United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan had hoped that the summit of world leaders that has been held this week would yield another "San Francisco moment": a coming together of nations that produced a renewed commitment to international law and the institutions that would help implement it. He is sure to be frustrated. Basic questions about the role of the U.N. have not been answered in the feverish negotiations over the blueprint that has been drawn up to guide it through the 21st century. Until those questions are answered, the hopes invested in the U.N. are more likely to be dashed than realized.
More than 150 world leaders have gathered in New York City for the U.N.'s 60th anniversary summit. The gala event was originally intended to mark the adoption of a document that would reshape the world body to better cope with the challenges of the next century. The U.N.'s flaws have become increasingly apparent in the post-Cold War era. The list of problems is long: genocide, growing income gaps between rich and poor, continuing violations of human rights, manifest inequality. The gap between promises and actual progress grew too great to ignore.
As doubts about the efficacy of the U.N. mounted, the Iraq war exposed the divisions that lurked in its corridors. While some complained about the ability of a state to flout the will of the international community, others noted the U.N.'s inability to deal with the fundamental concerns of its members: guaranteeing international peace and security.