Talal
Abu-Ghazaleh
A large
part of my professional life had been spent in the company of UN bodies on the
questions that shape our shared future. I have witnessed the positive influence
the UN has made and the tireless work that goes into trying to make the world a
better and a more equitable place. The celebration of the UN’s 81st anniversary on 24 October 2026, is something very personal to me, having walked
in its corridors of power and seen from within what this institution truly
delivers.
The UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres, described the anniversary as a celebration
of the UN as an idea, stating that humanity's future depends on our ability to
work together to advance peace and human rights. After eight decades, that idea
still stands for settling disputes through diplomacy and law rather than
weapons, for working to eradicate poverty and hunger, for defending human
rights, and for delivering lifesaving aid to people facing war, disaster and
displacement, while giving every country an equal voice on the global stage.
The world
today faces no shortage of challenges. Wars continue to threaten peace, climate
change affects every nation, inequality weakens social cohesion, and
technological change is outpacing governance. I have seen one technological
revolution follow another, each teaching that innovation alone is never enough.
Progress requires cooperation, and while the UN may be imperfect it remains
essential, as history has shown that the alternative to cooperation is not
independence, but uncertainty, instability, and potentially chaos. We must
continue talking and working together under the UN no matter how challenging
the circumstances, and no matter how imperfect it may be.
The
Secretary General concluded his message with three principles that have guided
much of my own professional journey, which are dialogue over division,
cooperation over confrontation, and solidarity over fear, and that these
disciplines demand patience, persistence, and mutual respect. Their value is
often overlooked because their greatest successes are not measured by
headlines, but by the crises avoided and the conflicts prevented, which more
often than not do not make the news.
Even
today, eighty one years, since its creation, the UN remains an idea that keeps
the world talking, and keeps the world building. It has my gratitude, and it
deserves our renewed commitment..
Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh’s Article at the Beginning of the Month