On 24 October 2026, the world marks `United Nations Day` at a moment when international cooperation faces a profound test. Wars harm civilians, political rivalries freeze our actions, human rights vary in protection, and the climate crisis hits the vulnerable hardest. Economic inequality and mounting financial pressure are slowing sustainable development.
The United Nations (UN) was formed after World War II with an important aim: to allow countries to solve issues through conversation rather than violence. Eighty-one years after the UN Charter entered into force in 1945, that ambition remains indispensable. Yet the gap between the organization’s founding ideals and the realities millions experience raises a difficult question: can the UN still deliver on its promise?
A Universal Institution, Yet an Unequal Voice
Today, the UN has 193 member states, while the Vatican and the State of Palestine hold non-member observer status. Founded by 51 countries when its Charter came into force on 24 October 1945, it has become a near-universal platform for collective action. Bangladesh joined on 17 September 1974; South Sudan, admitted on 14 July 2011, is the newest member as of today.
All members of the General Assembly get one vote each, but control over global decisions is not fair, particularly in the Security Council. The big challenge is not about needing the UN, but about making it work better, being fair, and taking responsibility for issues that must be solved together.
Peace Cannot Remain a Distant Promise
The UN was created to protect future generations from the destruction of war, but the Security Council often struggles to act firmly due to political rivalries and the veto power held by its five permanent members.
When nations priorities their own interests, the reliability of the international system declines, and everyday people are hurt: families lose their houses, children lose education, and millions must flee.
Peace must mean more than the absence of fighting. For someone displaced by conflict, it means returning home voluntarily and safely, living without fear and rebuilding with dignity.
The UN must strengthen preventive diplomacy, early warning and mediation before tensions turn violent. Security Council reform is equally important. A better representation for regions that are often ignored and limits on veto power during mass atrocities would help the system seem more trustworthy. But this will only happen if the most powerful countries want to take action.
Rebuilding Trust in Multilateralism
Nationalism, polarization and declining confidence in global institutions strain international cooperation. Some governments see international agreements as limits on sovereignty; others doubt that multilateral bodies apply their principles consistently.
Trust depends on fairness, transparency and demonstrable results, and powerful countries must accept the accountability they expect of others.
This debate was on full display at the 81st session of the General Assembly. On 23 September 2026, Argentina’s President Javier Milei said that the UN is an “ineffective organization” and its leaders are “arrogant parasites,” as reported by The Times of Israel.
He accused it of failing to ensure collective security. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took the opposite line. According to Anadolu Agency, he urged Security Council reform to represent all regions fairly and called for the veto to be abolished.
Abrupt cuts or politically motivated restrictions undermine humanitarian aid, development work and essential services. The answer is not weaker cooperation but more reliable cooperation: predictable funding, honored commitments and greater institutional transparency.
Pandemics, climate change and cyber threats show why countries must cooperate even when their interests differ. Responsible multilateralism does not reject national interest; it protects it.
On the 81st United Nations Day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Our future relies on us working together for peace, development, and human rights, while also giving crucial help to those affected by war, disaster, and displacement.”
Human Rights Must Be Universal
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights sets a common standard of dignity, freedom and equality, yet its implementation remains uneven. Governments sometimes invoke sovereignty to dismiss criticism, while surveillance, online censorship and digital repression create new threats to freedom.
The credibility of the UN relies on upholding rights impartially. Civilian protection, freedom of expression and equality before the law must not become bargaining chips in geopolitical alliances. Better monitoring, reliable investigations, and holding people accountable for serious wrongs are key.
The Human Rights Council and other bodies need support to carry out their tasks. Governments must also protect civic space and privacy.
Sustainable Development Requires Global Solidarity
The 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a common plan to fight poverty, inequality, health issues, education, care for the environment, and fair growth.
Yet economic shocks, debt distress, inadequate financing and climate change have slowed progress. Communities that contribute least to environmental pressures often have the fewest means to respond.
International cooperation is important for countries like Bangladesh. It relates to their development needs: low-cost and reliable climate funding, available technology, skill-building, and fairer economic deals.
Changing global financial systems, providing more affordable funding, and reducing unpayable debt should be included in this agenda, and wealthy nations must fulfill their climate promises.
Still, aid alone cannot guarantee development; national leadership, sound governance and accountability matter equally. The UN’s role is to facilitate partnerships and support national priorities so that development reaches those most at risk of being left behind.
From Declarations to Delivery
The priority theme of the 81st session, “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all,” captures the challenge. Trust requires visible progress in ordinary lives.
The UN must improve coordination across its agencies, strengthen accountability for results and make better use of evidence and technology. Artificial intelligence can improve early warning and public services, but must be guided by human rights, transparency and safeguards.
Responsibility is shared. An organization created and sustained by governments cannot overcome geopolitical divisions without their cooperation. Civil society, young people, researchers and journalists also help hold institutions accountable and turn global commitments into local action.
Bangladesh and other developing countries need to do more than just go to meetings. They should create partnerships, push for fair global rules, and make sure that weak communities have a say in international choices.
A Renewed Commitment to Humanity
United Nations Day should be more than an annual anniversary. It should be an occasion to measure the distance between the world we have promised to build and the world people actually experience. The UN is neither a substitute for national leadership nor a perfect institution, but the need for a platform where nations can negotiate is real.
Abandoning multilateralism would not eliminate global problems; it would only make collective responses harder. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih, truly stated: “Peace must be measured not only by agreements signed, but by lives changed.”
At 81, the United Nations requires fresh support for its core principles, along with real reforms and a readiness from countries to priorities humanity over politics.
Its success will not be judged by the decisions it makes, but by how well it reduces pain caused by war, protects human rights, gives developing countries a fair chance to grow, and keeps the planet safe for future generations.
The world needs a United Nations that does more than speak on behalf of all; it needs one that delivers for all. Global leaders need to work together to rebuild trust, improve cooperation between countries, and turn promises into real actions.
– Nicholas Biswas
is a media freelancer and a recipient of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Media Award.
