The UN, General Assembly, UNESCO and vision for sustainable peace

Whoever thought that global governance meant good governance, must have never experienced the stagnant bottlenecks of bureaucracy and the devastating impacts of hidden political agendas, and ironically enough, the ones who proclaimed such leadership roles have on their political consciousness, the heavy burden of great human loss: Such was the case for The League of Nations, as is the case of the United Nations today.
When The League of Nations was created nearly a century ago after World War I, it was rooted in the idealistic notion of the people of France, South Africa, the UK, and the US, that if they created a networked global organization that aimed to “preserve peace through collective action” and “promote international cooperation in economic and social affairs” they could collectively prevent a repetition of the tragedies of the 1914-1918 war in Europe.
It was a noble cause — and as far as noble causes usually go — it was short-lived, especially after the breakout of World War II which quickly proved The Leagues’ incompetence in peacekeeping — a fact that came as no surprise because in effect, The League was doomed to failure even before its start.
It was structurally weak, and functionally inapt. It not only lacked its own independent military and resources (contributions from its members was its only source of sustenance), but it also lacked the collective will to act boldly against any transgressions when the need arose. In addition, the initial good intentions of keeping peace, promoting development, and safeguarding the rights and the well-being of the people of the world was too weak to stand up to the politically wrought agendas of self-preservation and hegemony that each member brought to the table.
But more importantly, The League lacked real commitment from the start: The US never joined it, Germany dropped out after seven years of its creation, The USSR after five, and Japan and Italy soon after, leaving the UK and France standing alone, only to crumble a little while on.
Today, more than half a century later, its descendant, the United Nations is not only struggling to revive the noble cause of its predecessor, but it is also systemically challenged by almost the same set of shortcomings that doomed The League to failure.
Cases in point are many and the burden of proof lies before our eyes: Warfare is rampant and increasing steadily, innocent lives are lost daily, environmental decay continues to rise and corrupt behavior has become the norm. And ironically enough, the world stage has become immune to it all… Just this week, we witnessed the closure of the 67th UN General Assembly deliberations in New York City, an annual event that is becoming nothing more than a global spectacle of sorts, showcasing the erratic behavior of world leaders engaging in endless rhetoric — and with total disregard to human life and suffering that they have promised to preserve.
As I mentioned earlier, global governance is loaded with bureaucratic bottlenecks and hidden political agendas. These were the pitfalls that brought down The League, and these are the pitfalls that are systemically obstructing the work of the UN. And if the UN wishes to rise up to the task of peacekeeping, it cannot afford to continue to do business as usual… so what can they do?
Simple: It must invest in a new generation of hopefuls. A generation well prepared for genuine diplomacy and solid commitments… and this is precisely what it is doing under the leadership of the Center for Peace at the UNESCO.
This is a small initiative built around the constitution of the UNESCO that states: “Since war begins in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.” And as such, The UNESCO Center of Peace is diligently working to ensure that the young of the world are exposed to the realities of world issues so as to bring about the concepts of empathy back into our current political agendas. Only by investing in such projects can we hope that the ideals of human dignity will be brought back to the forefront of any political agenda.

n Fatin Bundagji is the president of TLC Consultancy