August 11, 2005
United Nations Reformation Potential
There is a reformation underway at the United Nations and the US finally has a voice to be a part of that discussion. Reform is needed to combat the loss of a vital asset: “the perception that [the UN] is relevant to the challenges confronting the international community”. There is a “credibility gap between the responsibilities associated with it by the international community and what the organization does and is actually capable of doing in practice.” It is difficult to be a relevant voice on the world stage if you are incapable of acting effectively on the very things you hold up as mission critical.
This hasn’t always been the case though. Chris Wallace argues in his book “Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage” that if the predecessor to the UN, the League of Nations, would have come to fruition that WWII could have been avoided. Just the same, UN advocates appeal to “the calming presence [that] kept the world sane and safe from the unspeakable horrors of a World War III” during the Cold War. Advocates continue, as it is the “only extant forum for talking over our problems instead of fighting over them.” Clearly the United Nations has served a purpose and been a positive influence in the world in the 60 years it has been around.
Where are they now?
Even advocates admit, “[t]here is plenty to complain about at the United Nations...” and they are a “group of wildly different and extremely self-interested representatives”. “The United Nations could certainly be improved…To make the institution better, the Bush administration would first have to show that it has a vision of what the UN could be.”
What is that vision?
President Bush said, “[T]o advance peace and liberty and human rights…to be a source of hope and dignity and peace.” Ambassador Bolton’s mission will be “to help the U.N. reform itself to renew its founding promises for the 21st century… make it clear that America values the potential of the United Nations” to fulfill this vision.
What does this mean for the next 60 years and beyond?
I have a vision for the future as well. As I see it the promise of freedom and liberty for the world and the spread of democracy across the globe will culminate in a single world government body. This will be a true united nation with branches of government that contain an executive, legislative and judicial body. The foundations of these ideas are being laid now, but it is certainly not time for it to come to fruition.
The League of Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, United Nations, European Union, International Criminal Court, World Trade Organization, United States of America and perhaps some day the United Nations Republic to guide them all. A democratically ruled republic of every free nation in the world guided by principles of hope, peace, human rights, dignity, liberty and freedom for all.
A dream? Perhaps. A challenge? No doubt. A potential? You tell me.
SOURCES
The United Nations: Fractured
By Lisa Marchese and Rachel Simmon
Over the last few decades it has lost one of its most powerful assets: the perception that it is relevant to the challenges confronting the international community.
Like most organizations (both public and private) that face a reputation or brand crisis, the UN has a credibility gap between the responsibilities associated with it by the international community and what the organization does and is actually capable of doing in practice.
Bolton appointment a sharp poke in Congress' eye
By Jim Wright
As for the United Nations, I'd hate to think of our world without it. It is the only extant forum for talking over our problems instead of fighting over them.
There can be little doubt that throughout those long, tense years of the Cold War, the calming presence of the United Nations kept the world sane and safe from the unspeakable horrors of a World War III.
Ambassador Bolton
By Bob Herbert
There is plenty to complain about at the United Nations, but real work happens there, and it requires the services of men and women who know how to wring agreement out of a group of wildly different and extremely self-interested representatives.
The United Nations could certainly be improved…To make the institution better, the Bush administration would first have to show that it has a vision of what the UN could be.
Remarks By The President In Announcing John Bolton As Ambassador To The United Nations
Posted by price at August 11, 2005 04:26 PM | TrackBackAs a result, America has now gone more than six months without a permanent ambassador to the United Nations. This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform...
Ambassador Bolton believes passionately in the goals of the United Nations Charter, to advance peace and liberty and human rights. His mission is now to help the U.N. reform itself to renew its founding promises for the 21st century…And he'll make it clear that America values the potential of the United Nations to be a source of hope and dignity and peace.