Kathmandu: As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock urged Member States on Tuesday to uphold the organization’s founding principles and demonstrate why it remains vital in addressing today’s global crises.
Speaking at the opening of the General Assembly’s high-level debate, Baerbock cautioned that the milestone comes at a difficult time, with wars and humanitarian emergencies unfolding in Gaza, Ukraine, Haiti, and elsewhere.
“Faced with these realities, now is not the time to celebrate but to ask ourselves: Where is the United Nations? Clearly, we have to do better,” she said.
Baerbock stressed that failures to resolve conflicts or enforce peace should not be seen as proof of the UN’s irrelevance. Rather, she argued, the shortcomings lie in Member States’ lack of commitment to the UN Charter.
“The Charter, our Charter, is only as strong as Member States’ willingness to uphold it — and their willingness to hold to account those who violate it,” she stated.
Acknowledging that the UN has not always succeeded, Baerbock underscored the indispensable work of agencies such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Sometimes we could have done more. But we cannot let this dishearten us. If we stopped doing the right thing, evil would prevail,” she said, adding that the 80th session must focus on “finding the resolve to not give up…the resolve to be Better Together.”
Recalling the UN’s creation after World War II, the Holocaust, and the era of colonial rule, Baerbock said the institution has long been a “compass pointing toward peace, humanity, and justice.” Though far from perfect, she described its story as one of “falling and rising, of pulling ourselves and each other back up and trying harder.”
Baerbock concluded with a call to action, urging Member States to embrace the same spirit of leadership shown in San Francisco eight decades ago.
“It is up to us, to every single Member State, to live up to the same leadership as our predecessors…to act when action is needed, to uphold the principles of our Charter, to be better together,” she said.
“The United Nations is the life insurance for every country — today, tomorrow, and for the next eight decades.”
(Source: UN News Release)
