UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews
Network
/ 6
September 2006 --
A conflict erupts in an explosive part
of the world and the United Nations is asked to serve as the only mediating
force acceptable to all sides.
A
natural disaster engulfs an entire region, and the United Nations is asked to
coordinate an unprecedented relief operation.
Does
this mean the United Nations is important? Yes.
Does
it mean that it is equipped to succeed? No - not now, not yet, not without a
genuine renewal to make it a Twenty-First century
agent for change and progress.
The
UN’s recent centrality to resolving conflicts and alleviating suffering
around the world should serve – not as cause for complacency – but as a
spur to deeper change as its looks to new leadership at the end of this year.
A
Twenty-First century United Nations worthy of the
hopes and aspirations of a new, post -Cold War generation of citizens in every
part of the world must be guided by five central principles -
Reflect
the initiative and innovation of a new generation of leaders driving progress
throughout the world in development, peace and human rights.
From
Shanghai
to Santiago, from
Johannesburg
to
London, we are witnessing the rise of a new generation of builders -- men and
women of every race and creed creating growth and development by harnessing
the potential of globalization for the benefit of their societies. To
succeed in the Twenty-First century, the United
Nations must partner with these forces of progress and modernity.
Serve
as a bridge between cultures and faiths in search of peace and development.
The
ongoing deadly conflicts in the Middle East, and the terrorist attacks of 11
September 2001 and those that have followed them -- from Bali to Madrid
and London to Amman -- have made plain the urgent need to prevent extremism
from succeeding in creating further victims and divisions between peoples.
A
United Nations that understands the sources of these schisms, where they
occur, and can speak to all sides with experience and credibility, can play an
important role in resolving these dangerous conflicts.
Engage
today’s threats as a peacekeeper and mediator with vision and credibility.
The
recent outbreak of war in
Lebanon
and the ongoing conflicts in
Africa
have reminded the world of the UN’s unique legitimacy in restoring peace and
security. Global legitimacy, on its own, however, is not enough.
The
UN must also be effective and principled in the face of war. Only by
applying the lessons of the peacekeeping failures of the 1990s –
Bosnia
and Rwanda
in particular – can it lay claim to being the peacekeeper of the Twenty-First
century.
Advocate
the cause of international justice.
Wherever
peace is threatened and development is imperiled,
the rule of law is the beginning of the answer. The United Nations has played
a central role in promoting the rule of law – both at the national and
international level – but can and must do more to put the rule of law at the
service of the world’s peoples.
Renew
itself at the speed of globalization.
To
deliver on its founding promise, the United Nations must be willing to
challenge its own practices and structures as never before – its governance,
its management, its practices in the field, its willingness to hold itself and
everyone who serves under its flag accountable to the highest standards of
integrity and excellence.
The
Twenty-First century has already brought
immeasurable progress to those societies able to seize on the opportunities of
globalization – the United Nations must learn from them, and become an agent
as well as a beneficiary of that progress.
To
succeed today, the United Nations cannot merely serve as a tool for the large
and powerful countries of the world to dominate the global agenda. Nor
must it be used simply as an instrument of smaller countries to delay or deter
necessary change. Renewed by all and for all in the Twenty-First century, the
United Nations can fulfill its founding promise.
PrinceZeid@MaximsNews.com
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