Progress in the United Nations

Since the UN was founded in the smoldering ashes of World War II, it has always been surrounded in controversy. There are those who believe it is outlandishly idealistic and incapable of accomplishment in the harsh, real world. This belief is based largely on the experience of the old League of Nations, which was founded on the romantic notion of "peace in our time".

This year's General Assembly meeting, however, made actual progress and took reasonable stands. The Taleban Militia of Afghanistan was forced to back down from its demand for diplomatic recognition before it would join the world's fight against drugs. The Iranian government realized, in public, that it could not support the death sentence against author Salman Rushdie ... India and Pakistan were forced to admit they had gone too far in arming themselves with nuclear arms, and began to back away from their lamentable brinkmanship.

It is possible, of course, that these achievements might have been realized outside the United Nations. Events are often set on course, and then take months or years to bear fruit. However it seems that there is no coincidence between the annual UN meeting and several positive diplomatic accomplishments, including those listed above. Much of the credit goes, no doubt, to the dynamic secretary-general, Kofi Annan of Ghana.

The United Nations still has much to do to reform itself, and to stop its internal corruption. But the world body has shown it is capable of providing leadership and achievement in some of the world's crises. Anyone who thinks the UN can solve all of the world's serious problems is wrong. But equally wrong are those who believe the UN is a bumbling bureaucracy, incapable of delivering the diplomatic goods.

-- The Bangkok Post