“Taking rights seriously”

The 175 Heads of State and Government gathered in New York should respond to the delicate questions regarding the usefulness of the UN and should discuss the reform project of the institution. The ambition is to reorganize a new era in world politics. The world has changed over the past 60 years and the nature of conflicts has also evolved considerably. Therefore, it’s necessary to reorganize the UN. The task will be tough and reaching a consensus will be difficult due to the number of member states, but today’s threats (proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, “states in full decline”, persistent poverty, climatic changes, HIV-AIDS) need urgent action.
Some are more interested in the composition of the UN Security Council and others in management themes. These are important matters but they should not overshadow the important issues: security, human rights and Development. The European Union has given too much importance to the reaching of a consensus in the halls of the United Nations. That is not surprising since the European Union was the result of war trauma and, as the UN, it’s based on the principle that states are more capable of facing challenges when they are united. The EU is responsible for 50% of the contributions made by UN members and it’s determined to do its best for the creation of a reformed organization in this Summit, which is capable of fulfilling its first promises.
With regard to this, the creation of a Commission for the Consolidation of Peace will be a key element for it will guarantee the transition from post conflict assistance, stabilization to development in a long term, which does not exist in our international structure. In the Balkans and Afghanistan, the EU is already trying to implement this coherent approach. With the purpose of preventing conflicts and their recurrence, we should double our efforts to protect human rights. The current Human Rights Commission is not an effective instrument. We should also make emphasis on the security of the populations by adopting a new modern concept of sovereignty based on which states must protect not only their borders but the populations.