UN marks 75 years

“We are not here to celebrate,” world leaders say in a declaration signed Monday, as they met in a digital high-level meeting during the UN General Assembly. “Our world is not yet the world our founders envisaged 75 years ago.”

New York is not what it usually is this time of year, either. Normally, during the General Assembly, world leaders and their delegations would fill UN headquarters. And this year should have been special, with the UN marking its 75th birthday. But with the Covid-19 restrictions preventing travelling av gatherings, the UN Secretary-General is left as the only guest in his own birthday party.

“Multilateralism is not an option, but a necessity,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in his opening statement on Monday. “As we mark the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, it is clear that the world has high expectations of us, as the main platform for multilateralism and cooperation on a rules-based international system.”

In the declaration that was adopted in the high-level meeting, the leaders of the world promised “reinvigorated multilateralism.” Many of the challenges the world is facing are interconnected and need common action. The world is “plagued by growing inequality, poverty, hunger, armed conflicts, terrorism, insecurity, climate change and pandemics”, they said, pointing at Covid-19 as a wake-up call for improving international crises management.

All this calls for greater action, not less, world leaders agreed. And the good news is that they commit to working together for a stronger United Nations. On Friday 25 September, a peace dove was rerelased from the Nobel Peace Center, carrying the Good News of the Week.