The UN at 63
The founding
fathers of the United Nations, which turned 63 yesterday, would
not have expected a world as turbulent as today's. The Nations
of the World are now confronted with a multitude of problems.
The world financial crisis, terrorism and conflicts, climate
change, the high prices of food, the volatile oil market,
rampant poverty in the Southern hemisphere - these are among the
many challenges that the UN and its Member States face.
In the words of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, "we can see
more clearly than ever that the threats on the 21st century
spare no one. Climate change, the spread of disease and deadly
weapons, and the scourge of terrorism all cross borders. If we
want to advance the global common good, we must secure global
public good".
The Global Public Good that he mentions alludes mainly to the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of development
objectives that world leaders have pledged to achieve or even
surpass by 2015.
Thus 2008 is a crucial year in the life of the United
Nations. We have just passed the midpoint in the struggle to
reach the Millennium Development Goals - a common vision for
building a better world in the 21st century.
The somewhat sad reality is that the world is not any closer
to achieving these objectives. While gains have been made in
some sectors, particularly battles against previously deadly
diseases (the global malaria effort has brought the world within
range of containing a disease that kills a child every 30
seconds) progress in some other sectors such as the eradication
of poverty has been slow. There should be a renewed commitment
by world leaders to meet these noble goals. Never had leadership
and partnership been more important. In fact, more than US$ 16
billion were pledged towards the MDG cause at an UN event in
September.
Such collective action is urgently needed on issues such as
climate change and terrorism, for they are global issues that
affect almost every country. But broader action against pressing
issues may not be possible without first addressing another
major concern - the need to reform the UN itself.
Many world leaders including President Mahinda Rajapaksa have
stressed the need for reforming the United Nations. The need to
overhaul the UN has become apparent due to what many analysts
see as dilution of its powers in recent times. Indeed, UN
sanction was not obtained for several crucial developments in
world politics.
The UN must not be seen as a talk shop; it must become the
final arbiter on decisions and events that could possibly shape
the future of the world. It must become a body where all
countries have an equal say.
What is needed is a re-alignment of the world body to give
additional weight to key developments, security and human rights
issues while setting out plans to make it more efficient, open
and accountable.
One of the most frequently asked questions in this regard
whether the composition and the rules of the UN Security Council
should be changed to reflect present political and demographic
trends in the world.
The Veto Power enjoyed by the five Permanent Members France,
China, Russia, UK and USA has come in for criticism, as it
hampers any concrete action on many issues affecting Member
States. Should just five countries be allowed to do that at the
expense of all other countries ?
On the other hand, there are those who advocate a change in
the composition of the five Permanent Members, who are basically
the victors of World War II. They point out that Germany, India,
Brazil and Japan also have equal clout on the world stage. The
latter in fact became a non-permanent member of the UN Security
Council recently along with Austria, Mexico, Uganda and Turkey.
These are indeed challenging times for the UN. Streamlining
the UN system and bureaucracy may enable it to work more
efficiently. It should also minimise the massive expenditure on
seminars, paperwork and publications, salaries etc which are
basically borne by the Member States, rich and poor. It must
become a true people's organisation working for world harmony
and development. |