Page 133 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

6. Next year the UN will celebrate its 50th Anniversary. During this half а
century of global activities the World Organization had both achievements as
well as failures. Throughout the Cold War the UN's major problem was the
lack of confidence - it was often perceived as merely the place for ideological
struggles. Now the UN has another problem - that of overexpectations. What-
ever trouble happens, be it а natural disaster, а regional conflict or а case of
violation of human rights, the first appeal for help is usually addressed to the
UN. However, the resources of the Organization are limited, already over-
stretched and often it simply cannot handle the growing tasks assigned to it.

7. As you know the UN has three decision-making bodies - the General
Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. It also
has an executive arm - the UN Secretariat. However, sometimes speaking about
the UN people tend to identify it only with the Secretariat. This often causes
misunderstanding and confusion. If something goes wrong there is а trend to
blame the UN and depicting it as an independent body with its own agenda,
which is not true. The UN is not а world government. It is an instrument in the
hands of the Governments of its 184 Member States which enables them to
solve their common problems. All the activities of the Organization are strictly
supervised by the Member States who not only make the decisions but also
play а substantive role in their implementation. It is always easier to criticize а
concrete person or an organization than to admit that the Member States did
not provide the means or did not have will to solve а particular problem.

8. On the other hand, the tool itself can be enhanced. In recent years the
UN General Assembly is actively studying the means of reforming the Organi-
zation and improving the ways the Member States interact within it. The
reform will be implemented by the 50th Anniversary of the UN. This will be an
important event for the Organization. For us in the UN this is not the time for
birthday parties and festivities. We plan to commemorate the Anniversary with
some serious projects to review what has been done by the World Organization
during these years and how it can improve its work. We also plan to use this
event to strengthen the public awareness and understanding of the UN activi-
ties and deepen support for the Organization. Among the different events there
is one to which I would like to draw your attention. This is the Geneva Youth
Forum which will be convened on 30 June 1995. It is planned that many im-
portant issues will be discussed at the Forum, for example: how to protect the
environment and how the young people can participate in this work; what is
sustainable development and is there any alternative to it; should youth organi-
zations interfere in political conflicts, etc. I hope to see you in this important
meeting and contribute to the discussion.

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