The international changes associated with the post-cold-war period demand a reinvention of the United Nations. This is a great opportunity for the Millennium Assembly. The structural reform of the United Nations is still unresolved after a decade since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Organization will either occupy a central place as a global institution in the new millennium, or it will cease to be an instrument that is able to confront the big challenges of humanity.

The revitalization of the United Nations suggests the development of an institution capable of accounting for the international changes in relation to the number of actors, including their power capacities and the complex processes involved, such as globalization. The reinforcement of multilateralism through the United Nations will allow for an organization with new characteristics: more plural, greater participation, more legitimacy, better degree of representation, more democratic, updated capacities of administration and finally, increased political weight. This will be translated in the Organization's capacity to change the international environment in order to reach its fundamental objectives.

To date, the United Nations has been maintained inside the inertia of the old world. It is necessary to give a qualitative leap and recognize the new realities characterized by a greater number of State actors, with incremental levels of asymmetry among them (financial, technological, military) which suggests greater inequity. Not only this, the State is no longer the sole actor; it is necessary to recognize the growing presence and influence of transnational organizations. These actors are found immersed in a process in which globalization defines the current trends, and the various means of communication accelerate these processes. Some of the fundamental western values begin to have more weight and world meaning, such as the case of human rights. To face this new reality requires a new institutionalism that takes into account the new realities of power and cooperation.

The principal problems of the world are in fact global and they require a global means of action. Due to this immersion in the process of globalization, we require a global vision. We need to prevent the impact and multiple effects that are disseminated in the diverse regions of the planet, related for example to the environment, health and global financial stability. This capacity does not rest with the State, as powerful as it may be. It is precisely an international institution that is responsible for the design and structure of the well-being of the international community. In this task, electronic devices, such as the Internet, can favour participation and the plurality of visions.

As a fundamental objective, multilateralism has had to resolve the basic anarchy in the relations among central actors. In its framework, there has been agreement on the basic rules and norms that enable a life of cohabitation, thus reducing conflict and promoting cooperation. International law exemplifies this well.

We move on from a strategic-State multilateralism towards one of a societal-State multilateralism and, although it is still disarticulated and disinstitutionalized, it will take precedence in the future. We are faced with an international society in the midst of an emergency. In this new multilateralism, the reduction of sovereignty and the porosity of the nation State expresses itself in all environments; the clearest ones are matters of finance and human rights. National sovereignty does not exist, in a State sense, especially as we advance towards a world where access to various means of communication and exchange is more easily available. The impact of values, in particular those of western origin, have a decisive influence.

The traditional multilateral system is in crisis -- this is expressed in the United Nations, the Organization of American States and the Organization of African Unity. The parliamentary-based international system is in crisis and seeks to be replaced by an ad hoc diplomacy. This is exhausted many times by photo opportunities, without adopting actual or concrete decisions. Therefore, we should advance towards an effective cooperative multilateralism.

Multilateralism can change the reality of the international system and domestic politics. It is the only instrument capable of generating decisions that go beyond the States that conform to the Organization. How can one build such an association? This is a human creation and, therefore, depends upon the political will of the distinct actors who develop it. Without shared values, a political consensus is not possible; and without this, there will be no coordinated action, no existing substantive institution.

The recognition of shared values and its promotion allow for the design and creation of the international community's well-being, the creation of global public well-being -- this is the main task of the twenty-first century. This will enable the objectives of the United Nations to be fulfilled.

The global problems, especially those referred to in the new agenda (matters of finance, the environment, drugs, migration, natural resources and quality of life) cannot confront unilateral politics. No State can resist the impact in and of itself; it requires an action on a world scale. The development of a cooperative multilateralism, and a consequent political will, will enable the creation of a new architecture and new international institutions. As such, it is a special task for the global system and the regional groups, consisting in the design of the international well-being and the creation of an institutional system capable of putting it into practice.