At a virtual high-level meeting on
September 21 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the world body, Vatican
Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin reiterated the Holy See’s support
for the United Nations.
The UN was officially established on
24 October 1945, when the UN Charter was ratified by a majority of its
signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security
Council. United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.
Since 1964 the Holy See has the
status of a Permanent Observer State at the UN and has a Permanent Observer
Mission at the UN headquarters in New York.
The theme of Monday’s meeting that
featured many world leaders was, “The future we want, the United Nations we
need”.
Source of hope and peace
Invoking the founding ideals of the
UN, Cardinal Parolin, in a video linkup, noted that for the past 75 years, the
peoples of the world have turned to it as a source of hope for world peace and
harmony among States. They look up to it for an end to conflict and
strife, greater respect for the dignity of the human person, the alleviation of
suffering and poverty, and the advancement of justice.
The Vatican’s top official, after the
Pope, pointed out that the Holy See has supported and taken an active role
within the UN. Successive Popes have addressed the General Assembly,
“urging this noble Institution to be a ‘moral centre’ where every country is at
home”. “It is where the family of nations convenes and where the
international community - in a spirit of human fraternity and solidarity -
advances together with multilateral solutions to global challenges.”
The cardinal said the COVID-19 pandemic
has made it clear that we cannot go on thinking only of ourselves or fostering
divisions. We need to work together to “overcome the world’s worst
plagues, mindful that the burden carried by some necessarily affects humanity
and the whole family of Nations”.
Accomplishments of 75 years
Commending the world body’s
accomplishments over the past 75 years, Cardinal Parolin said it has protected
and served international law, promoted a world based on the rule of law and
justice rather than on weapons and might. It has fed the starving, built
homes for the homeless, committed itself to the protection of our common home,
and has advanced a world of integral human development.
The Vatican’s top diplomat said, “The
UN has strived to champion universal human rights, which also include the right
to life and freedom of religion, as they are essential for the much-needed
promotion of a world where the dignity of every human person is protected and
advanced.” It has tried to “end war and conflict, to repair what violence and
strife have destroyed and to bring opposing sides to the table so that,
together, diplomacy and negotiation may win the day”.
Failures
Cardinal Parolin also pointed out
that the UN has not always lived up to its name and ideals, and has harmed itself
whenever particular interests have triumphed over the common good. Hence,
it needs to revitalize its original spirit, in line with the Charter’s
principles and purposes, within the context of a changing world.
Diplomats representing their
countries, he said, also need to seek the common in good faith through genuine
consensus and compromise.
Despite all this, Cardinal Parolin
stressed that the UN, “where the peoples of the world unite in dialogue and
common action, is needed as much today as ever to respond to the undiminished
hopes of the peoples of the world”.
https://www.un.org/fr/un75
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