A doctrinal vision about the United Nations

We have the privilege of presenting to the readers of Timpul a remarkable recent book entitled Liberating the United Nations:Realism with Hope, signed by Richard Falk and Hans von Sponeck ,with a Foreword by Dr. Walden Bello and an Afterword by Ahmet Davutoğlu.The book was published by Stanford University Press,California, USA,in 2024,has +432 pages covering four parts, 12 chapters, notes,selected bibliography and a detailed index. The book articulates the United Nations (UN) current importance, while addressing the urgency of its reform to better deal with global challenges, including international conflcts, humanitarian and ecological catastrophes, pandemics, and mass migration.

The first author, Richard Falk is Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University,served as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967. He is the author of Public Intellectual (2021).

The second author,Hans von Sponeck is a former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and served as UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq. He is the author of A Different Kind of War (2006).

The preface signed by Richard Falk and Hans von Sponeck opens as follows :” As we write, the United Nations is more needed than ever before and yet less relevant as a political actor than at any time since its establishment in 1945. Our intention in this book is to interpret this disturbing paradox, and what may be done to overcome it.”(p. xv)

What specifically does this work offer to the readers? The two authors answer this question by asserting that “ It tries its best to document the failures of the UN without overlooking its positive contributions to peace and justice. Our intention is to make a case for supporting the UN as an indispensable feature of twenty- fi rst- century world order. Our effort is to explore feasible ways to strengthen the UN so that it might better serve the purposes of the UN Charter while being mindful of global challenges that have emerged over the decades, some of which are now reaching crisis proportions. The world has changed in fundamental technological, geopolitical, social, cultural, political, ecological, and ethical ways over the course of the seventy- five- plus years that the UN has been in existence, and yet the UN structure remains largely frozen in the global setting that was present at the time of its founding.”(p. xxv)
In this short chronique , because of space limitations, we will focus only on the main proposals advanced by the authors while answering the question “What kind of a UN would exist if recommendations made over the years by a majority of UN member states in the General Assembly had resulted in actual reforms?”(p.373)

The volume advances cogent considerations according to which during the current century there is general agreement in the Security Council that reforms can no longer be delayed. Voices for Security Council reforms are growing louder during these times of extremely tense relations. “There is little agreement, however, about details regarding key issues such as categories of membership, the veto, regional representation, enlargement, and the relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly.”(p.296)

The analysis is realistic and the conclusion is not optimistic.The authors write :” Should the Security Council not be adapted, it would remain incapable of discharging its primary responsibility, “the maintenance of peace and security,” making the UN virtually irrelevant at a time when the world order faces increasing conditions of disorder and is faced with urgent needs for multilateral cooperation.” (p.298)

At the same time, the book has very interesting suggestions about the General Assembly in which all 193 UN Member States are represented. It is appropriately reminded that the UN Charter, despite granting special powers to the Security Council, nevertheless gives the General Assembly the right to debate issues that “endanger international peace and security” and to alert the Security Council accordingly.(p.303)

Is is well known that the General Assembly acts as a plenary body, but has also six functional committees with the mandate to assist it and member states in dealing with a broad spectrum of issues ranging from political, disarmament, security, environment, to economic, financial, social, human rights and cultural heritage, as well as administrative, budgetary, and legal issues. It is suggested that the General Assembly should carefully review whether the existing committees adequately cover or wastefully duplicate the treatment of priority issues of global, regional, national, and institutional importance to allow the General Assembly to adapt better its operations to global developments.

More specifically, it is considered that the committees on disarmament and international security could be merged, and so could the special political and decolonization committees, the economic and financial committees, and the social, humanitarian, and cultural committees. At the same time, an additional subsidiary General Assembly working group should be added to cover issues of climate change, sustainable development, ecological stability, environmental protection, and governance. (p.304)

The whole book contains frequent references to the role of the five permanent members of the Security Council : China, France, Russia United Kingdom and United States (P5). In this respect, the authors affirm expressis verbis that “The strengthening of the UN depends crucially on persuading the US and other P5 members to approach the UN in more law- abiding and fiscally accountable ways that manifest a growing sensitivity to adopting global approaches to global problems. Persuasion will not be easy. The US approach to the UN has been consistently responsive to narrowly defined national interests, geopolitical ambitions, and domestic pressures that take precedence over international needs and ethical standards in American foreign policy.”(p.310)

A significant critical observation is formulated which deserves to be reproduced in toto. It says :” Despite important achievements, the General Assembly has had considerable difficulties in prioritizing its agenda and promoting practical results whenever its attempts run contrary to P5 strategic interests. The General Assembly invests substantial time and energy in efforts that members additional to the P5 have consistently opposed, as well as often failing to find bridges to overcome or minimize the divide between the developed and the developing world.”(p.313)

According to Dr. Walden Bello , who signed the Foreword to this book,”The challenge is to further dis- embed the United Nations and the multilateral system from Western hegemony while avoiding its becoming entangled with or subordinated to the interests of another hegemon. The goal is to make the UN and the multilateral system more and more relatively
autonomous from global power relations.”(p.xxix)

From the final conclusions of the last chapter of the book under review we retain an instructive assessment :” If the UN is ever empowered to meet those fundamental moral, legal, peace and security challenges that gave rise to its establishment, it will have to overcome or at least minimize persisting state- centrism and geopolitical rights of exception. This presupposes a transformed internationalist mindset that is much more committed to shaping a global order based on a reformed UN Charter than has existed previously. For this to happen will require political honesty, patience, courage, and cooperation between states and civil society and, most importantly, accountability at all levels.”(p.318)

This is an implicit invitation for further meditation about the future of the UN System which is addressed to diplomats, international civil servants, professors and students.In this intellectual exercise it is recommendable to take into account a learning suggested by this book, according to which “ international problem- solving depends on global mechanisms capable of engendering global solidarity as a hopeful sign of reinvigorated appreciation that human betterment depends on a stronger UN with greater lawmaking and policy- implementing capabilities.”(p.291)

At the end of this short chronique , we believe it is appropriate to reproduce the opinion expressed by one of its first readers- H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu,Ambassador/Chief Advisor, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey .
In his Afterword to this book, he noted inter alia that “Written by two wise men who have lived through the critical processes of the UN from the Cold War to the present and defended UN values under all circumstances, this book deals with the challenges faced by the UN and its normative and structural reform processes. It is a must- read contribution.”(p.353)

While joining this opinion, we find necessary to add that this book could be useful to the delegates attending the current 79th session of the UN General Assembly which has on its agenda 178 items to be considered during a period characterized by global vulnerabilities, perplexities and discontinuities at the planetary level.

As emphasized by António Guterres,Secretary-General of the United Nations,the 79th session of the UN General Assembly takes place at a challenging moment for Member States as conflicts rage, the climate catastrophe gathers pace, poverty and inequality continue to blight lives, and division and polarization increase. The session will open with the Summit of the Future – an opportunity for world leaders to reboot multilateral collaboration fit for the twenty-first century and to tackle new challenges emerging on to the global landscape.

As 193 UN Member States work together during this session, the objective of a more peaceful and sustainable world is their guiding light.Indeed, the General Assembly stands as a unique and vital convening body and platform for action in a divided and troubled world. With the commitment of all, it can build bridges towards common solutions.

Ioan Voicu

Doctor in political sciences (international law) of Geneva University (1968); Doctor honoris causa in international law of Assumption University of Thailand (1998); alternate representative of Romania to the United Nations Security Council (1990-1991); Ambassador of Romania to the Kingdom of Thailand and permanent observer to international organizations based in Bangkok (1994-1999); Visiting Professor in Assumption University of Thailand (2000-2019).