Reference News Network September 22 report: Australia's Lowy Institute website published an article titled "80 Years of the United Nations: Bankrupt, Halted, Yet Indispensable" on September 19. The author is Isabella Pereira Watts, a former UN peacekeeper. The content of the article is as follows:

The United Nations General Assembly will hold its 80th general debate in New York next week. However, the actual atmosphere is far from celebratory, even for the International Day of Peace on September 21. With frequent occurrences of armed conflicts, humanitarian disasters, climate crises, and democratic backsliding, global turbulence is evident.

Despite structural flaws, the United Nations remains the only universally representative multilateral institution: it has 193 member states, each with one vote. The theme of this year's general debate is "Moving Forward Together: 80 Years of Promoting Peace, Development, and Human Rights, Building on the Past to Forge a New Era," which remains ambitious and urgent. This theme calls for unity in the face of deadlock.

The agenda of the United Nations General Assembly is very broad. The General Assembly will face the growing gap between climate commitments and actions. The interconnection between climate change, conflict, displacement, and development will be a recurring theme. In the context of economic downturns and political gridlock, comprehensive responses and the restoration of financial support are needed. This is closely related to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, which are under continuous assessment.

UN Secretary-General Guterres called for, "It is time to stop the guns, and it is time to solve problems through diplomacy and dialogue." He urged countries to recommit to diplomacy and multilateralism in an increasingly militarized world. His call is not empty rhetoric. In a geopolitical landscape dominated by great power competition and the rise of nationalism, the United Nations' influence is one of its remaining assets.

The United Nations General Assembly will not bring about comprehensive reform, but it may promote "reforms within a reform framework" through gradual measures, restoring legitimacy and effectiveness. Critics often ask, "What is the United Nations good for?" They believe the United Nations is outdated. It is precisely the structural characteristics such as consensus-based decision-making, limited enforcement capacity, and reliance on voluntary funding that make it indispensable.

The United Nations is not the savior of the world, nor was it intended to be. Whether you like it or not, it remains the only global institution with the professional capabilities and organizational structure to promote dialogue, coordinate humanitarian responses, and uphold international norms.

The United Nations finds itself at a crossroads between confronting the status quo and shaping the future. Member states must resist the temptation to retreat into unilateralism or transactional diplomacy. They must accept imperfection when there are no other choices.

The theme of "Moving Forward Together" is not just a slogan. It is a warning. The United Nations must be strengthened, but not replaced, nor ignored. In a world filled with warfare, even imperfect cooperation is better than no cooperation. (Translated by Zheng Guoyi)

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7552748237372555826/

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