By Huan Yuping, People’s Daily
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations (UN).
At this historical juncture, revisiting the UN’s founding aspirations, reaffirming the commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and revitalizing the UN’s authority and vitality under new circumstances are crucial to reforming and improving the global governance system and to building a community with a shared future for humanity.
In 1945, the international community came together to establish the UN and adopted the UN Charter, embarking on an extraordinary journey to build the postwar international order and pursue peace and development.
Over the past eight decades, the UN, the world’s most universal, representative, and authoritative intergovernmental organization, has played an irreplaceable role in maintaining peace and security and promoting economic and social development.
The UN mechanism has become an indispensable platform for conflict prevention and resolution, making positive contributions to overall global peace. Its unique value lies in its ability to rally nations to confront common challenges and to envision a better, more peaceful, and more sustainable future for humanity.
The world is entering a new period of turbulence and transformation. Unilateralism and Cold War mentality are reemerging, and the rules-based international order faces increasing strain. Peace remains elusive, and the global development encounters mounting headwinds. The international system, once seen as effective and resilient, has been repeatedly undermined.
Some observers argue that the current international order is at its most precarious moment since World War II: the “paralysis” of the UN, the “malfunction” of international law, and the “dysfunction” of multilateralism have left the old framework of global governance unable to board the “great ship” of the era.
To find a way forward, the world must look back to its compass. The disorder in today’s world does not arise because the UN is obsolete, but because the purposes and principles of the UN Charter have been repeatedly distorted or violated.
In the face of an international landscape marked by intertwined turbulence and turmoil, the UN-centered international system remains the cornerstone of global stability, and multilateralism based on coordination and cooperation remains the best solution to global challenges.
For the UN to fulfill its role effectively, the key is for the broad membership – especially the major countries – to uphold the spirit of solidarity and cooperation, prioritize the common interests of the international community, faithfully observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, make objective and impartial judgments in accordance with international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and play a positive and constructive role.
“Eighty years on, we confront again the question our founders faced, only more urgent, more intertwined, more unforgiving: What kind of world do we choose to build together?” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remarked during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, emphasizing that in the moment of crisis, the UN have never been more essential.
At this 80-anniversary milestone, the world should revisit the UN’s original aspiration and mission, resolutely uphold the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law, and work together to restore the UN’s authority and vitality in a changing world.
As a founding member of the UN and a permanent member of the Security Council, China has always stood firmly on the right side of history and remains committed to true multilateralism. China will always be a trusted partner of the UN, supporting its central role in global affairs and taking an active part in safeguarding world peace and promoting common development.
Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Governance Initiative, elaborating on the principles, approaches, and pathways for reforming and improving global governance. The initiative’s core ideas have been widely recognized by the international community as resonating deeply with the convictions upheld by the UN and responding forcefully to the global call for fairer and more effective global governance system.
History continues to illuminate the path forward. The UN embodies the aspirations of all peoples for lasting peace and shared prosperity, bear witness to the international community’s luminous history of unity, cooperation and pursuit of progress, and will remain indispensable in advancing the cause of human progress.
Revisiting UN’s founding aspirations, working together for better global governance
