This article is a contribution to the German peace movement’s pamphlet on the occasion of this year’s Anti-War Day on September 1st. On this day, 84 years ago, the German Reich marched into Poland and ignited the Second World War, bringing indescribable destruction, misery and suffering to Europe and the world. The UN Charter was […]
Although almost unnoticed today, 75 years ago, on 24 October 1945, the probably most important international treaty, the United Nations Charter, came into effect. Its aim was not only to end WWII, but to save, once and for all, succeeding generations from the scourge of war. In San Francisco, the victors against Nazi Germany pledged
The German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, recently declared that ‘nationalism is the mother of all political problems’. Such a statement must be understood in the context of Germany’s troubled history. However, in the UN Security Council, Germany may face a totally different problem: how to rescue nation-states. Indeed, the future of nation-states has become a
When President Obama gave his speech at the opening of the UN General Assembly in September this year, much of it sounded like a declaration of war on the so-called Islamic State (IS but also known as ISIS, ISIL, ISIG, EIS and even Daesh) within the territories of Iraq and Syria. Of course, by that
International law about war and peace fails to respond to the shift from “traditional” wars among states to violent conflicts with and among armed non-state actors. At its core are the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions that were developed in the aftermath of WWII with the hope of preventing similar devastating wars among states.
Since the end of the Cold War, the UN has found itself intervening directly within its member states to help them end intrastate conflicts and rebuild their war-torn countries. Peacekeeping missions that were originally designed to keep opposing national armies apart and that had the consent of the host state are now expected to secure
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres plans to instil new life into the United Nations by making prevention of wars and armed conflicts the hallmark of his administration. This is laudable! After all, in 1945, the United Nations was created for this very purpose: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Though geopolitical circumstances
The worldwide increase in armed intra-state conflicts will make it necessary to expand the mandate of the UN Charter. Although this would be the first substantive revision of the UN Charter since its adoption almost 75 years ago, this may be less utopian than it seems. In fact, Germany is well placed to take the
Behind the doom and gloom over mounting great-power tensions, fading hopes for a liberal world order, a decline of multilateralism there might be a unique opportunity to reposition the United Nations. Today’s fast-changing geopolitical landscape is creating an environment in which a return to the collective security system of the UN should be attractive to
Dark clouds of war are gathering once again. Military posturing among major powers has increased and spending on ever more sophisticated and deadly weapons systems is soaring. The tone of debate and threats of action on display at the UN General Assembly in New York this week has done little to calm matters. Yet away