Opinion:
Should UN Day Be an International Public Holiday?
By Thomas B. Kirkbride

UN Photo

At the end of the twentieth century, the world and the United Nations found themselves in deep trouble. Secretary-General Kofi Annan emerges as a positive, optimistic thinker and negotiator, whose total energy is devoted to the implementation of his responsibilities under the United Nations Charter and the Declaration of Human Rights. Regrettably, despite his personal achievements in reducing bureaucracy, costs and inefficiency, financial, material and moral support for his efforts had been sadly lacking, even from those nations which have all the means to provide it and which benefited the most politically, economically and militarily from the outcome of the Second World War. Their membership in the UN for over 50 years has proved beyond doubt to have been to their advantage. Hopefully, a solution to this long-standing unsatisfactory state of affairs has now been found. Fortunately for the UN, significant financial support has been provided at this time of crisis from non-governmental sources, in particular from the charitable resources of industrialist Ted Turner, which recognize and appreciate the value and need of the United Nations.

Entry into the twenty-first century reveals only further deterioration in the world political scene. Deep political unrest continues in the Middle East and on the great continent of Africa, where enormous loss of human life and destruction of property have already taken place. UN peacekeeping efforts are seriously hampered by a lack of trained military personnel, material supplies and financial support. The long-standing economic embargoes placed upon Cuba and Iraq, while having an adverse effect on the quality of life for the people, have failed to achieve their political goals. As a consequence, they have become a constant source of political unrest and resentment. In other parts of the globe, bitter disputes remain like an angry abscess ready to erupt at any time. There is, quite clearly, a vital need for the United Nations and its family of specialized agencies.

Obviously, there is much room for fresh thinking and positive action. No one nation can or possibly is willing to provide solutions to so many complex situations. With the recent technological advances achieved in global communications, virtually leaving the world awash in information, public interest and awareness have been aroused.

The next generation may prove to be more inquisitive and far less willing to accept incomplete, biased, unfair or inept information, or ready to impetuously apply remedies that are so clearly unworkable and merely temporary expedients. It certainly will insist on being accurately and currently informed on international as well as national affairs, and the United Nations will prove indispensable in this regard. The priority currently attached to education at all levels is a most encouraging sign. Better and more accessible education linked with truly factual and unbiased information is the key to progress. To coin a phrase from the late President John F. Kennedy, United Nations Member States should be asking “not what can the UN do for my country, but rather what can my country do for the UN?” All Member States, without exception, need the UN, and the UN needs them if the peoples of the world are to enjoy peace and a reasonable standard of living.

There has to be a change of attitude. The wave of indifference, amounting in some instances to total rejection of the United Nations, has no rational foundation, nor has the fear that national sovereignty may be jeopardized. The financial needs of the Organization are not, as is often and falsely portrayed, a burden on the taxpayers of Member States, especially the largest contributors. The UN contribution towards the maintenance of global peace, economic and social development and other fundamental humanitarian programmes has been and is indispensable. Its role in the fields of human rights, eradication of disease and the settlement of refugees could never have been duplicated by national efforts. Perhaps the passing of time, the pressure of modern daily life or the absence of a worldwide calamity have tended to eclipse the fundamental need for the United Nations. It is always difficult to convince even potential victims that an adequate fire department must be maintained even when there has been no major fire for a long time. Therefore, to bring the United Nations once more forcibly to the attention of the peoples of the world, thought should be given to declaring 24 October - United Nations Day - an international public holiday, with special emphasis being given on that day to the work and role of the United Nations and its family of specialized agencies.

Thomas B. Kirkbride, C.B.E., was the Director of Administration and Financial Service, UN Office at Geneva.