Originally published on PassBlue on June 2, 2020 by Thomas G. Weiss

Seventy-five years ago this month, delegates in San Francisco signed the United Nations Charter. Anniversary events were supposed to culminate in the commemoration of the entry into force of the world organization’s constitution on Oct. 24. That, of course, was before Covid-19 turned the world upside-down. Like school and university commencements, the UN’s celebration will likely be postponed or held remotely.

The UN’s 75th birthday should call attention to the 1942-45 United Nations Alliance. The end of World War II — like World War I and the Napoleonic wars — resulted in an experiment with a new international organization. Yet “the scourge of war” that opens the Charter’s preamble is no longer the main threat to us or “succeeding generations.” Covid-19 is the latest in a growing list with climate change and terrorism, WMDs and inequalities.

What does the aftermath of the pandemic and the related global economic meltdown mean for the UN? Will it even be around to celebrate a centenary?

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