“A Governance Befitting”— BIC statement on the 75th anniversary of the UN looks to the future

“A Governance Befitting”— BIC statement on the 75th anniversary of the UN looks to the future

New York—21 September 2020

Systems of cooperation between nations must be deepened significantly if global challenges are to be met and the unprecedented possibilities of the coming years seized. 

This was at the heart of a statement released today by the Baha’i International Community (BIC), marking the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. 

“The demands of the present moment are pushing existing structures for facilitating deliberations among nations, as well as systems of conflict resolution, beyond their capacity for effectiveness,” read the statement, entitled A Governance Befitting: Humanity and the Path Toward a Just Global Order. 

“We therefore find ourselves at the threshold of a defining task: purposefully organizing our affairs in full consciousness of ourselves as one people in one shared homeland.”

The statement builds on others released on the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the UN. The BIC, whose engagement with the international community dates back to the League of Nations, also submitted a set of proposals for Charter revisions at the UN’s 10th anniversary. 

“Growing numbers today are recognizing the need to recast the global order to better reflect the aspirations and capacities of all the peoples of the world,” said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the BIC’s United Nations Office. 

“What was once viewed as an idealistic vision of international cooperation has, in light of the obvious and serious challenges facing humanity, become a pragmatic necessity,” she added.

Elements the statement identified as being central to progress include acknowledgement of the oneness and interdependence of the human family, appreciation of diversity as an essential component of unified action, the ability of nations to learn from one another without fear of failure, the need to prioritize concern for the common good among a range of legitimate interests, and the importance of assessing the moral assumptions underlying every policy decision. 

The BIC cosponsored a number of events leading up to the 75th anniversary. These conversations, exploring how governance might be reimagined in areas such as peace and security, climate change and the global economic order, will continue through a variety of gatherings over the coming year.