united nations... united humanity...
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The Toronto Star asked a number of well-known statesmen, politicians and authors if the U.N.'s day is done. And while none felt the institution was perfect, all believe overwhelmingly that it is vital to our existence on this planet.
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It is hard to avoid the sense that the United Nations itself is on the edge. Just as the League of Nations failed to stop the aggressions of Germany, Japan and Italy in the years after 1930, and proved unable to make itself the centre of the cause of collective security, so too we now see an institution whose strength and credibility have been damaged. "The U.N." is really two things: the place the countries of the world come together to address (or not) the world's problems; and a series of institutions, some well run and efficient, some decidedly not, that are the institutional embodiment of this elusive world opinion.
And yet, the simple fact is that if the UN were to disappear, something like it would have to be re-invented. It is the interdependence of the world, and the tragic consequences of intensifying conflict, that require an international institution of some kind to provide a space for the rule of law, to extend assistance to those in greatest need, and to deal with our common challenges as fellow citizens of the world. Some of the U.N.'s flaws can be readily fixed — the reform agenda that Canada has been so strong in championing is on the right track. But we must also recognize that for others the flaw is not in the institution, but in ourselves, in the political structures of individual countries, in the inability of governments to transcend short-sighted self-interest, in the way the forces of greed, hatred, and the unvarnished pursuit of power for its own sake continues to corrupt the globe. And righting those wrongs is not the job of institutional change, but something more profound, and more far-reaching. Our progress will be difficult, but we have no choice but to keep trying. The fault lies not in the vision of those who wrote the Atlantic Charter or the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, but in our own imperfections.
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This week the United Nations will undergo its most difficult test, the largest summit meeting in history, with world leaders gathering in New York to endorse — or reject — a reform program that affects every aspect of U.N. operations. The U.N.'s future is in the balance: whether it emerges as a stronger, co-operative institution capable of dealing with serious challenges, or one weakened and pulled apart by competing agendas.
The Toronto Star asked a number of well-known statesmen, politicians and authors if the U.N.'s day is done. And while none felt the institution was perfect, all believe overwhelmingly that it is vital to our existence on this planet.
--------------------
It is hard to avoid the sense that the United Nations itself is on the edge. Just as the League of Nations failed to stop the aggressions of Germany, Japan and Italy in the years after 1930, and proved unable to make itself the centre of the cause of collective security, so too we now see an institution whose strength and credibility have been damaged. "The U.N." is really two things: the place the countries of the world come together to address (or not) the world's problems; and a series of institutions, some well run and efficient, some decidedly not, that are the institutional embodiment of this elusive world opinion.
And yet, the simple fact is that if the UN were to disappear, something like it would have to be re-invented. It is the interdependence of the world, and the tragic consequences of intensifying conflict, that require an international institution of some kind to provide a space for the rule of law, to extend assistance to those in greatest need, and to deal with our common challenges as fellow citizens of the world. Some of the U.N.'s flaws can be readily fixed — the reform agenda that Canada has been so strong in championing is on the right track. But we must also recognize that for others the flaw is not in the institution, but in ourselves, in the political structures of individual countries, in the inability of governments to transcend short-sighted self-interest, in the way the forces of greed, hatred, and the unvarnished pursuit of power for its own sake continues to corrupt the globe. And righting those wrongs is not the job of institutional change, but something more profound, and more far-reaching. Our progress will be difficult, but we have no choice but to keep trying. The fault lies not in the vision of those who wrote the Atlantic Charter or the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, but in our own imperfections.
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posted by þΛųL jØŋαŦhΛŋ @ 18:30
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