October 24 is the known as United Nations (UN) Day in celebration of the founding of that key international organization. This year marked a special milestone in the history of the UN as it was 60 years ago that it was founded. To commemorate the anniversary, LaGuardia Community College organized a UN @ 60 events by inviting four panelists and by screening a documentary on UN peacekeeping.
The panelists were all faculty from other CUNY campuses and presented on global issues as they related to the UN. The panel included: Dr. George Andreopoulos (John Jay College/Graduate Center) – who addressed UN Reform; Dr. Juergen Dedring (City College) – who spoke about Conflict Resolution and Prevention; Dr. Jacques Formerand (John Jay College) – presented on the UN’s Past, Present , and Future; and Dr. Jean Krasno (City College) – who talked about the US-UN Relationship.
Dr. Formerand began the panel by emphasizing the fact that the UN is like a puppet show in many respects. We see the actors and the sets but there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that we need to be aware of. Dr. Dedring stated that contrary to many people’s beliefs, the UN is not a supranational organization but rather gets it’s “marching orders” from member states. The UN is often hamstrung in terms of conflict resolution if member states refuse to get involved, especially the if these states include the major powers who have veto rights on the Security Council. Dr. Andreopoulos spoke of the need for proactive rather than reactive measures on a global scale if human rights abuses and genocides are to become a thing of the past. Here he reemphasized the necessity of having a strong consensus among member states for successful UN intervention and a workable system of global governance. Dr. Krasno addressed the seeming love-hate relationship the United States has had with the UN since its founding, including issues with Iraq, the organization’s budget, and it’s bureaucracy. Reminding the audience that the UN would not exist today if it wasn’t for the work of US statesmen like President Franklin Roosevelt (a Democrat) and US Senator Arthur Vandenberg (a Republican). Dr. Krasno said many US concerns are legitimate and have helped to improve the efficiency of some UN operations.