COMMEMORATING UNITED NATIONS DAY

Oct 29, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

October 24, every year, marks the celebration of United Nations (UN) Day around the world. Founded 72 years ago on that day in 1945, the UN, the world’s premier international organization was created to promote international co-operation and maintain international order among nations.
A replacement for the failed League of Nations, the UN’s primary mission is to preserve world peace and security, prevent wars and settle global conflicts through negotiation or arbitration. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states. The rapid decolonization process in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean after the Second World War significantly increased its membership in the 1960s and the 1970s. Today, the UN has 198 members.
Based on its Charter, the UN has pledged to save succeeding generations from the scourge of World Wars, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow and misery to man-kind. But most important, it pledged to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of people and in the equal rights of men and women of nations large and small.
Its six principal organs, the General Assembly, its main deliberative body; the Security Council which decides certain resolutions for peace and security; the Economic and Social Council, which promotes international economic and social co-operation and development; the Secretariat, whose function is to research and provide studies and the information needed by the UN; the International Court of Justice, its primary judicial organ; and the UN Trusteeship Council have all played major roles in the organization’s seven decades of success.
The theme of this year’s UN commemoration Day is “Global Goals, Local Leaders” to recognize, encourageand support local community efforts to champion the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
It comes at a time when the world needs the UN more than ever to find solutions to the globe’s biggest problems. They include threats of nuclear conflagration due to bellicose world leaders like President Trump of the United States and Kim Jong-un of North Korea, climate change due to global warming, terrorism and a surge in bigoted ideology, all of which are currently conspiring to destabilize world peace and stability.
The hurricanes that ravaged the Caribbean islands are a stark reminder that small states remain at the forefront of the impact of climate change. The UN which has so far succeeded in maintaining world peace and stability could also help the Caribbean and other nations ride the rough waters.
Today, the UN can be proud of the great progress it has made in all of these areas. In many respects, the world today is a safer place than it was seven decades ago. Its various agencies are active in a range of issues both nationally and regionally. Its sustainable development goals have influenced actors in the international sphere on how to relate to climate change.
But there is still clearly a long way to go. In Guyana, we continue to benefit tremendously from the efforts of the UN to settle the 1899 border dispute with Venezuela.
As a nation, we must acknowledge and be thankful of the vital role played by the UN over the years in avoiding a major conflict between the two countries.
And with President Donald Trump calling for reform of the UN, this is likely to become a greater challenge.
The UN is an important forum in which small nations have their voices heard. But for the sake of future generations, the UN must continue to be relevant, powerful and pivotal in the destiny of all nations. It must be lauded for its success.

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