Dr. Arvind Kumar
With the 75th anniversary of UN reining the call for inclusion, cohesion and community resilience, multilateral collaboration is a key to restore its lost glory. Following the words of Antonio Gutteres, UN Secretary General, he has rightly remarked that we have ‘Surplus of multilateral challenges but deficit of multi-lateral solutions’. The heart of UN reforms shall be directed towards sustainable development and with UN@75 coinciding with the UN decade of action on SDGs and the UN Decade on ecosystem restoration, reforms shall flow through these aspiring ambitions of 21st century. We should be optimistic and mindful of substantial delivery actions that are directed towards ‘whole-of-society’ with ‘No One Left Behind’.
It is anticipated that UN should rediscover working for People, Planet and Prosperity and as a civil society; it is our foremost obligation to advance the ideals of the UN charter, subscribing to the needs of 21st century. To Build Forward Better, apart from organizations and institutions, every stakeholder’s effort matter and requires well concerted efforts from global to local level. In short, we do not need new UN but a rejuvenated and reformed UN. This vision is very much true in the light of 2020 theme that calls for “The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism”.
Optimistic about Change, reforms shall be harmonized through channels of solidarity, dignity and equity. With the pandemic rearing apart the humanity, concerns are not unfounded and hence necessary for institution like UN to revamp suiting the interests of humanity against the spiraling contemporary changes wreaking havoc on livelihoods and ecosystems. UN landscape must improve and be mindful of actions and opportunities that COVID-19 has presented with responsibility and accountability. Hence, we need a UN that is innovative with a “stronger stewardship and more relevant to 21st century aligning with ‘Together, for everyone’s development, with everyone’s trust’. Let’s ACT NOW.
