A talking club? Irrelevant? We’ve all felt threatened by these U.S. characterizations of the only multinational institution with a mandate for preventing the scourge of war. Granted, it is an aging bureaucracy, heavy with responsibilities it can not always fulfill easily. In this post World War II era, it has failed to prevent the scourge of war in many parts of the world. It has not always been invited to come into an area ridden by conflict until significant damage has occurred. And then it must try to coordinate the multitude of services which are inevitably needed to care for the hungry, the maimed, the refugees, and provide peacekeeping.

Most people agree that humanitarian aid is one of the UN’s best functions. UNICEF, for example, has an outstanding record of providing vaccinations, preventing dehydration, and supporting education for children, particularly in areas devastated by war. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has provided international protection and assistance to over 20 million people annually. The World Food Program has regularly delivered two thirds of the world’s emergency food assistance, saving millions of lives. Last year WFP’s school feeding program reached more than 16 million children in 64 countries.

And the non-governmental organizations are proliferating. Not only the traditional CARE, Oxfam,

and countless religious relief agencies, but individuals through Peace Brigades, the International Solidarity Movement, and Christian Peacemaker Teams are physically providing their bodies as human shields in the midst of war-torn communities.

The range of tools needed to prevent the scourge of war and to deal with the aftermath of military actions are also growing. There is a bill before Congress, submitted by Mass. Congressman James McGovern, to promote a UN Civilian Police Force to provide stability in post conflict areas. The new international organization, The Nonviolent Peaceforce, is developing a well-trained corps of unarmed civilians from around the world who can partner with people in an area where there is conflict to protect human rights, deter violence, and help create space for local peacemakers to carry out their work.

In a recent interview Jane Hall Luke, who will become Assistant Secretary of the UN Department of Peacekeeping on August 1, said a peacekeeping force is only one part of the picture. We need a new model, she feels, based on what the "great states" can agree upon and what principles they want to uphold. The U.S. looks at each situation as a unique problem and tries to build a new coalition for each. If there were a more coherent agreed upon model for dealing with conflict, resources would be better spent.

For many of us who want to support a stronger and more effective UN, we are aware of a significant gap in understanding the needs of the world - there is clearly a cultural divide between the capitalists and the humanitarians. One and a half trillion dollars a day pass through the global marketplace, according to Ellen Frank, who teaches economics at Emmanuel College in Boston. Corporations are now more powerful than nation states and they are free to operate independently of governments. Although they fall under the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the WTO (World Trade Organization) are integral parts of this global marketplace. The financial theorists, Jeffrey Sachs and George Soros and others who meet for annual think tank sessions in Davos, talk of the need for "new financial architecture." With the emerging international peace and justice movement pounding on the IMF and WTO, will there be a new global ethic and how can this shape the economic world order? How can this disconnect between the vast array of human needs to allow all people to have a sustainable standard of living and the drive for profit accommodate each other?

CSUN has stated in its Peace Platform, aimed at all U.S. Presidential candidates for their adoption,

that the UN Center on Transnational Corporations should be re-established to set standards of corporate conduct consistent with UN covenants and charter and that the IMF, World Bank and WTO should be reformed and placed directly under the UN Economic and Social Council to coordinate with the UN Development Program, the UN Environment Program and the UN Conference on Trade and Development.