The UN's future

Another round of United Nations General Assembly sessions have commenced no doubt with the familiar themes and resolutions cluttering up the agenda this time too.

There will be the resolutions to eliminate economic disparity among member nations, action to deal with climate change and environment and also the world food crisis that dominated the Assembly session last time around.

It would be interesting to see the results of the measures taken by the UN to ward of the food crisis that threatened to cause famine in many countries over the past year. The progress made in bridging disparities in the economic social and development spheres too will be interesting.

The 63rd General Assembly which opened in New York will also examine the topic of UN Reforms which were much looked forward to by poor member countries hoping to wield some clout within the UN system.

Of course the global food crisis is likely to dominate this Assembly session as well. The new president of the UN Miguel D'Escoto Brockman has identified several factors that have contributed to the present world food crisis.

In his opening Address the President said, "at the root of the problem of world hunger is the unequal distribution of purchasing power within and between countries."

It is hoped that the proposal mooted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa for a Food Bank in the Asian region would find resonance at the General Assembly.

This concept if enlarged could see the emergence of a central global agency that would tackle any contingency.

This could go a long way in tiding over the food crisis that may affect all countries in the future.

It is time that the world body borrows concepts from small member countries which account for the bulk of the world's population.

It is time the UN moved away from confining its role to a select Club within the UN system and use its influence to give small countries an equal say. This is why they are looking forward to these reforms.

It is the common belief today that the UN is largely controlled by the world' sole superpower. This is a negation of the basis of the United Nations formed in the aftermath of the Second World War to bring together all fractured nations under its benign influence.

True, the UN has made a massive contribution in the social, economic and cultural sphere and has funded groundbreaking reforms in the health, education and development spheres that have considerably raised the living standards of the people in poor Third World countries.

Its programmes in the fields of nutrition, maternity and child care have led to improvement in the quality of life and social indices in vast swathes of the developing world. But what these people now want is empowerment in a wider perspective viz political, social and economic spheres.

These countries are demanding a fair share of the pie. It is here that these nations are still lagging behind despite all the pious pronouncements made at Assembly sessions over the years.

This time too there will be no dearth of such declamations which has always been the staple of this premier world humanitarian body.

That very little has been done on the ground is evident from the numerous examples before us. The UN this time has laid emphasis on "democratisation of the United Nations" under it's reform programme where the role of international financial institutions, the revitalisation of the assembly and reform of the Security Council will be discussed.

In doing the new President says they will ensure that the United Nations maintains its place as the world's most important and indispensable organisation. The world is not yet privy to the full gamut of this 'democratisation'.

In the wider sense this would mean equal treatment and an even handed approach in dealing with all member countries. But today as is obvious this 'democracy' is applied selectively and the UN has no control over powerful countries.

The veto-wielding US and other countries have defied UN resolutions.

The UN's programmes on disarmament have had no impact on these countries. It is time the UN wakes up from its slumber and assert its authority.

It should ensure this prestigious body formed on the lofty ideals world peace and unity of nations should not be reduced to a glorified talk shop in the same manner of other lesser groupings. What is needed is tangible action to realise the UN's noble ideals.