Cooperative Mechanisms - like the UN - Matter

Part 1 from Diplosphere's event: The Rules-Based International Order: Rhetoric or Reality?

UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s clarion call for reform resonated at Diplosphere’s recent event The Rules-Based International Order: Rhetoric or Reality?

We can’t build a future for our grandchildren with a system built for our grandparents

Diplosphere heard from The Rt Hon Jim Bolger, former New Zealand Prime Minister, H.E. Ömür Ünsay, Turkish Ambassador, Elizabeth Longworth, Chair UNESCO NZ National Commission, H.E. Viktor Vavricka, Swiss Ambassador, and Dr Rouzbeh Parsi, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, Swedish Institute of International Affairs. Introduced by Diplosphere Executive Director, Maty Nikkhou-O’Brien. Read below for Diplosphere’s takeaway points, and listen to the speakers’ contributions.

Relying Solely on “Alliances” will leave NZ Sorely Exposed

Elizabeth Longworth, Chair UNESCO NZ National Commission

1/ We should not dismiss the current system as being irrelevant: For smaller, trading nations like NZ, an international rules-based order provides a layer of protection against more dominant global forces. With 9 years at UNESCO Paris and 2 years UNISDR in Geneva, and as current chair of UNESCO’s NZ National Commission - the speaker is clear about the benefits and costs of the UN system - even though it is far from perfect.

Peaceful coexistence requires actual mechanisms of cooperation [..] frankly, you need some machinery.

2/ There’s a lot more to the rules-based order than the UN Security Council: Longworth addresses a common misconception about the United Nations, highlighting that it extends far beyond the Security Council. She provides insight into the scope of the UN system, which comprises 35 different agencies covering various aspects of global governance and cooperation.

What it (the rules-based order) boils down to is different mechanisms for cooperation […] Most of the rules I’m familiar with are non-binding, but once ratified, they have significant persuasive power.