There is currently a global trust crisis. One can debate the origins of it, but it has been highlighted by the pandemic and the climate emergency. Meanwhile, the United Nations is variously held up as both part of the solution and part of the problem.
Natalie Samarasinghe, Global Director of Advocacy at the Open Society Foundations, suggests in a recent op-ed that there are five ways the UN can position itself firmly as part of the solution:
- Help globalists become nationalists.
- Remedy gaps and double standards.
- Get localization right.
- Make “multistakeholderism” the norm.
- Be transparent on appointments.
In 2018, Natalie Samarasinghe was awarded a prize of USD 600,000 for her submission titled “A truly global partnership – helping the UN to do itself out of a job” to the Global Challenge Foundation’s New Shape Prize. Her proposal suggests noteworthy solutions for improving global governance and provides additional inspiration and ideas that are related to her recent op-ed in PassBlue.
PassBlue is a nonprofit, independent media company that covers foreign affairs and the United Nations.
