Before the year is out, the United Nations must appoint a new secretary-general. This is an opportunity to be seized, not a misfortune to be endured — precisely because multilateralism is navigating heavy headwinds.The U.N. must rediscover its core mission: guardian of peace and provider of humanitarian relief at the intersection of national sovereignties. That means keeping its distance from the chimera of a world government lacking any democratic legitimacy, and from the dysfunctions of a bloated bureaucratic contraption. It is also the only way — the sole way, I believe — to open the path toward fairer representation within the U.N. system, and within the Security Council in particular. A first step in that direction would be taken with the election of the candidate who, in my view, best embodies such a renewal of the United Nations: Macky Sall, former President of Senegal, a seasoned statesman known for his working method rather than strident rhetoric.
UNITED STATES SHOULD PULL THE PLUG ON UNRWA
As will be true of 1 in 4 human beings by century’s end, he is African. And on the continent — the cradle of humanity — it is customary to remember one’s roots.
The U.N. was born in the aftermath of World War II and its roughly 75 million dead, from the will of the victorious powers, who reserved for themselves a permanent seat on the Security Council and the right of veto.
