At 75, is the UN still fit for purpose?

NEW YORK: This September, New Yorkers will be a lot less annoyed. They’ve been spared the annual disruptions from road closures, sirens and movement of security forces accompanying world leaders who attend the United Nations General Assembly. By largely moving online due to Covid-19, the world’s most significant gathering will be missing some of its excitement even as the UN celebrates an important 75th anniversary in 2020.

In a departure from tradition, flowery addresses and passionate perspectives on global affairs are being shared through prerecorded speeches and teleconferences delivered from home rather than the UN’s headquarters. Face-to-face interactions between politicians, civil servants and civil society workers that animate annual UN gatherings are absent when solidarity and understanding are most needed to overcome the ravages of a global pandemic.