Can We Put The “United” Back Into the United Nations?

Today, both Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President Obama, in their respective speeches, made a similar point: The world most pressing challenges can only be solved when countries unite through the United Nations.

“Now is our time. A time to put the “united” back into the United Nations. Simultaneous crisis on multiple fronts- food, energy, recession and pandemic flue- have shown the importance of multilateralism,” said Ban Ki-moon.

For his part, President Obama said it was critical for countries to give meaning to the promise embedded in the name given to the institution: The United Nations. President Obama said that the absolute necessity of cooperation among states was illustrated by what he sees as the four biggest challenges of our era; promote non-proliferation and disarmament; the fight against climate change; the Middle-East conflict; the struggle to recover from the global economic crisis.

“That is the future America wants. A future of peace and prosperity that we can only reach if we recognize that all nations have rights, but all nations have responsibilities as well. We have reached a pivotal moment. The US stands ready for a new chapter in international cooperation. The UN can be either a place where we bicker about outdated grievances, or forge common ground; a place where we focus on what drives us apart, or what bring us together; a place where we indulge tyranny, or a source of moral authority. In short, the UN can be an institution that is disconnected from what matters in the lives of our citizens, or it can be indispensable in advancing the interests of the people we serve,” said President Obama.

The current President of the General Assembly, Ali Treki from Libya, put the accent on multilateralism in his speech.

“Multilateralism is the way forward to address global common shared problems, and it is also the only way to ensure effective collective action,” said Ali Treki.

President Obama’s and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s speeches  were both inspiring. However, is this just empty rhetoric on their parts or are we going to finally see some real resolves to tackle the crucial problems of today’s world? All the problems and crisis  mentioned by Secretary  Ban Ki-moon and President Obama are global in essence, and the only way to address them is with a global and multilateral approach to solutions. The only institution with the mandate to do just that is the United Nations. The first big test for President Obama will be to see how forceful he can be in the context of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, and if  any of his beautiful words and great intentions can translate  into concrete actions.

To read President Obama’s full speech click here.