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|  | Liaison Newsletter > LIAISON Vol. 2, No. 2, March 1998 - Articles
The Continuing importance of Canada in the UN Ever since President Roosevelt coined the term «United Nations», Canada has strongly supported both the concept and the practice of a firm structure of international organization. Canada has done so because of the lessons learned from our active participation in two world wars. These experiences taught us two important lessons: security can best be found collectively, and Canada must have a voice in the decisions that would develop such a system. From the beginning, Canada’s intent was to do so as a «middle power», ready to contribute in a substantial way to UN (peacekeeping) forces and to enjoy a place on the Security Council at regular intervals. In fact, Canada is currently seeking membership on the Security Council for 1999-2000. Our long record of service and achievement at the UN makes Canada a more than suitable participant at the top table of international affairs. Canada has served on the Council once every decade since 1948 and has taken part in almost every UN military operation, from Palestine and Kashmir to Bosnia and Haiti. Canadian statesmen were instrumental in developing and operating the machinery of peacekeeping as a deterrent to aggression in the Middle East and Africa during the 1950s and 1960s, and since then as an aid to building peace in war-torn societies around the world. A monument to peacekeepers in the center of Ottawa, Canada’s capital, signifies both the real and symbolic importance which Canadians attach to their part in this collective UN activity. Of course, the UN represents wider ideals than the maintenance of peace and security. Indeed, Canadian policy now interprets «security» as encompassing the principal purposes of the Charter. Threats to human and national security are now as much global as regional in nature: disease, pollution, and nuclear weapons know no boundaries. Only a global organization, including the agencies mandated to deal with specific concerns, can provide all peoples and governments with equal rights and opportunities to meet the global challenges they confront. Canadians come from all corners of the earth, and they inhabit the second largest country in the world. Both their multi-cultural heritage and their place on the earth’s surface induce Canadians to think and act in global terms. In 1945, Canada hoped that the UN would be able «to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war». Many years later we know that the Charter promised more than the UN could accomplish. We know too that the UN must adapt and reform itself if it is to maintain the trust of its members, and we support the proposals of the Secretary General to this end. Yet we also believe that the purposes and principles of the Charter remain valid. They must now be given a new impetus, especially by the USA -the UN’s most powerful member- if «we, the peoples» are to live together with greater freedom and equality for all. Geoffrey Pearson is Vice President of UNA-Canada, and a former diplomat. |
