Statement asks great things of the United Nations
The United Nations marked its 75th anniversary on 21 September 2020. A Bahá’í World News Service report, reproduced below, announces an official statement from the Faith for this occasion. Also on this page, we present remarks by the UN Secretary-General, as well as a report by the UN collated from the input of thousands of peoples in scores of countries of the world, entitled “The Future We Want: The United Nations We Need”, which is attached as a PDF.
BIC marks 75 years of UN, envisages path to just global order
21 September 2020
Printed copies of “A Governance Befitting” are available from Bahá’í Distribution Service at cost price (plus postage). For details, please see the BDS website.
BIC NEW YORK — As the United Nations marks its 75th anniversary, the Bahá’í International Community (BIC) has released a statement on the occasion. That the UN has persisted in spite of numerous challenges and has so far lasted three times the 25-year lifespan of the League of Nations—humanity’s first serious attempt at global governance—is an impressive accomplishment, says the BIC.
The statement highlights the need for systems of global cooperation to be strengthened if humanity is to address the serious challenges of our time and seize the immense opportunities of the coming years for progress.
It explores elements necessary for a movement toward enduring, universal peace, including: the acknowledgement of the oneness and interdependence of the human family; a genuine concern for all, without distinction; the ability of nations to learn from one another, and a willing acceptance of setbacks and missteps as inevitable aspects of the learning process; and, the conscious effort to ensure that material progress is connected to spiritual and social progress.
“Collaboration is possible on scales undreamt of in past ages, opening unparalleled prospects for progress,” the statement reads. “The task before the community of nations… is to ensure that the machinery of international politics and power is increasingly directed toward cooperation and unity.”
The BIC, in its statement, sees this to be an opportune moment for the international community to begin building consensus about how it can better organize itself, suggesting several initiatives and innovations that may be worthy of further consideration. For example, a world council on future affairs that could institutionalize consideration of how policies might impact generations to come and give attention to a range of issues such as preparedness for global crises, the use of emerging technologies, or the future of education or employment.
Titled “A Governance Befitting: Humanity and the Path Toward a Just Global Order,” the statement is being released to coincide with the UN General Assembly’s commemoration today of the 75th anniversary. It was sent today to the Secretary General of the UN and to the ambassadors of Member States.
Coming at a time when the global health crisis has prompted a deeper appreciation of humanity’s interdependence, this anniversary year has given rise to discussion about the role of international structures and reforms that can be made to the UN.
The statement is one of several contributions the BIC is making to these discussions. It will continue its exploration of the profound themes in the statement at an online meeting next month with UN officials and ambassadors.
[The above article can be found on the Baha’i World News Service website at https://news.bahai.org/story/1451/]
Secretary-General's remarks at General Assembly Ceremony marking the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations
[Watch the video on webtv.un.org]
The ideals of the United Nations – peace, justice, equality and dignity — are beacons to a better world.
But the Organization we celebrate today emerged only after immense suffering.
It took two world wars, millions of deaths and the horrors of the Holocaust for world leaders to commit to international cooperation and the rule of law.
That commitment produced results.
A Third World War – which so many had feared — has been avoided.
Never in modern history have we gone so many years without a military confrontation between the major powers.
This is a major achievement of which Member States can be proud – and which we must all strive to preserve.
Down the decades, there have been other historic accomplishments, including:
Peace treaties and peacekeeping
Decolonization
Human rights standards – and mechanisms to uphold them
The triumph over apartheid
Life-saving humanitarian aid for millions of victims of conflict and disaster
The eradication of diseases
The steady reduction of hunger
The progressive development of international law
Landmark agreements to protect the environment and our planet
Most recently, unanimous agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change provide an inspiring vision for the 21st century.
Yet there is still so much to be done.
Of the 850 delegates to the San Francisco Conference, just 8 were women.
Twenty-five years since the Beijing Platform for Action, gender inequality remains the greatest single challenge to human rights around the world.
Climate calamity looms.
Biodiversity is collapsing.
Poverty is again rising.
Hatred is spreading.
Geopolitical tensions are escalating.
Nuclear weapons remain on hair-trigger alert.
Transformative technologies have opened up new opportunities but also exposed new threats.
The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the world’s fragilities.
We can only address them together.
Today we have a surplus of multilateral challenges and a deficit of multilateral solutions.
I welcome the General Assembly’s 75th anniversary declaration and commitment to reinvigorate multilateralism.
You have invited me to assess how to advance our common agenda, and I will report back with analysis and recommendations.
This will be an important and inclusive process of profound reflection.
Already we know that we need more — and more effective — multilateralism, with vision, ambition and impact.
National sovereignty —a pillar of the United Nations — goes hand-in-hand with enhanced international cooperation based on common values and shared responsibilities in pursuit of progress for all.
No one wants a world government – but we must work together to improve world governance.
In an interconnected world, we need a networked multilateralism, in which the United Nations family, international financial institutions, regional organizations, trading blocs and others work together more closely and more effectively.
We also need as the President said, an inclusive multilateralism, drawing on civil society, cities, businesses, local authorities and more and more on young people.
The Secretariat marked this anniversary with a global conversation that reached more than a million people around the world, with a special focus on the voices of youth.
They shared their fears and hopes for the future.
They said international cooperation is vital to deal with today’s challenges.
They highlighted that Covid-19 has made such solidarity more urgent. And they stressed that the world needs health systems and basic services for all.
People are fearful about the climate crisis, poverty, inequality, corruption and systemic racial and gender discrimination.
They see the United Nations as a vehicle to make the world a better place.
And they count on us to meet today’s tests.
That responsibility lies above all with Member States.
Member States established the United Nations and have a duty to embrace it, nourish it and provide it with the tools to make a difference.
We owe this to “we the peoples”.
We owe it to the peacekeepers, diplomats, humanitarian personnel, and others who sacrificed their lives advancing common values.
I salute all staff, past and present, for their dedication in bringing the ideals of the United Nation to life.
Our Organization’s founders began their work during the heat of conflict.
Now it falls to us to chart our way out of danger.
In the words of our Charter, let us “combine our efforts to achieve these aims” as United Nations.
Thank you.
