'A welcome realism.' (From the Secretary-General's report to the 50th General Assembly: Boutros Boutros-Ghali)(Transcript)

From the deep-rooted and far-reaching United Nations work for economic, social and humanitarian progress to the immediate and often urgent efforts to prevent, contain and resolve conflicts, what emerges from the pages of this report is an image of a multifaceted and ever-evolving organization-an organization responding flexibly to global change and to the changing needs of the international community.

There are signs that the massive educational effort under way at all levels of national and international society in this fiftieth anniversary year is helping to create a welcome realism about the role of the United Nations in world affairs today, as well as a renewed sense of commitment to fulfil the original promise set down in the Charter 50 years ago.

Major aspects of this landmark year are still to come, including the Special Commemorative Meeting of the General Assembly, to be held at Headquarters from 22 to 24 October 1995, and the commemoration in London in January 1996 of the first session of the General Assembly. Nonetheless, it is already evident that this anniversary has created a spirit and a momentum that go well beyond the commemoration and celebration expected at such a point in time. Virtually every dimension of the United Nations has been energized. New realities are being used as the basis for reassessment and redesign. Successes are being built upon. A new spirit of cooperation at every level and on virtually every issue is within the grasp of a wider contingent of committed people than ever before.

Carrying the spirit forward

It is vital, therefore, that the spirit of the fiftieth anniversary be carried forward in all these respects. Most fundamentally it will be important to continue the major efforts launched this year with the objective of enabling the United Nations as an institution to become more intellectually creative, more financially stable, more managerially effective and more responsive to all sectors of society.

The fiftieth year has also generated criticism of the Organization, and this is serving to make the United Nations healthier and stronger. Shortcomings of the Organization itself, inadequate mandates, insufficient financial and material resources, the failure of Member States to fulfil their obligations or take on new responsibilities - all have on occasion been catalysts for criticism. However, the ultimate source of today's criticism can be found in the impact of globalization on the Organization and its Member States: as the United Nations is being asked to take on more duties and expand its activities, it is expected that the level of criticism should intensify. At the same time, globalization can work against the will to increase involvement, feeding fear and isolationism; criticisms born of these sentiments can create dangerous misperceptions.

Healthy criticism: indispensable

Healthy criticism is an indispensable form of participation in and support for the United Nations in its effort to revitalize the international system. This report is itself an effort at transparency, revealing both the strengths and weaknesses of the Organization to the widest possible audience. The continuing calls for reforms, and the reforms already enacted and under way, testify to the recognition by far more people than ever before that the United Nations is a truly indispensable element in world affairs and that if it did not now exist, it would be impossible to create it under present conditions. Thus the legacy of 1945 must be cherished and carried forward. In parallel, techniques that have succeeded must be transformed to meet the challenges of a new era.

Reflection and reform are not new to this Organization. As envisioned by the founders, the United Nations has evolved over time, and adapted to new conditions, all the while in pursuit of a better life for all individuals and a better world for humanity as a whole. The fiftieth anniversary year, however, by arriving at such a critical juncture in the history of international relations, offers an unprecedented opportunity for change. As Secretary-General, I have from the outset been deeply committed to and concerned with reform. Looking back over the past three and a half years of effort for change and the substantial managerial steps taken during the period covered by this report, I believe that a continuing need exists for further, substantial reforms in the period ahead.

The communique issued by the Heads of State and Government of seven major industrialized nations and the President of the European Commission, following their twenty-first annual economic summit meeting at Halifax, provided suggestions for enhancing the effectiveness and coherence of the United Nations system in the economic, social and environmental fields and in the humanitarian area.

Future role considered

Throughout this fiftieth anniversary year, serious consideration has been given to the future role and responsibilities of the United Nations by conferences, workshops and study programmes held at every level and in every part of the world. Two independent Commissions have issued reports: "The United Nations in its Second Half-Century" produced by an independent working group under the co-chairmanship of Mr. Richard von Weizsacker and Mr. Moeen Qureshi, sponsored at my request by the Ford Foundation and facilitated by Yale University; and Our Global Neighbourhood", produced by the Commission on Global Governance, under the co-chairmanship of Mr. Ingvar Carlsson and Mr. Shridath Ramphal. The South Center also has been active in reviewing various aspects of reform.

The days, weeks and months covered in this report have been filled with discouraging developments. But from a larger, longer-term point of view, there are many signs that progress is being made, giving cause for confidence that over time, success is entirely possible. Never before have so many courageous and committed people been involved in world betterment. Never before have nations recognized so clearly that their fate is bound with each other. And never before has it been so undeniable that mutually beneficial international institutions of cooperation - with the United Nations foremost among them - are a vital global necessity.

It is therefore imperative to remain focused on the reality of movement towards long-term achievement and not to permit dismay over immediate difficulties to weaken the positive momentum that has been achieved.

There are three immediate problems, however, that must concern us deeply, for if they are not effectively addressed they can irreparably damage the United Nations as a mechanism for progress.

First, the safety and integrity of United Nations personnel in the field must be respected. When lightly armed peacekeepers or unarmed aid workers on a humanitarian mission are threatened, taken hostage, harmed or even killed, the world must act to prevent such intolerable behaviour. The credibility of all United Nations peace operations is at stake; to preserve i% personnel must be protected as they carry out the duties the international community has sent them to accomplish.

Secondly, the financial situation of the Organization must be placed on an adequate and sustainable footing. Calls for ever-greater United Nations effectiveness under conditions of financial penury make no sense. It is as though the town fire department were being dispatched to put out fires raging in several places at once, while a collection was being taken to raise money for the fire-fighting equipment. Re deterioration of the Organization's financial position must be reversed.

And, lastly, funds for development are drying up. This is a consequence of the end of the cold-war contest, of the competing demands of peace-keeping and development for scarce resources, and of donor fatigue over the time and difficulty of creating progress on the ground. The willingness to spend money to try to contain conflicts around the world, while necessary and admirable, is not enough. Unless development is funded as well, the world can expect only the continuation of cycles marked by the alternation of terrible strife, uneasy stand-off and strife once again. To break this downward spiral sustainable human development must be instituted everywhere. A new vision of development, and a universal commitment to it, is indispensable for the world progress all peoples seek.

Too many innocent victims

During the past year we have seen far too many innocent civilians, especially women and children, losing their Eves or being condemned to carry on under appalling conditions. We continue to witness scenes of refugees deprived of their most basic rights and struggling desperately to survive. And hundreds of millions of people live in poverty so dire as to render them incapable of taking effective action to improve their own condition. Thus the existence of a true international community has yet to be demonstrated. Nothing could do more to bring such an instrument of human solidarity into being than a commitment undertaken now to ensure that all the poor countries of the world are set firmly on the path of development as we enter the next century. Such an achievement would bring an end to degradation and despair for a huge proportion of our fellow human beings and would represent one of history's most dramatic chapters of progress.

We have before us an opportunity to combine the ongoing, incremental process of reform with a comprehensive vision of the future. The legacy of the founders at this half-century mark should be our inspiration as we step forward with pride to meet this challenge. Together we can bring the world of the Charter to the world of today.