The United Nations and Its Discontents—An Academic View
While the next Secretary-General will face serious leadership challenges in nourishing the Organization and keeping it agile, the critical determinants of the future for the United Nations remain the Permanent Five, each of which may or may not be willing to face the urgent need for meaningful change.
A New Agenda
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.
Reflections on the UN at 70
Forty years with the United Nations taught me many lessons, but one remains foremost in my mind, that healthy and sustainable societies are based on three pillars: peace and security, sustainable development, the rule of law and respect for human rights. There can be no long-term security without development; there can be no long-term development without security; and no society can long remain prosperous without the rule of law and respect for human rights.
A Key United Nations Moment and its Lessons
In the spirit of the times, something of a clamour for transparency and participation is rising. That is understandable, but it reflects a misunderstanding of the nature and texture of the position and the role of the Security Council. The Secretary-General must play a crucial role as a partner of the Council if the system is to work....
A Time for Bold Reforms
In this 70th anniversary year, the United Nations must show itself to be mature and responsible enough to make bold reforms that can secure its long-term effectiveness. It must also exhibit humility and engage with ordinary citizens in its Member States, listen to their views, recognize their respective contributions to development, and show that it is relevant to their lives, and to the lives and prospects of their children.
Three Simple Fixes for the Next 70 Years
In 2015, at the 70th anniversary of the birth of the United Nations, it is time to change that and to create a workplace in which talent, skill and determination can translate more easily into meaningful results. Here are some thoughts how.
Looking Back, Moving Forward
Business-as-usual will not lead the world to a sustainable development path and will not allow us to respond to the new and emerging challenges. As the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon phrased it in his Stanford address in 2013, There can be no Plan B because there is no planet B.
Seventy Years of the United Nations
I am confident that the United Nations, our United Nations, will continue to lead in innovation so that we reach the aim of the Charter for life in larger freedom.
Preventing the Use of Child Soldiers, Preventing Genocide
With the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 2171 (2014), the Security Council committed itself to better utilizing all tools of the United Nations system to ensure that warning signs of impending bloodshed translated into 'concrete preventative action' (United Nations, 2014). Such action may be illustrated in prioritizing the protection of children on the peace and security agenda, which could warn us of possible genocide.
Strong UN. Better World.
I have chosen to highlight the United Nations role in women's issues because it is an area in which progress has been made, and I was privileged to play some part. The role of a female pioneer is not easy: your performance has to be much greater than that of your male counterparts, and you are painfully aware that it is not just your personal career that is at stake, but also the prospects of other women who would like to follow in your footsteps.
The First 70 Years of the United Nations: Achievements and Challenges
The humanitarian challenges continue to be daunting, especially with the rising number of people displaced not only by conflict, but by a complex range of factors including climate change. Yet, whatever their criticisms, few see any body other than the United Nations capable of leading and coordinating the response.
The UN at 70 and the Ongoing Quest for Gender Equality
Thanks to the determined contribution and vision of pioneering women (and men) throughout its history, gender equality and women's human rights have always been central to the three pillars of the work of the United Nations: peace and security, development, and human rights.
Independence and Impartiality as the Heart and Soul of the Secretary-General
When I attempt to distill my experience to its most precious essence, I come up with a single word: independence. That word encapsulates what gave me the strength and the ability to make a positive difference regarding a number of seemingly intractable issues that had bedeviled the international community, defying solution for years and years.
For We, The Peoples...
Dag Hammarskjöld's integrity, determination and tireless work to adapt the Organization and find solutions through constructive application of the Charter remains a source of inspiration and a guiding compass.
From Rhetoric to Reality
The United Nations provides us with a standard of values and norms, together with the tools to implement them. It has advanced resoundingly from a State-centred system of traditional international law, based on the pre-eminence of State sovereignty, into a norm-based institution. Its goals are clear: while respecting the freedom of sovereign States, it is also dedicated to protecting and promoting peace, security, development, rule of law and human rights for the people of the world.