The UN75 Declaration and Reconstructing the United Nations

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the greatest challenge in the history of the United Nations. The organization has tried to respond to the crisis by all means, yet it has also been criticized for failing. Amidst the turmoil the pandemic created, the UN celebrated its 75th anniversary in September 2020. In the declaration on the commemoration of the 75th anniversary (UN75 Declaration), the member states stressed multilateralism as a necessity- not an option- for constructing a more equal, more sustainable and more resilient world. With the declaration, the UN has designed twelve areas of action that require global cooperation and reinvigorated multilateralism. Upgrading of the UN is one of these twelve areas. Strengthening of the UN system has been set as a priority. The UN has actually been trying to point out the global challenges and inequalities especially through the Millennium Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals in the last two decades; however the pandemic has deepened the gaps and challenges, so it is acknowledged by the UN as a reminder. This paper aims to analyze how the UN reconstructs itself in response to new global challenges and specifically the coronavirus crisis in the 75th year of its existence.KeywordsInternational Cooperation; Multilateralism; Sustainable Development; United Nations (UN); COVID-19