Setting a New Agenda for the United Nations: Boutros Boutros-Ghali
1993; Columbia University; Volume: 46; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0022-197X
AutoresCarolyn A. Reynolds, Sudarsan V. Raghavan, W. Judson Dorman, Melissa Sawin,
Tópico(s)Peacebuilding and International Security
ResumoSince taking office in January 1992, U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has attempted to redifine the role of the United Nations in peacekeeping, peacemaking and preventive diplomacy. An Agenda for Peace outlines his plan for expanding U.N. capability and includes recommendations for increased funding, a standby U.N. army and greater autonomy for his position. The Secretary-general has expressed his desire to see all of these areas effectively addressed by the end of his tenure, which coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations in 1995. On 11 February 1993, members of the Journal editorial board interviewed the Secretary-general at U.N. headquarters in New York. It was the second in a two-part series of interviews that attempted to clarify his new vision for the United Nations and the challenges he faces in this mission. His responses are reprinted here. Journal: Despite the fact that the Cold War has ended and some authoritarian regimes have collapsed, this by no means implies achievement of an ideological consensus among the member-states of the United Nations. How significant a barrier do you perceive these differences to be in identifying and achieving the global goals you outline in An Agenda for Peace? Boutros-Ghali: There are obviously a number of differences of opinion among the 181 member-states of the United Nations. After all, these states represent peoples from diverse cultures with different values, and not surprisingly, they do not always share the same priorities or possess identical views on international issues. No one would claim that the international community has reached some kind of ideological consensus. It would certainly be wishful thinking to claim that the international community had reached a fundamental agreement on each and every issue on its agenda. But it would be a mistake to overlook the significance of the new spirit of cooperation that now prevails at the United Nations. With the end of the Cold War, the United Nations has overcome the barriers that were imposed by the ideological struggle between East and West, and this context offers the possibility of a new beginning for the United Nations. Journal: YOU have outlined a bold plan in An Agenda for Peace that enables the United Nations to play a greater role in international security. To guarantee the feasibility of this plan, states must be willing partially to abdicate their or, as you phrased it, acknowledge that the theory of absolute and exclusive sovereignty was never matched by reality. How and why do you believe it is realistic for U.N. member-states willingly to relinquish their autonomy? Boutros-Ghali: I do not agree with your assessment that member-states would have to relinquish their autonomy, or their sovereignty, in order to enable the United Nations to assume a greater role in interntional security. I believe that member-states realize that it is in their own best interest to work with other states to find solutions to the mutual threats and nagging problems that confront the entire international community. I believe that states have accepted the view that many of today's pressing international problems are transnational and interrelated in nature, and cannot be solved by any one country acting alone. Journal: How have member-states' definitions of security changed in the post-cold War world? How do you propose the Limited Nations motivate states to act on matters outside their generally and historically defined national security interests? How realistic is the possibility of a collective definition of security, considering issues of state and differing member-state security interests? Boutros-Ghali: The concept of security, which has traditionally been defined in strictly military terms, has evolved to encompass the economic, social and environmental problems that threaten national and international security. …
Referência(s)