Experts Look Ahead As New UN Leader Takes Helm by Chad Bouchard Namibia and Liberia
THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA, NEW YORK, NY • October 2016 Experts Look Ahead as New UN Leader Takes Helm By Chad Bouchard Namibia and Liberia. Just as coverage of the US presi- Abdelkader Abba- dential election reaches fever pitch, di, UN correspondent the United Nations is bracing for its and former director of own transition as the General As- the UN’s Department sembly considers Portugal’s former of Political Affairs, was prime minister, António Guterres, to less forgiving. replace Ban Ki-moon as Secretary “[The UN’s] struc- General. tures are old, its financ- On Oct. 4, on the eve of a key es inadequate. It needs straw poll among Security Coun- dynamic and vision- cil members, the OPC hosted a ary leadership. Those Chad Bouchard discussion about the UN’s current means are necessary Clockwise from upper left: Stephen Schlesinger, Abdelkader Ab- role in tempering global conflicts for the organization to badi, Richard Roth, Linda Fasulo and Ian Williams. and crises. be able to face the is- lion, while only $1 million is allo- Stephen Schlesinger, a historian sues of our turbulent world,” he said. cated for preventative diplomacy. and author, said the UN has to over- “We delay because of lack of Ian Williams, UN correspondent come public perception that the body consensus among negotiators, and for The Nation, agreed that the UN is ineffective in its founding mission also because of lack of readiness to struggles to establish legitimacy, to end global conflicts. compromise. It’s easier to adopt dec- with most Americans “sneeringly “This casual dismissal of the larations than plans of actions which dismissive” of its role in global de- UN’s efforts to settle disputes,” he require financial resources.” velopments.
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