With the conclusion of the high-level week of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, UNA-UK spoke to a range of media outlets on the role of the United Nations and why it is now more needed than ever.
In interviews with BBC London Radio, BBC Mundo (the BBC’s Spanish language service), Radio France Internationale and Sky News, UNA-UK highlighted the following points in strengthening the United Nations. During the week, the Guardian also ran an essay from our latest publication and our press release was picked up by several websites.
The role of the UN
Speaking to Sky News, Natalie Samarasinghe (UNA-UK Executive Director), argued for the continuing relevance of the UN during a TV debate, noting that the UN “feeds, protects and shelters every day”. She pointed out that the transnational nature of “the problems raised illustrate precisely why the UN is needed” and that "there are houses for sale in London" for a higher cost than the UN's human rights budget for the year.
Speaking to BBC London Radio, Natalie discussed the Rohingya crisis and commented on current UN relief efforts, and called for greater action from the UK and other member states to end the crisis.
In an interview in Spanish with BBC Mundo, Fred Carver (UNA-UK Head of Policy) discussed the UN’s role in preventing war, highlighting the deescalation of the Cold War as the greatest achievement of the organisation’s history, but emphasised that the UN cannot prevent conflict unless member states are willing to allow them to do so, as was seen in Rwanda and Syria.
Reforming UN Peacekeeping
This year, a high-level meeting to discuss the “prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse: building momentum for change” was hosted by the Secretary-General, at which the UN launched its "voluntary compact" for nations to assist in efforts to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse. Through the Mission Justice campaign, UNA-UK has consistently urged the UN and member states to combat sexual abuse by peacekeepers and to uphold the responsibility to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In an English language interview with Radio France Internationale, Fred Carver reiterated that follow-up measures need to be implemented in ensuring an overall change in peacekeeping standards. He also called for the drafting of a new Security Council resolution to ensure that peacekeepers cannot participate in missions unless contributing states demonstrate that they can be brought to justice when they have committed criminal acts of sexual violence.
British policy towards the UN
UNA-UK released a statement regarding Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech to the UN General Assembly. We welcomed her acknowledgement of the "special responsibility" that the UK has as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and her support for the Secretary-General's reform agenda. However, when it comes to issues such as arms control and nuclear non-proliferation, the UK is falling short of discharging this responsibility. In particular, Lord Wood of Anfield (Chair of UNA-UK) expressed his disappointment that the UK's conduct in selling weapons for use in Yemen and boycotting nuclear ban talks has an eroding effect on the rules-based international system. This was picked up in a number of websites.
Climate Change
UNA-UK was also pleased that an essay by AC Grayling, first published in UNA-UK’s publication Climate 2020, has been reproduced in the Guardian. In it, he called for democracies to be fully engaged in stopping the effects of climate change.
