Page 257 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

Astern of international politics and diplomacy, are too big to deal easily with
the increasingly complex problems that their citizens face day-to-day, while at
the same time they are too small to deal on their own with global issues.
Indeed, some States have “failed” or are “failing.”

Paradoxically, while technologies are advancing that permit the instanta-
neous flow of information that are bringing us closer together, at the same time
we are witnessing groups intent on highlighting their differences and seeking to
exclude others - in some instances denying them equal rights - even their lives.
Let there be no mistake: people who seek strength by excluding others, who
preach intolerance, and who advocate violence, are not preparing
themselves for the future - they are living in the past. The closest example of
this is the former Yugoslavia - a political and human tragedy which has brought
shame to the whole international community, and particularly to us Europeans
at the end of the twentieth century.

Finding “solutions” to these political problems and humanitarian tragedies
is not easy. Even when the political will does exist, it alone often cannot resolve
matters. The interdependence of our world is such that national policies and
actions affect not just a locality, state or country, but also have an effect on the
social organization of the world as a whole. Solutions require international
a
cooperation and collaboration on scale which we - as yet - only rarely have
achieved. Today, the United Nations, together with Governments - both big
and small - and along with the many different sectors of what we call civil
society, have to work in concert if the daunting challenges of the present and of
the future are to be met even with a reasonable chance of success.

* * *

The United Nations, an organization borne from the ashes of World War
II, continues to provide the best means to achieve our shared goals. Though,
during the Cold War the United Nations was prevented from being utilized to
its fullest potential as a centre of agreed actions, one should not minimize or
forget the crucial and constructive function the Organization performed. It
provided a forum to “jaw jaw” rather than resort to “war war” - which, as
Winston Churchill once said, is always preferable. But the UN does not just
serve as a safety valve, which allows its Members to let off steam: It also
provides an invaluable safety net.

The end of the Cold War brought in its wake a renewed vigour to the
United Nations and enabled Member States to undertake numerous activities

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