Stream@UNGA: How is the UN meeting new challenges at 75?

On Monday, September 21 at 19:30 GMT:
The United Nations is marking the 75th anniversary of its rise from the ashes of World War II – after which it promised it would prevent a war of that magnitude happening again.

There will be no room, however, for major celebrations at the UN General Assembly in New York next week. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most of the event will be held remotely, as delegates focus on protecting the principle of multilateralism and closing in on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Perhaps another reason for the muted tone of any festivities is that the milestone comes at a difficult time for the world body – a global pandemic, poverty, hunger, climate change, conflict and populism stalk the world. A growing number of autocratic governments are lashing out at the organisation. Several nations are turning their backs on multilateralism in favour of nationalist policies.

The UN, though, has nonetheless made strides in development, peacekeeping, emergency aid and health. The world war that the organisation has always strived to prevent has not happened. 

And the UN still has ambitions. The Sustainable Development Goals – which were adopted in 2015 and that aim to end poverty, protect the planet and more – are 10 years from the deadline. While critics say not nearly enough has been done, UN officials plead patience.

So what does the future look like for the UN? In this episode of The Stream, we are joined by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and Melissa Fleming, under-secretary-general for global communications. We will discuss the highs and lows of the past 75 years and ask her what the future holds for the global community at a time of unprecedented challenges for the UN.

On this episode of The Stream, we are joined by:
Amina Mohammed, @AminaJMohammed
Deputy Secretary-General of the UN

Melissa Fleming, @MelissaFleming
Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, UN