The Future Of The United Nations Secretariat

On the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, the world has faced its biggest shared test since the Second World War in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Yet while our welfare, and indeed the permanence of human life, depend on us working together, international cooperation has never been harder to achieve. This report answers a call from UN Member States to provide recommendations to advance our common agenda and to respond to current and future challenges. Its proposals are grounded in a renewal of the social contract, adapted to the challenges of this century, taking into account younger and future generations, complemented by a new global deal to better protect the global commons and deliver global public goods. Through a deepening of solidarity—at the national level, between generations, and in the multilateral system—Our Common Agenda provides a path forward to a greener, safer and better future.

In January 2020, the United Nations launched the global consultation to mark its 75th anniversary. Through surveys and dialogues, it asked people about their hopes and fears for the future – representing the UN’s most ambitious effort to date to understand expectations of international cooperation and of the UN in particular. It is also the largest survey to date on priorities for recovering from the COVID-19 (coronavirus, COVID) pandemic. By September 2020, over a million people from all countries and all walks of life had taken part. Their answers provide unique insights into what the public wants at this challenging time. The key findings are contained in this publication.

Beginning with the earliest forms of international organization, Paul Kennedy traces the creation and changing role of the United Nations in the post-war era.

The United Nations works across the world for peace, sustainable development, human rights and the rule of law. This collection of speeches by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon shows the breadth of those efforts - advances and struggles alike - at a time of profound transition for the human family. Since taking office in 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sought to mobilize the international community behind global solutions to urgent challenges ranging from climate change and poverty to armed conflict and the spread of deadly weapons. The goal: dignity, freedom and opportunity for all.