Time Sep

(Jeff_L) #1
27

AFTER THE DEATH
on Aug. 18 of former
U.N. Secretary-
General Koi Annan
it’s an opportune
moment for a
closer look at the
organization he led. How valuable is
today’s U.N. in a G-zero world with a
startling lack of global leadership? Is the
institution still a guiding force for good?
The Security Council charged with
overseeing international peace and safety
remains dysfunctional but that’s hardly a
new story. The willingness of
the ive permanent members
to veto the plans of others and
protect their allies is decades
old. The G-zero problem
was evident in the Security
Council long before it became
obvious everywhere else.
But the U.N. leadership
still makes a diference. The
current Secretary-General
António Guterres has won
well-deserved praise for a
willingness to speak plainly
on tough issues even if it
aggravates powerful member
states. He has sharply criticized the
government of Myanmar an ally of
China for crimes against Rohingya
Muslims. He said U.S. President Donald
Trump’s ban on immigrants from some
Muslim countries “violates our basic
principles.” He has spoken of defense
for Palestinians against U.S. ally Israel.
In August he used a visit to Nagasaki
Japan to implicitly criticize both the U.S.
and Russia for the slow pace of nuclear
disarmament. And somehow he has
helped the U.N. avoid (so far) the sort
of destabilizing attacks that Trump has
launched on NATO the E.U. and other
multilateral institutions.
Where the U.N. really proves its value
however is in the work of its agencies.
Peacekeeping operations in Africa Asia
the Balkans and elsewhere prevent
conlict where outsiders are reluctant to
get involved. The U.N. Refugee Agency

helps millions of displaced people. The
World Bank provides grants credits
and low-interest loans to help poorer
countries build the roads bridges ports
schools and hospitals they badly need.
The World Food Programme funded
entirely by donations has fed tens of
millions of hungry people globally. It
trains large numbers of people to boost
food security and nutrition standards
and helps build clinics and health
centers.
The World Health Organization is
at the front lines of health crises but
it’s also battling long-term
to meet the U.N.’s health-
related development goals. It
has contributed to dramatic
reductions in infant mortality
deaths of mothers during
childbirth and fatality rates
from HIV and malaria.
UNICEF treats malnourished
children and provides access
to safe water education
vaccines and mental-health
care for millions of kids.
In a world where so many
countries are erecting barriers
to people in need and building
explicitly my-country-irst foreign
policies who else will do these things?
Not every government seems to
appreciate this. In July Guterres notiied
each of the 193 member states that the
U.N. faces an unprecedented cash-low
shortfall due to delayed contributions.
Budget cuts are coming he wrote in his
letter if member states can’t be relied
upon to pay their share promptly.
Whatever governments of the
wealthiest members think about U.N.
values they should see the worth of an
institution willing to police so many of
the world’s danger zones and ease so
much human misery. “An organization
such as ours should not have to sufer
repeated brushes with bankruptcy”
Guterres wrote. “But surely the greater
pain is felt by those we serve when we
cannot for want of modest funds answer
their call for help.” □

THE RISK REPORT


In a G-zero world we need a


robust U.N. more than ever


By Ian Bremmer


Whatever
member
states think
about U.N.
values they
should see
the worth of
an institution
willing to
ease so much
human
misery

The courage to
come out

Josie Totah 17 who
previously acted under
the name J.J. Totah in
ilms and TV shows
announced that she
is transgender. She
describes how people
often assumed that
she was a gay boy and
how she had been too
scared to correct them.
“I almost felt like I
owed it to everybody”
Totah writes. “But that
has never been the way
I think of myself.”

Washington’s
lessons for
Trump

George Washington
was “far from being
blessed with innate
equanimity” writes
former U.S. Senator
John C. Danforth. But
his “constant struggle
to maintain the dignity
that was his model
for the presidency”
contrasts sharply with
what the American
public now sees in the
White House.

Studying the
sounds of sex

“It can be a way to
be focused ... on
what’s going on for
you”a therapist told
Mara Altman while
she researched her
new bookGross
Anatomy to explain
why she was naturally
quiet during sex. The
search for an answer
turned a concern into
empowerment.

SHORT
READS
▶Highlights
from stories on
time.com/ideas
Free download pdf