The Five Actions — A Path Beyond Paralysis
The United Nations stands at a defining moment in its history. Around the world, institutions are tested, conflicts deepen, and the ideals that built the international system demand renewal. Yet as history shows, renewal is possible when conscience is stronger than cynicism, and when nations act with courage and cooperation.
“Eighty years ago, in a world scorched by war, leaders made a choice: cooperation over chaos, law over lawlessness, peace over conflict.”
— António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
UNGA 80 Opening Address (2025)
The Secretary-General’s words remind us that the choices made in 1945 were moral as much as political. The Charter was conceived not as an artifact of the past, but as a living instrument for the defence of peace and human dignity.
“Regardless of size, each and every Member State of the UN has agency — a say in how the new world order will look like. It is important that we all use this power wisely and responsibly.”
— Alexander Stubb, President of Finland
UNGA 80 General Debate (2025)
Stubb’s insight underscores that the fate of the United Nations — and of the world it serves — does not rest in the hands of a few. Every nation, large or small, carries both rights and responsibilities. Collective will, not veto power, defines legitimacy.
“We are, however, in the midst of a critical phase, and the next chapter of history has yet to be written. This also means that we can play an active role in shaping it.”
— Karin Keller-Sutter, President of the Swiss Confederation
UNGA 80 Statement (2025)
Her words capture the essence of agency — that the United Nations remains, at its core, a project of human choice. The next chapter is unwritten, and the pen is collective.
The Spirit of One Man
No individual embodied that moral courage more than Dag Hammarskjöld. As Secretary-General, he saw the United Nations not as a stage for power, but as a service to humanity. His example proved that integrity and quiet perseverance can move even the largest institutions toward principle.
“The United Nations was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.”
— Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General (1953-1961)
Hammarskjöld’s vision remains the ethical compass of this initiative — a reminder that peacekeeping is not simply the management of crises, but the moral act of protecting life and dignity. He believed the UN’s strength lay not in might, but in conscience; not in wealth, but in will.
The Enduring Covenant
The UN Charter is the constitution of our common world — a covenant born from the ashes of conflict and consecrated by the hope of cooperation. It calls on nations to uphold justice, equality, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. It empowers the General Assembly to act when the Security Council is divided, and entrusts the Secretary-General and the UN system with the moral authority to protect the vulnerable.
The Charter does not need rewriting; it needs remembering. Its words remain our most powerful instrument — if we choose to use them.
Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.
Reviving that principle — through courage, integrity, and shared resolve —
is how we honour Dag Hammarskjöld’s promise and the Charter’s enduring purpose:
to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
