This article originally appeared in Open Democracy.
The United Nations’ charter, the global body’s founding document, defines its purpose ambitiously: “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” Symbols of this mission abound at its headquarters in New York City. Outside the visitor center, an iconic blue helmet rests on a pedestal. The entrance to the general assembly hall is marked by a sculpture of a giant revolver, its barrel knotted and pointed upwards.
But the UN is a product of its member states, which insist that they are always, ultimately in charge within their own borders. This means that UN peacekeeping efforts have focused primarily on responding to “acute conflicts”, where violence is imminent. French delegates to the UN confirmed to me last week that this remains their priority as permanent members of the security council.
Critics say UN responses to conflicts do not come fast enough when they come at all. Some have called on the body to embrace its “responsibility to protect“; others have argued that preventing conflict is more effective and cost efficient than providing peacekeepers as actors of last resort.
Secretary general António Guterres agrees; even before he took over at the organisation in early 2017, the Portugeuse politician and former head of the UN’s refugee agency was advocating for a shift towards preventing conflicts, emphasising education and development. Guterres also wants to address gender inequalities within the UN itself.
On Monday US President Donald Trump will host a meeting of world leaders in New York to discuss UN reforms alongside the 72nd general assembly. Guterres is scheduled to speak on behalf of reforms which would bring the body closer to its original aims and would help achieve the daunting goals of the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development and resolutions on sustaining peace passed in 2016.
But the shift that Guterres is calling for, towards more work on conflict prevention, is not a simple policy change. It would require a fundamental break with the UN’s current approach, not to mention sizeable reforms to address the body’s its sluggish response time to conflicts, its burgeoning bureaucracy, and how its different teams often work in parallel “silos”, collaborating rarely.