The UN’s High-Level Week – an annual gathering of senior representatives of member states who address the General Assembly – is taking place in New York. It is a period of speeches of varying length and intensive contacts between ministers or even heads of state, depending on the status of the heads of delegation. The more tense the international situation, as it is now, the more valuable the opportunities presented.
The issue that has resonated is reform of the Security Council. It is not the first year, or even the first decade, that people have been talking about the subject, but the current revival of interest is understandable. In conditions of confrontation, the work of the body is extremely complicated – the opposing sides among the permanent members block each other.
This irritates other states that don’t have a special status, as the big five have given themselves veto power. They are now more concerned about how they compare to each other, and the problems of the rest of the world matter less.
The decisions of the General Assembly are not binding, but are an accurate reflection of the real distribution of opinion. Yet, conflict also spills over there. For example, Western countries, led by the United States, have considerable opportunities to influence developing countries. Ultimately, however, there is more room for maneuver, which means the space for the democratic expression of will is somewhat wider.
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