summit for Children the World Conference on Education, UN Conference on Environment and Development in Brazil, International Conference on Nutrition, International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, World Summit for Social Development Copenhagen, World Food Summit 1996, UN Conference on Human Settlements in Istanbul. These are all impressive testimony of the scale and extent of the UN commitment for the well-being of mankind.

10 commitments

The Copenhagen Summit on Social Development in fact embodies 10 commitments by world leaders which were to eradicate absolute poverty, support full employment, promote social integration based on protection of human rights, equality and equity between men and women, accelerate the development of Africa and least developed countries, adopt social development goals, and increase resources allotted to social development, create an economic political, social, cultural and legal environment that will enable people to achieve social development, gain access to education and primary health care, strengthen cooperation for social development through the UN.

It would be clear in the light of all these objectives, commitments and initiatives the UN has undergone a fundamental structural change and image from the peace-keeping role which it was initially designed to be, to a universal organisation for the betterment and progress of humanity. As a framework for the attainment of these far reaching objectives the UN has created a system of principles, and machinery for the promotion of human rights which will provide a legal basis for individuals in this universal society. practical question

The chief problem facing the UN today is the outcome of this conceptual and structural transformation. This is the practical question of how these sweeping objectives can be realised. This is primarily a matter of structural and financial resources. This aspect of the UN is the anti- climax of all its pious and grandiose ambitions.

This failure to attain its objectives is no doubt due to a variety of factors the most crucial of which is the failure to attain unity of purpose and a common will among the international community and these divisions constitute the biggest obstacle since the inception of the UN. However lofty and noble its objectives and aspirations the crucial issues is of attaining agreement and unity of purpose among its members representing as they do diverse ideologies, economies and historical backgrounds.

The lack of a common will is aggravated by structural and practical problems the most obvious of which is the lack of resources and machinery for the implementation of UN aspirations. The financial problem is not merely non-payment of dues by member states but also wide disparities in their paying capacities with the developed countries who constitute the capitalist class unwilling to shoulder responsibilities in keeping with their resources.

The UN therefore is in a permanent state of bankruptcy unable to finance its responsibilities which meanwhile are expanding daily to overwhelming proportions. The expansion of UN responsibilities fall for massive structural measures which are far beyond its modest machinery of specialised agencies and organisation with the result that most of its aspirations are languishing for lack of operational machinery and resources.

The UN is no doubt painfully aware of these limitations and has been looking hopefully for relief from initiatives like the proposals for the reform of the UN and similar structural changes which envisage for instance the increase in the membership of the Security Council and financial support of outside bodies like the World Bank.

Increasing popularity

Despite all these limitations which impede the activities of the UN and fulfilment of its objectives, the astonishing fact is the increasing popularity of the concept of internationalism as symbolised by the UN.

This is borne out in the UN type conference which have been organised in a number of countries such as South America and notably Beijing expressing the popular enthusiasm for the United Nations.

These are demonstrations of support for the United Nations among the public at large as distinct from governments and this certainly represents a major achievement for the concept of internationalism. It could open the way for popular support of the UN in the countries of the world which could lead to the growth of an international fellowship for the United Nations.

Countries could by this means familiarise themselves with the role and work of the UN which will in turn strengthen the latter. This is a field in which UN association could make a useful contribution by popularising the activities of the UN and conducting programmes through which to educate the public.

The object of such initiatives would be to inculcate to the public at large the relevance of the UN in this day and age and enlist their support for the work of the UN. Through this means it should be possible to create an international consciousness among all the peoples of the world who are members of the UN of their responsibilities and the need for fellowship and understanding among all mankind.

The time has come when it is not enough to depend on the UN alone and it is necessary for the peoples of the world to work together for fellowship and understanding in the spirit of the United Nations.

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