The United Nations in an age of globalization: adapting to a widening spectrum of threats.

• Author: Arystanbekova, Akmaral

The year 2005 will mark the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations. This event undoubtedly will promote discussions on the Organization's role in the twenty-first century and in an era of globalization, its role is changing. The widening spectrum of threats to human security, the negative impact of globalization on many nations, and the emergence of new global threats, such as environmental degradation, international terrorism and transnational organized crime, require the coordinated response of the global community. The UN system is the sole universal instrument for responding to these challenges.

The main thrust of United Nations renewal should be the regeneration of its paramount functions: an effective instrument for global coordinated actions in response to new threats and challenges; the promotion and protection of human rights and democratic values; ensuring the sustainable development and ecological security of the planet; and promoting a dialogue between civilizations and cultures. And this will only be possible on the basis of strengthening the principle of the rule of law as enshrined in the UN Charter.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan stresses that the United Nations is currently going through the most difficult time since its creation in 1945. He warns of the proliferation of unilateral use of force, which is undermining the principles of collective security upon which the world has been based during the last 59 years. The United Nations has to adapt to the new political realities in the modern world.

The end of the cold war and block confrontation facilitated strengthening the UN role in solving problems. At the same time, regional conflicts in the last decade of the twentieth century and the inability of the United Nations to manage these conflicts led to the necessity of finding new ways to increase UN efficiency in maintaining peace and security, ensuring sustainable development, social justice and ecological security, and protecting human rights and democratic values--priorities of the norms and principles of international law. The most important task, especially in light of well-known events concerning Iraq, is the reform of the Security Council, whose primary responsibility is the maintenance of international peace and security.

UN reform should rely upon the unused potential of the UN Charter relating to the interaction between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular in the maintenance of...