The weaknesses of the United Nations in Gaza and Ukraine notwithstanding, Congress MP and former UN Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor has underlined the point that the UN is still invaluable to world peace and coexistence. In his speech at the 15 th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture in Cape Town, South Africa, Tharoor emphasized the fact that UN is not perfect but the world needs the UN to solve international crises and to maintain multilateralism.
Tharoor observed that the global organization was forced to transform into a more representative, responsive and efficient entity, particularly at the time when the global crisis, such as war and environmental degradation need a concerted effort to solve. When citizens are screaming about its failures in the Gaza and Ukraine today, I realize once again that the UN is not flawless or was ever designed to be, but it is absolutely necessary.
Looking back at the thirty years experience of serving at the United Nations between 1978 and 2007, Tharoor remembered how the organisation was revolutionised and how it turned to be a mere arena of cold war in the course of the Cold War to a platform of international collaboration in the post Cold War period. He contributed information about his participation in the UN programs to save refugees, live up to peace-building activities, and address humanitarian disasters.
Tharoor was aware of the achievements as well as the failures of the organisation. He described the efforts of the UN in Rwandan genocide and the way it stood to the occasion, in peace missions in Timor-Leste and Namibia. These, he said, brought him good lessons of strengths and weaknesses of the world body.
Nevertheless, Tharoor pointed out that structural reforms cannot be considered enough. He proposed a moral re-thinking of the UN-or attempt to revitalize values, to increase its credibility, and to shape the 21 st century UN.
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