Happy United Nations Day!

Yesterday marked the 65th anniversary of the birth of the United Nations. It was on October 24, 1945, that the U.N. Charter, signed four months earlier, entered into legal force. Few who were involved could have had the slightest notion of what the organization they were creating would eventually become.

When it was born in 1945, the U.N. had 51 members; today, it has 192. Its original mission of preventing war and preserving peace has been, at best, only partially successful. While there have been many failures, so to have there also been many successes. The U.N. helped stop aggression in Korea and Kuwait, and prevented conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, Central America, and parts of Asia from spiraling out of control. The roughly 2,500 U.N. peacekeepers who have died in the line of duty should never be forgotten.

Beyond the prevention of war and the preservation of peace, the U.N. has taken upon itself tasks for which it was never intended. Today, it is at the forefront in the fight against epidemic disease, global poverty, environmental degradation, nuclear proliferation, and a whole host of other problems. Organizations like UNICEF and UNHCR have worked to bring comfort to those afflicted by the horrors of war or natural disasters, while agencies like UNESCO have served to build cultural, scientific, and intellectual bonds between the disparate cultures of the world. While much work remains to be done, only a fool could assert that the world would be better off today without the U.N.

The U.N. is far from perfect. As with any large institution, there have been scandals and cases of corruption, and these problems need to be fixed. But beyond that, there is a need for fundamental reforms to give the U.N. greater flexibility and strength to act proactively in confronting global challenges. The U.N. Security Council needs to be expanded and the use of the national veto reformed. There must be a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly and an independent Rapid Reaction Force designed to respond immediately to a crisis anywhere in the world. If these and other reforms were enacted, the U.N. would become an even more effective tool for human progress than it already is.

So, on this United Nations Day, let's remember the achievements of this great organization, while keeping firmly in mind the great challenges it will be called upon to face in the future.