Page 154 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

Much has been said of the effects of the Cold War had on the
Organization. While the Cold War prevented the UN from being utilized to its
fullest potential as a centre of agreed actions the United Nations nevertheless
provided an important forum during a time of global confrontation. The end of
the Cold War has brought in its wake a renewed vigour to the United Nations
and has enabled Member States to undertake numerous activities in the
promotion of peace, development and democracy that previously had been
dismissed as “wishful thinking”.

Concerning the present, the conditions that both permit and cause the UN
activities io be undertaken in the first place are of no less significance than the
UN activities themselves. The cessation of the Cold War is only the tip of the
iceberg: for a civilizational change is discernible. This change is comprehensive
and encompasses both inter-State and inter-human relations.

The UN does not intend to support the status quo. Rather. its task is to
channel the change in a non-violent evolutionary, and democratic manner and
minimize the deleterious effects that civilizational changes often create. With
these aims in mind the Secretary-General, at the behest and with the support of
the 185 Member States. has issued three reports that crap out a coherent State.
The reports recognize that no nation, however secure militarily or economically
at the present time, can consider itself immune from destabilizing conditions
elsewhere in the world. Peace promotion is no longer limited to the absence,
prevention, or cessation of armed conflict. It also requires multifaceted and
coordinated development efforts based on international cooperation. Democ-
racy is the best guarantee that peace and development will be realized.

The United Nations has the necessary infrastructure - both the hardware
and the software - to achieve these ends. Convening international meetings
forces governmental leaders and their bureaucracies to address difficult issues.
It generates increased public and media interest that keeps the issues higher on
the agenda than might otherwise have been. Grass roots organizations and
other interested parties in civil society can - and do - use public statements and
accords signed at such meetings as a means to hold governments accountable.
The World Summit for Social Development, that concluded last week
illustrates this process. Like all other major conferences, the Summit set
standards that give the United Nations additional legitimacy to demand
subsequent actions.

The United Nations also undertakes numerous and far-reaching “hands-
on” programmes. Here in Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for

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