Reinvigorating the United Nations

Since the United Nations’ establishment 77 years ago, its Charter’s foundational goal to ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’ has been put to the test many a times.

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine - a blatant violation of the United Nations’ purposes and principles by a permanent member of the Security Council - puts the entire world at risk. The current accumulation of internal and external conflicts around the world, violations of human rights, economic ruptures, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic amount to urgent challenges. At the same time, geopolitical rivalries are surging. Global governance, violated and undermined, struggles to cope with these challenges.

In the year of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the purpose of this hybrid conference is threefold: (a) take stock of existing principles, rules and norms to address major global problems, (b) analyse their implementation record, and (c) look ahead to how a reinvigorated United Nations ought to look like in the future.

Doing so, we underline foundations of the organisation, especially the Charter and the evolution of international humanitarian law, and address recent key documents such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the Secretary-General Guterres’ Our Common Agenda. The speakers and panellists from different world regions as well as academia and practice, will share their ideas and visions, engaging with current developments and discussions happening within the framework of the United Nations and beyond.