Based on more than 50 years of post-Second World War international politics, what could the United Nations offer the world's people? The key expectation that the United Nations will be facing in the years, even decades, ahead is to "put people first", as Matoma, Mills and Stremlau recently observed in their conference proceedings, "Putting People First: African Priorities for the UN Millennium Assembly" (Johannesburg, 2000). The world is no longer an exclusively State-centric order. It is instead a mixed-actor and mixed-issue system in which non-State actors, such as civil society movements, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private sector entities, are competing to dominate the agenda of world politics. The so-called "high politics" of sovereignty, war and peace should be balanced with the so-called "low politics" of justice, reconciliation, the eradication of poverty, the AIDS pandemic and human rights.

In short, there is an urgent need that the United Nations and sovereign States balance State security issues with human security matters and the diplomacy of cooperation. It may in fact be that yesteryear's low politics is fast becoming today's and tomorrow's high politics, so that UN activities and influence should cease to be the exclusive preserve of Governments. The efforts made by the Secretary-General's office to begin a "dialogue series" with international civil society representatives, NGOs and think-tanks are commendable. However, there are aristocratic, elite NGOs who masquerade as "civil society".

Civil society entities are not elected representatives and should not demand inputs into global public policy-making, but should sharpen their influence on international public policy debates. They should be in the forefront of challenging the presumption that foreign aid has lost its utility, and address the issue of what that aid should seek to achieve.

Just as the issue of the dead-beat United Nations Member States should be exposed, so the question of States failing to meet the commitment of 1 per cent of gross domestic product for official development assistance contributions should come under public scrutiny. The Secretary-General may wish to consider establishing a highly representative "civil society advisory committee", made up of no more than 20 civil society leaders. This should go beyond simply engaging NGOs. It would be prudent to also dialogue with captains of global industry, media tycoons and leaders in education.

The people of the world expect to see a more representative Security Council that is able to respond to challenging circumstances, a Council that more appropriately reflects international order, with States that can most guarantee such world order. Strengthening the Council, rather than turning it into a mini General Assembly, should be the priority. The United Nations cannot hope to restore its image as the world's foremost peacemaker without a commitment to keep the very peace that it so readily brokers. Peace comes at a price, and often times that price is to strengthen and consolidate fragile peace initiatives with the requisite actions.

If the experience in Rwanda some six years ago is anything to go by, then the United Nations is in desperate need of becoming more responsible as far as transparency and accountability are concerned. Does it lead by example? Has it learned its lessons? Can it be trusted as the world's parliament?

The United Nations' challenge is to find a balance between the politics of State security and human security and cooperation, with a realistic sense of its own limitations, learning to under-promise and over-deliver, jealous of its own credibility and legitimacy. The Secretary-General should make it a priority to restore the Organization's "moral authority", one that is easily undermined by global powers.

In the final analysis, the Secretary-General and the Secretariat should continue to try, as they have done so steadfastly, to unite the world around a new set of post-cold-war norms, values and principles: that of humanitarianism.

NEXT ARTICLE IN THIS SERIES