United Nations Day
Today we are celebrating United Nations Day. Sixty-two years ago the UN Charter was ratified by the UN member states. It still defines the framework for relations between states.
Carl Bildt meeting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in May 2007. Photo/UN Photo Eskinder Debebe
"The UN Security Council has a unique mandate to maintain international peace and security and to determine what should be done when peace is threatened - from mediation and sanctions to military intervention. And right now we are at a stage where the number of peacekeeping operations throughout the world is increasing dramatically. The largest UN operation so far has been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but the mission in Sudan will be even larger".
This is what Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt said on the occasion of United Nations Day on Wednesday.
New cooperation between the UN and the EU
This autumn the Security Council also made a decision on resolution 1778 to send a mission to Chad and Central African Republic. This means that the UN will make a request to the EU to help with the military side of things. This is a new and important step in cooperation between the UN and the EU. The EU has the possibility to help with rapid and robust measures to support UN operations, which are both wider in scope and long-term, but which would otherwise hardly be possible.
"During the years I lived with several of the peacekeeping operations down in the Balkans - led by either the UN or Nato - I saw how utterly crucial peacekeeping operations can be for securing peace, stability and hopefully also democracy," says Carl Bildt.
Power to act depends on member states
In its 62 years, the UN has had to face all the challenges that a continually changing world presents. Its operations have become increasingly extensive, diverse and complex. The need to find joint solutions in an increasingly globalised world is growing. And the UN has the credibility and the legitimacy needed to deal with global challenges, but its power to act is also completely dependent on the participation of the member states.
