The United Nations (UN) celebrates its 81st birthday on Saturday, though with the Security Council (UNSC) deadlocked on who will lead the organisation as secretary-general in the New Year, celebrations are somewhat muted. The UN stands today at a precarious crossroads, frequently condemned as a relic of a bygone era in urgent need of reform, yet remaining undeniably central to the global agenda, while failing at its vital task, the maintenance of international peace and security.

Over its history, the UN system has constructed the normative architecture of international society and saved millions of lives. On the humanitarian front, specialised agencies have driven historic triumphs: Joint campaigns by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation nearly halved child mortality from 12 million in 1990 to 6.9 million by 2011, brought polio to the brink of eradication, and coordinated global responses to public health crises like Ebola and Covid. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (the organisation I served from 1978 to 1989) assists over 35 million displaced people annually, while the World Food Programme regularly delivers vital relief to millions of people struck by catastrophic disasters.

This humanitarian impact is matched by an ambitious global development and environmental agenda. The Millennium Development Goals (2000–2015) halved extreme poverty worldwide, expanded access to primary education for millions, and significantly reduced maternal mortality, laying the groundwork for the 2015–2030 Sustainable Development Goals, even as these multilateral commitments now face severe challenges because of drastic funding cuts under the second Trump administration. UN-brokered instruments ranging from the Montreal Protocol, which successfully phased out 99 per cent of........

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