Authors Stress Commonality in U.N.

Authors Stress Commonality in U.N.

by Molly Newman
Marquette Tribune
April 5, 2007

Americans for Informed Democracy hosted guest speakers David Shorr and Mark Lagon Monday night to discuss their paper, "How to Keep from Overselling or Underestimating the United Nations."

The presentation, held in Alumni Memorial Union Ballroom D, is part of the "Global Governance for a Changing World" initiative, which aims to address the future role of institutions in the world.

Shorr is a program officer for policy analysis and dialogue at the Stanley Foundation, which released the paper, one of a series intended to develop solutions to the world's problems through dialogue and engage the American public in these issues.

Lagon is the deputy assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs and has responsibility at the United Nations on reform, management, human rights, humanitarian affairs and public diplomacy.

The co-authors switched off in discussing the democracy, universality and legitimacy of the U.N.

Shorr said the U.N. is a universal organization that affects world issues.

"All 192 of the world's nation-states belong to (the U.N.)," Shorr said.

Non-democratic nations in the U.N., Shorr said, raise the problem of legitimacy and cooperation.

However, "there are some bounds of behavior in international systems even recognized by undemocratic regimes," Shorr said.

The co-authors agreed that focus should be on the U.N. as a political rather than a legal system, based on the collective decisions of governments.

Nations "tend to form common positions," Lagon said, with large kingpin nations leading and other nations following.

The United States has long advocated U.N. reform, demanding accountability and transparency, the authors said.

However, Shorr and Lagon suggested U.N. renewal instead, encouraging it to live up to its purposes and promises.

They also discussed the United States' position in the U.N.

"What role should the U.S. take? We can't dictate. We can't stand back. We must be leaders," Lagon said.

After the presentation, Lagon and Shorr answered audience members' questions, ranging from the U.N. as a scapegoat for world problems to its role in ending the genocide in Darfur.

Regarding the genocide question, Shorr was adamant that action be taken.

"What we need is to recognize that these crimes against humanity are of such a gross category that we can establish over time that they are just plain out of bounds," Shorr said.

Sarah Milnar, a freshman in the College of Communication, attended the lecture and enjoyed the message that came out of it.

"I like that they addressed the question 'Where is the power?' " she said. "The U.N. is a political system and I think that is lost. That seems so simple but it is really true."

Conor O'Brien, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, was less than impressed with the authors' answer to his question about sovereignty and democracy in the U.N.

"They addressed the extremes of the U.N. people seem to find problematic, while they did not provide workable solutions as to how to make the U.N. a profitable political institution," O'Brien said.