Page 235 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

foundation on which to build. A central lesson from the League of Nations is
that for multilateralism to function well, it must benefit from the broadest
possible involvement. This was not the case for the League and was the primary
reason for the League's demise. Another lesson of fundamental importance is
that to promote peace and security, a comprehensive approach is called for -
one that includes economic, social and cultural, as well as political and military
issues.

From a viewpoint of multilateral diplomacy, the League of Nations made a
tremendous impact. Many of the successful methods we employ today were
created and refined by the League. Also, the classic legal trio of the peaceful
settlement of disputes – conciliation, arbitration, and adjudication - were
developed under the League. Indeed, tomorrow also marks the 50th
anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was directly
inherited from the League. It is the pre-eminent legal tool of the international
community for settling disputes.

Whereas the League spoke of the need to enact meaningful disarmament
measures, the United Nations has begun to move from words to deeds. Certain
weapons are now banned, and others may soon be. Geneva, the home of the
Conference on Disarmament (CD), will, it is hoped, soon see the conclusion of
a treaty to ban further nuclear-weapon tests.

Geneva is also the home of numerous international organizations and
bodies that provide humanitarian and development services and expertise,
many of which are indebted to the League. For example, the League first dealt
with the plight of refugees in 1921.

Comparing the scope of activities of the League with that of the United
Nations offers convincing proof of the growing process of globalization. The
history of multilateral international cooperation in the humanitarian field
started here in Geneva. It gradually expanded into other spheres such as
disarmament and arms regulation, collective security, health care, postal
services, telecommunication, global trade, financial interactions and so on.
Today, the activities of the United Nations and the numerous agencies and
programmes of the UN system cover virtually all major fields of human activity
and international cooperation.

During the last 50 years, the United Nations has sought to make progress
in its approach to the same goals as its predecessor. The United Nations is

213