Rima Khalaf is Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

A New Agenda

© UN-ESCWA

The 70th anniversary of the United Nations presents an opportunity to take stock, recognizing our successes and acknowledging our shortcomings. The United Nations has indisputably made the world a better place over the past seven decades. We have succeeded in making the world recognize the wealth in its pluralism and diversity. For the first time in history, a consensus around human equality has been forged. No race or culture can claim to exclusively represent human civilization.