UN has a mission to build new world order
In the past century, the United Nations (UN) has accomplished a lot and
proved itself to be an irreplaceable international organization. However, it
faces great challenges in the new century in both handling international
affairs and deepening its own internal reforms, because the world has changed
dramatically since it was founded in the middle of the last century.
Political multipolarization and economic globalization will remain the main
trends of the new century. The narrowing of the gap between the strength of
different countries has contributed much to the multipolarization trend.
These trends will help to relax tensions in international relations,
safeguarding world peace and pushing forward the global economy. However, as
the trends increasingly weaken the influences of hegemonism and power
politics, sharp conflicts will occur between old hegemonists and the world's
rising nations. This will be a major challenge for the UN. Another challenge
is the increasingly strong ethnic fragmentation tendency in many multi-ethnic
countries. Fragmentation activities are often backed and even plotted by
certain Western countries, in the name of "protecting human rights" and
"humanitarianism." Western intervention only makes the tendency ferment,
rather than curbs the chaos in these countries. Meanwhile, the UN wants to
eliminate the gap between the rich and the poor, and promote prosperity in
all countries. Economic globalization has ushered in profound changes in
people's lives. It makes global competition even more fierce and will
increase international conflicts over economic interests. Economic
globalization also makes some global problems more serious, such as
transnational crimes, drug trafficking and environmental deterioration. At
present, the fruits of globalization are mainly enjoyed by a few developed
countries. Most of the world's macroeconomic policies are formed by rich
countries. Obviously, the UN has a huge responsibility to ensure all nations,
and not just a few, benefit from globalization. Some Western countries have
agreed to donate some of their gains from economic globalization to their
poorer cousins. But their aid to developing countries should not be seen as a
gift. It is really a duty because they have enjoyed the main fruits of
globalization. The gulf between the South and the North will be even wider if
the UN fails to build a fair and just international economic order. Although
last year's UN millennium summit drafted a blueprint for the UN's work in the
new century, it did not put forward clear goals and principles about
establishing new global political and economic orders. Most developing
countries wish to build a fair international order where all countries, big
or small, will be equal. However, the US-led Western world aims to play a
leading role in global issues by strengthening their military alliances and
implementing Western values around the world. Contradictions over the
international order, the world's most fundamental issue, will influence the
UN's development in the future. Moreover, disputes over the purposes and
principles of the UN Charter will continue in the long-term. It is generally
accepted by developing countries that the principles of the UN Charter, such
as respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the peaceful settlement
of international rifts, and non-interference into other country's internal
affairs, are the foundation for world peace and safety. However, some Western
countries claim that these principles are outdated and trumpet their own
theories, such as the neo-interventionism of the former US President Clinton,
to justify their desire to meddle in other countries' internal affairs. Since
1999, Western diplomats have frequently peddled ideologies such as "priority
of human rights over sovereignty" and "human rights are boundless" in UN
meetings. They maintain that protecting human rights is the priority of all
UN missions. This logic is not strictly in keeping with the UN Charter and is
unacceptable to developing countries. The UN Charter defines safeguarding
world peace and safety, developing international friendship and promoting
international co-operation as the fundamental tasks of the organization.
Protection of human rights is included in the Charter, but is by no means the
UN's key mission. Some Western countries try to seek legal ground for their
interference in other countries' internal affairs under the excuse of "human
rights." But in fact they have sidestepped the UN, taking military action to
deal with some regional armed conflicts, despite the UN Charter's stipulation
that regional organizations should not take any peacekeeping steps before
getting a mandate from the UN Security Council. Peacekeeping activity in
Kosovo, which is completely controlled by the US-led NATO, is an example. To
some extent, the role of the UN will be decided by how it deals with regional
organizations. A remarkable trend is that military measures are increasingly
highlighted in UN peacekeeping activities. This is against the peaceful
spirit of the UN Charter and will sap the UN's image as a peace guard. In the
new century, the UN should play an even more significant role in
co-ordinating countries to make concerted efforts to tackle common
challenges. Safeguarding world peace and safety should remain the UN's key
mission. On the one hand, a strong military force is needed to guarantee
security. On the other hand, however, the UN should promote disarmament and
curb any arms race. Besides the issue of peace, the problems of economic
development will take an increasingly important position in the UN's agenda.
The UN needs to reform its Economic and Social Council to make it more
authoritative in global economic fields. It should readjust its relationship
with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade
Organization, the world's leading financial and trade organizations dominated
by Western countries. The UN should increase its clout with them to gain more
economic interests for developing countries. Non-governmental organizations
as well as transnational corporations have been an increasingly strong force
in the international arena since the Cold War ended. The UN needs to
strengthen co-operation and communications with them in order to better
handle global issues. As globalization links different countries closer and
closer, the UN is no longer merely a political body to maintain world peace
and safety. The UN has a real responsibility to establish a new political and
economic order to co-ordinate global issues. The author is vice-director of
the World Affairs Research Centre with Xinhua News Agency
