Eight decades after its establishment, the United Nations faces an existential crisis as it struggles to maintain relevance in an increasingly polarized world. The institution designed to protect global peace and promote human advancement now finds itself paralyzed by multiple challenges it was meant to resolve.
The Forgotten Legacy of U Thant
The timing of Thant Myint-U's book Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World could not be more appropriate. This biography of the first Asian and developing-country Secretary-General serves as both historical record and urgent warning about the current state of multilateral decay.
U Thant's tenure from 1961 to 1971 established a benchmark for principled leadership that today's global diplomats would do well to emulate. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he operated discreetly as an intermediary between American President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, helping to prevent nuclear catastrophe through quiet diplomacy.
His leadership extended beyond crisis management to taking courageous moral stands. He maintained a firm position against apartheid, questioned America's military involvement in Vietnam, and significantly expanded the UN's development framework by establishing key institutions including UNCTAD, UNDP, and UNITAR.
The Trinity of Multilateral Responsibility
The solution to restoring the United Nations' effectiveness lies in what author Lakshmi Puri describes as the trinity of multilateral responsibility. This framework comprises three essential components that must work in harmony:
The Secretariat must reclaim its role as an independent moral authority. During U Thant's era, Secretaries-General exercised discretion and spoke truth to power without bias. Today, political partiality and bureaucratic control have undermined this principled leadership in our divided global landscape.
The Member States, particularly the permanent Security Council members (P5), bear responsibility for supporting the UN as guardian of global public goods. Instead, powerful nations have abandoned commitments to sustainable development and assistance for poorer countries. The Security Council veto power, selective military interventions, inconsistent counter-terrorism standards, and chronic underfunding have severely weakened the UN system.
We the People represent the third crucial element, as emphasized by the UN Charter's opening words. Civil society organizations, academic institutions, media outlets, youth and women's movements, and private sector entities once provided the moral energy that sustained the UN. Today, this civic engagement has diminished, replaced by indifference and narrow nationalism.
India's Resonating Connection and Global Role
U Thant's story holds particular significance for India, as his approach to international relations aligned closely with India's diplomatic philosophy. His commitment to non-alignment, respect for national sovereignty, and advocacy for equality among nations reflected India's own foreign policy principles.
He demonstrated understanding of India's regional challenges during both the 1965 war and the 1971 Bangladesh crisis, even when India faced international pressure. His conviction that developing nations should help shape the global agenda foreshadowed India's current leadership position in an emerging multipolar world order.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India has positioned itself as a bridge connecting global North and South, East and West. India's leadership of the G20 and establishment of the Voice of the Global South platform echo U Thant's belief that legitimate global governance must be founded on justice and inclusion.
The philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – "one Earth, one family, one future" – that India promotes aligns perfectly with the vision needed to revitalize the United Nations. When the trinity of multilateral responsibility works harmoniously toward global public goods guided by this principle, the UN can become the transformative force it was intended to be.
Thant Myint-U's Peacemaker transcends conventional biography, serving as both critique of the UN's moral decline and urgent call to action. As India's international influence grows, it carries both opportunity and responsibility to champion this renewal – working toward peace, development, equity, and dignity for all humanity. U Thant's largely forgotten moral compass still points the way forward.
