The Millennium Assembly

In: Global governance: a review of multilateralism and international organizations, Band 7, Heft 2, S. 127-149

Abstract

The organization of a conference of world leaders & nongovernmental organization representatives to commemorate the first meeting of the UN's General Assembly in the new millennium is explored. It is argued that similar conferences organized during the 1990s to discuss issues of human rights, women, food, & education produced no significant results. UN officials are delineated as individuals who overlook the activities of member states yet advocate the creation of a more equitable moral order. It is then asserted that such special conferences permit UN officials to feign achievement by setting dates for realizing certain objectives. In addition, the current UN Secretary General, Kofi A. Annan, is criticized for believing that all regional & international conflicts can be resolved if goodwill is established between conflicting parties. The need to determine whether the UN is an inherently flawed institution is articulated. J. W. Parker