By Colombe Cahen-Salvador
"You cannot solve today's problems with yesterday's solutions" said Dr Oby Ezekwesili. I’ve never heard a more fitting description of the massive challenges the United Nations is facing.
I recently had the privilege of hosting a townhall with Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, an absolute rockstar when it comes to rethinking unjust systems, holding those in power accountable, and fighting for people's basic needs. We explored a critical issue: how to make the United Nations accountable to all people, not just a few powerful nations.
If you missed the event, you can watch the full event here:
From the moment I met Dr Ezekwesili a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to organise this movement-wide discussion for a simple reason: she doesn't accept the status quo, ever, and is willing to give the craziest ideas a try if it means we have a slim chance of bettering our planet. On top of this, she thinks of humans first, and doesn't see borders nor nationalities.
Who is Dr. Oby Ezekwesili? She is an Economic Policy Expert. In addition to having served as a Vice-President for the World Bank, she founded Fix Politics and the School of Politics, Policy and Governance, and co-founded Transparency International.
The world, and specifically the United Nations, could use quite a bit of this. From climate change to poverty, we are facing many survival threats that are going untackled. Those threats are already impacting us everywhere. They are global, and the United Nations fails to deal with them due to its undemocratic, exclusive and outdated setup. Dr. Ezekwesili highlighted the inadequacies of the current UN system, particularly its failure to address global challenges. "There is a gap between what the people, who ostensibly were the reason for the setting up of the UN want... and those who should uphold those principles," she stated, emphasizing the disconnect between the UN’s founding ideals and its present-day operations.
She was clear about the structural issues within the UN: "Hardly any of the multilateral systems have accountability to the people. There are no mechanisms that punish bad behavior of institutions that exist to serve them at a global level." This lack of accountability, she argued, undermines the very purpose of the UN. She pointed out that this reflects a bygone era: "The existence of those institutions did, as a matter of fact, reflect the image of the countries that had the touring strength of that period." However, as global power dynamics have shifted, the UN has not kept pace, leaving it ill-equipped to tackle today’s challenges.
But there is hope. If something is not working, then that’s when you must fix it. So let's: we can change the tide, but only if we come together with the willingness to look beyond our differences and create a better way forward. The UN, as it currently stands, is not delivering on its promises. To remain relevant, it must evolve, becoming more transparent, democratic, and accountable.
That's why at Atlas we want to give Peoplehe ultimate decision-making power for the UN to have the legitimacy to act on survival threats. This means:
- Establishing a democratic election for the United Nations Secretary-General.
- Creating a democratically elected UN parliamentary assembly to act as a second chamber alongside the UN General Assembly.
We believe that together, we can build a UN that truly serves all of humanity, not just a privileged few. Dr. Ezekwesili’s insights provide a powerful roadmap for how we might begin this work.
What now?
- This townhall helped us understand how to make the UN transparent, and democratic & how to give people a stake in it! Our teams at Atlas will now further develop our policies to incorporate this feedback.
- Throughout my campaign for the United Nations Secretary-General, I'll push this agenda forward until countries have no choice but to change their ways.
- For this, I need you. Change will only happen if we unite, fast! So join us: volunteer, donate, or simply support my campaign by signing it here!
Check out this townhall, let us know what you think, and join our work to #Unite4Survival!