I’ve seen the UN at its best. As it turns 80, with a world in crisis, it must recover its courage | Martin Griffiths

The UN has a power and a legitimacy that could be used to save lives in Palestine, Ukraine and Sudan. But a culture of caution must be addressed• Martin Griffiths is the former UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairsBirthday parties should be a time for celebration, but when my former United Nations colleagues meet to mark the organisation’s 80th anniversary next month, good cheer is likely to be in short supply.The UN is in crisis. With the geopolitical picture at its most fractured in decades, this great institution is desperately short of funding and, more importantly, relevance. Across the critical conflicts of the modern world – Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan and others – the UN still plays a vital humanitarian role, but is relegating itself to an increasingly marginal place in primary peacemaking. Continue reading...

Comments

Similar News

Jacinta Price, I've worked in Australian politics for decades. You've got real talent... but it's time you take your own advice - or risk humiliation: PETER VAN ONSELEN

Help! I’ve Become a Helicopter Parent to My Dog.

AMANDA PLATELL: Oh Myleene, I was SO sympathetic to your cheating trauma. Now I see you're just a poor man's Liz Hurley in a cheap bikini... you've been damned by your own words

NADINE DORRIES: I've met Camilla. The unseen way she's got even with her train groper is proof she leads by example

I’ve seen how big tech has transformed the classroom – and parents are right to be worried | Velislava Hillman

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews last night's TV: Frenetic, forgettable fun… but this thriller could've been so much more

Keir Starmer’s plan will send back just 0.2% of illegal migrants – it’s pathetic – but I’ve got tips for hapless PM

I’ve known Karren Brady for years – here’s the TRUTH about her massive weight loss and emotional reason which sparked it

Pass the sick bag, Traylor. That was the tackiest thing I've ever seen. KENNEDY's withering take on Swift's 'promposal' (and its all too convenient timing)

Dems’ Foolish DC-Policing Fury, Identity Politics Would’ve Killed Hamilton, and other commentary

I've suffered from restless legs for 30 years. Is there ANYTHING I can do? DR ELLIE has an ingenious solution

I've been using Mounjaro for nearly a year and have lost five stone without any nasty side-effects... but this is why the new fat jab trend has left me sickened: JENNI MURRAY

I’ve Seen What Happens When a Country Messes With Data. America, Beware.

The beauty world can't stop talking about body care, so here are all the best products I've tried from the neck down: POLISHED with Elise Wilson

KEVIN O'LEARY: I've spotted a crushing indicator for the US housing market... take my advice if you want to survive the financial fallout

I'm a middle-class woman slipping into sex addiction. After an 'unforgivable' act at my best friend's birthday, I've been kicked out the group chat: ASK JANA

Don't believe the gushing nonsense you're hearing about Meghan and Harry's Netflix deal, says RICHARD EDEN. I've been told the truth... and it's VERY different

Yes, I've been caught speeding but don't dare tell me I can't drive just because I'm old: JENNI MURRAY

From 'exosomes' to 'PDRN', I've found EVERY buzzy skincare ingredient you need to know about in 2025: POLISHED with Elise Wilson

Chris Bryant: “I’ve got a terrible confession”

Opinions

No Deal —Why Trump shouldn’t touch LIRR union fight

It's one year since the Manchester City trial of the century started: This is what has shocked experts, what they believe is going on behind closed doors and what it means for the verdict on their 115 charges

Emma Stone went all in for her ‘terrifically funny or hilariously horrific’ new film ‘Bugonia’

Three years later, Iran’s freedom martyr Mahsa Amini inspires demands for change

Hollywood’s latest Hamas stooge Hannah Einbender’s anti-Israel rant made her the Emmy’s ‘biggest loser’

Doubling down on Israel-bashing: Zohran Mamdani at his MOST sincere

Don’t let Buttigieg or any other Biden-decline denier claw back their credibility

Charlie Kirk’s free-speech advocacy: Letters to the Editor — Sept. 16, 2025

Trump’s UK state visit could push PM Starmer’s government over the edge

British comedienne makes vile online rant about Charlie Kirk's assassination

Charlie Kirk’s murder will break the left’s hateful cancel tactics

A Hollywood nepobaby cheers Hamas, and they repay her by censoring her shoulders

Kathy Hochul is a red-hot hypocrite who won’t support Zohran Mamdani’s tax-hike policies anyway

Charlie Kirk was right on liberty’s cost, America needs more arguments and other commentary

Fearmongering predictions about climate change keep falling apart

The warped meme life of Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer is a warning to parents—ignore it at your own risk

Starbucks needs proper managers — no one needs to wait 11 minutes for a drink with a cute message scribbled on the side

For the first time in a year the Tories felt like a serious force in parliament: QUENTIN LETTS

All eyes on change at the Fed amid fears a bubble is building - and may be set to burst: ALEX BRUMMER

The ugly Emmys insult to Charlie Kirk... the most hideously dressed actress... and why Stephen Colbert is truly pathetic: KENNEDY reveals the REAL awards and epic fails

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Why are we arranging weddings for illegal migrants we should be deporting? Is this where all our money is going?

Stop private foundations from ‘partnering’ to fund deadly government criminal-justice policies

Contributor: All L.A. rentals are to be cooled by 2032. Here's how to survive the heat until then

There’s no denying the trans links to suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination

Should I opt for a £64,000 lump sum or a higher monthly local government pension? STEVE WEBB replies

PETER VAN ONSELEN: Pull the other one, Chris Bowen. Little old Australia cutting its emissions by a little bit more is not going to spare us 'the worst'

Kathy Hochul is embracing all of Zohran Mamdani’s radical agenda with her spineless endorsement

A former Mossad chief uncovers his life fighting for Israel — and Western civilization

Is this the 'dream team' who could save the Coalition? As Sussan Ley takes the Liberals to unthinkable lows - WORSE than Dutton ever was! - the options for the future emerge...

Leaving monsters like Jamel McGriff free to kill is what ‘parole reform’ now means

ANDREW NEIL: We don't know where, when or how, but we do know Starmer is done... and this is why Labour is facing extinction

Don’t buy any Zohran Mamdani ‘apology’ for smearing the NYPD

ANDREW PIERCE: All right for sum! Sacked Mandy in line for £8million

American decline: Depopulation is possible — and could cause a collapse

Social media’s deranged Charlie Kirk responses, assassinations and history’s hinges, and other commentary

ALEX BRUMMER: Donors divide the art world giants

Hochul’s insensitive quip: Letters to the Editor — Sept. 15, 2025

Americans need to come together and rediscover what made this country great — before it’s too late

From mascara to hairdryers - I've found every 'DUPE' beauty product that's better than the real thing

Europe provoked its own destruction — with crises that threaten the entire West

Jeffrey Epstein skirted the same law the IRS uses to ruin small businesses

Housing hypocrites Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani put politics over wisdom

Minneapolis shooting was driven by anti-Catholic hatred that the media ignores

Charlie Kirk lived out the mission that our universities betrayed

Hochul must shame LIRR unions —by revealing their outrageous strike demands

I've been lying to my husband about the thing he loves most. If I come clean, he'll be humiliated: DEAR JANE

Charlie Kirk’s assassination is the result of a decade of anti-Trump rhetoric from the left

MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: The weakest part of this crumbling Government? It's Starmer himself

FLOURISHING AFTER 50: Help! My partner and I have five adult kids, one family home... and a battle brewing over my will

TONY HETHERINGTON: I invested £160,000... then my financial adviser went bust

JEFF PRESTRIDGE: Crazy card plan encourages thieves to empty your bank account

LIRR fare evaders and more: Letters to the Editor — Sept. 14, 2025

In Europe, too, Charlie Kirk’s message of faith fed Gen Z’s hunger for meaning

'He's not even in the top three most important people': Ministers tell me who REALLY runs the Government, why Keir Starmer is now alone and without allies... and the disturbing influence of Tony Blair: DAN HODGES

Gov. Hochul & MTA brass must face down LIRR union thugs’ strike threat

The party assassins after Sussan Ley: Insiders tell PVO they already have the numbers with a successor in the wings. The only question is when they'll strike...

My best friend's shockingly cruel confession about her affair with a married man is making me spiral. I fear she might be a psychopath: ASK JANA