After two months working at the Office of the President of the General Assembly, this program has allowed me not only to understand the work of the Peace and Security team to which I have been assigned, but also to gain deeper understanding about the main ongoing processes in United Nations. I have attended debates in the Security Council, ECOSOC and the GA and there I have become more aware of fundamental obstacles that face the UN system as well as its main achievements, to deliver on its mandate.
In the General Committee, I could witness the call on of member states to keep the central place of SDG Summit in the High-Level Week, the attempt to throw back regular meetings of the Committee to avoid transparency, and the massive workload that many missions, especially those from small island developing states and least developing countries face ahead of the following UNGA session.
Furthermore, I realized how polarized and politicized are some topics in UN debates and the negative effects that those trends provoke to the enshrinement of the three pillars of the organization. Peacefully resolution of conflicts, compromises to fight climate change and commitments to assure official assistance to development are constantly sidelined and superseded to political strategies. Member states keep spending more resources in arms than in promoting sustainable development.
Even in this scenario and not exempt of contradictions, there is still room for understanding. Few days ago, Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), a landmark treaty, finally came to live after 20 years of negotiations. This legally binding document enabled member states to address growing threats to biodiversity in Areas Beyond Transnational Jurisdiction, such as climate change, pollution, including plastic pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction, ocean acidification, and underwater noise.
This process testifies that the UN and member states cannot longer turn their backs to growing global challenges. Multilateralism remains the best existing scenario for having our voices heard and the fundamental tool to found common solutions to our global problems.
