United Nations (UN) at 80: Reforms, representation and the future of global peace

DAR ES SALAAM: THE United Nations (UN) marked Eighty years since its establishment on 24 October 1945.

To mark this symbolic commemoration the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC), on its programme: “Tanzania Today”, that it coorganizes with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, hosted the author of this article and two more experts in diplomacy, international relations and economic affairs to discuss the achievements, challenges and legitimacy of the United Nations at Eighty years.

This piece, therefore, seeks to document the key messages from the author that were shared, albeit in abridged form, during the said discussion.

The programme commenced with a reflection on the theme for the Eightieth Session of the United Nations General Assembly, namely: Better Together: 80 years and Beyond for Peace, Development and Human Rights.

The theme, suggested by Her Excellency Annalena Baerbock, President of the United Nations General Assembly at its Eightieth Session and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, celebrates the achievements of the United Nations during the eight decades of its existence, underlines the continued relevance of the Charter with its three fundamental pillars of peace, development and human rights and stresses the importance of upholding multilateralism, going forward.

In assessing as to whether the Organization has lived up to its purposes, namely the maintenance of international peace and security, development of friendly relations among nations, achievement of international cooperation on global issues, and serving as a centre for harmonizing the actions, the discussants highlighted several milestones that serve as an illustration of the achievements and continued relevance of the United Nations.

These include the deployment of peacekeeping missions, which since 1956 have restored peace in some conflict affected countries, while also protecting citizens of the said countries from the ravages of conflicts.

The UN has also offered mediation space that has prevented another major world war, hence saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.

There have been around 72 such missions since 1956, whereby 11 remain active and 61 have wound down.

Tanzania participates in five of the missions, contributing nearly 1,600 troops, police and civilians.

Through the UN, world nations have come together to address poverty, in its many dimensions, diseases, climate change, energy and water deficiencies, which have and continue to cause wanton suffering to peoples of the world.

The Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and their successor, the Sustainable Development Goals are truly a lucid testimony of UN’s pioneering of international cooperation.

On the human rights and political fronts, the UN, through the Decolonization Committee (C24), which Tanzania joined in 1961, was instrumental in dismantling colonialism in Africa.

Several decades later, UN member states established the Human Rights Council, which despite not being an organ of the UN, it serves as an important forum for promoting human rights globally.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948 influenced the human rights movement globally, with the adoption of the international covenants on civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights being its key outcomes and the bill or rights, which are enshrined in various constitutions of countries, including Tanzania’s, as a legacy.

In addition to these mechanisms for ensuring the full enjoyment of human rights for all, the UN has also adopted legally binding instruments and established the International Criminal Court (ICC) for addressing impunity and ensuring accountability for heinous crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Prior to the establishment of the Court, the UN established the International Criminal Tribunals for addressing atrocity crimes that transpired in Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia.

The former ad hoc court was based in Arusha, Tanzania while the ICTY was based in The Hague, the Netherlands, where the ICC is also located.

The panel also discussed the spectre of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.

This followed remarks by His Excellency Dr. Philip Isdor Mpango, Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania at the general debate of the eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, whereby he noted that ‘war is undesirable’ because at the end everybody loses.

Earlier on, while addressing the General Assembly on 22 September 2023, the Vice President warned that “an eye for an eye, would only leave the whole world blind.”

The question before the panel was, if this is the case, why then some countries choose war over peace? Despite being inevitable, given the untamed desire for some to compel others to submit to their will, or others defending themselves from the aggression of others, war and armed conflicts are generally ‘undesirable’ because of their indiscriminate and long-lasting impacts, particularly to civilian population, essential infrastructure, the environment and peace.

The Second World War for example, claimed approximately 85 million lives, and injured millions more, both military and civilians.

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Whereas the world has not witnessed another major war akin to the first and second world wars, it has witnessed numerous devastating wars and conflicts, whose cumulative impacts have brought wanton suffering to affected communities.

Most of these conflicts took place in Africa, during and after the Cold War, along the lines of ethnicity, control over natural resources or as an extension of rivalries between the two major powers of the world, at the time.

With the advancement of weapons and their delivery systems, a major world war could potentially obliterate the entire humanity, if waged in the current milieu.

The caution notwithstanding, there are other major killers apart from wars and armed conflicts.

Take road accidents for example, which cost around 1.2 million lives annually. Non-communicable diseases, such as cancer and diabetes killed 9.7 million and 3.4 million people, in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

It is for this reason, at independence Tanzania declared war on poverty, diseases and illiteracy.

The same war was declared through the MDGs and are currently fought under the SDGs. These are necessary and desirable wars to be waged and won through collective actions of UN member states.

The irony however is that, instead of mobilizing resources for achieving the noble sustainable development goals, some countries are diverting and spending resources earmarked for development for armaments, as if they are preparing for war.

Security necessity notwithstanding, it is shocking to note that in 2024, the world spent a staggering USD 2.7 trillion on armaments, while only a fraction of these funds could have reduced the funding gap for SDGs that currently stands at USD 4 trillion.

The general verdict from the panellist was that the United Nations and its Charter remain relevant and necessary in ensuring cooperation and peaceful co-existence among nations, while also harmonizing their actions for addressing the world’s numerous challenges.

To remain relevant and useful, the United Nations must continue to embrace reform, both in terms of structure and delivery.

Hence, the panellists welcomed the UN80 Initiative that was launched by Mr Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations in March 2025.

Over the years the UN has expanded significantly, with some agencies performing similar functions, hence the need for harmonization.

The UN could also operate for less and closer to the people it serves by moving some of its functions to less expensive cities, like Arusha, Dar es Salaam or Dodoma in Tanzania.

Eight decades down the line, the UN has also adopted many resolutions and decisions, some of which are either duplicates or obsolete.

There is also the question of legitimacy through equitable representation of all peoples in the Security Council, which last expanded in 1965, with Africa still not occupying a single seat in permanent category.

As such, Tanzania fully aligns with the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration demanding two permanent seats for African countries, with all the privileges currently accorded to the current permanent members, and five non-permanent seats.

While waiting for the remedy of the just mentioned historical injustice, Tanzania continues to be an ardent member of the United Nations, contributing troops and civilian personnel in peace support operations, contributing to the budget of the United Nations and its agencies, contributing to deliberations of the United Nations General Assembly and participating as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Recently,

Tanzania has announced its bid for a non-permanent membership of the Council for the term 2029-2030, whose election will be in June 2028.

This will be the third time Tanzania joins the Council, having previously served in 1975 – 1976 and 2005-2006.

By joining the Council, Tanzania will contribute to its important discussions and shape its binding decisions, particularly on issues of concern to its immediate and strategic neighbourhood, namely the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Tanzania also holds a strong view that the global financial and trade system must undergo reform to reflect the realities of the 21st century.

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Tanzania like most African and developing countries, from all continents, continue to call for a fair, inclusive and development-oriented global financial and trade system that anchors sustainable growth, shared prosperity, and lasting resilience.

In this regard, Africa demands a systemic overhaul of the financial system; the scaling up of long-term concessional finance, revising sovereign credit rating methods, and rethinking debt sustainability tests.

Tanzania and other likeminded countries are also calling for increased voice and votes in decision making of the financial system and a rechannelling of more Special Drawing Rights.

Developing countries are also seeking for new trade rules that actively enable technology transfer and incountry value addition to support industrialization and economic diversification across the continent.

Whereas, in war everyone loses, in development everyone wins, especially if development is people centred and inclusive. The MDGs restored hope to most developing countries, which strived to achieve most of the goals by 2015.

The ambitious Agenda for Sustainable Development however faces numerous headwinds. With only five years before the deadline, most of the developing world is off track. The resources for financing SDGs are also diminishing.

It now rests with countries themselves and willing developing partners to push the SDG agenda forward.

Tanzania is grateful for the support of the UN country team and other DPs in the implementation of SDGs through the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDCF) 2022 to 2027.

The Framework is fully aligned with the national development vision and its annual plans.

The annual joint work plans developed and adopted by the Government and its partners ensures that UN agencies provide coherent policy advice, technical support, and resource mobilization tailored to Tanzania’s context.

In addition, the UN provides technical assistance to strengthen governance, build institutional capacity, and foster South-South cooperation.

Through programmes that modernize data systems and support Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), the UN enhances transparency and evidence-based policymaking.

The organization also plays a crucial role in global advocacy championing debt relief, fair trade, and concessional financing to close the funding gap facing many low- and middle-income countries.

Beyond financial and technical aid, the UN fosters multi-stakeholder partnerships bringing together governments, civil society, and private sector actors to accelerate progress and share best practices.

Overall, the UN’s support operates as a backbone for SDG implementation, linking global goals with national priorities and local action.

With this support and government’s own efforts, Tanzania has made notable progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), underpinned by steady economic growth and strong institutional commitment.

According to the 2025 Sustainable Development Report (SDG Index), Tanzania has made commendable advances in food security (SDG 2), health (SDG 3), education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG 5), clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) and decent work and economic growth (SDG 8).

These achievements have been driven by targeted social programmes, expanding infrastructure, and steady economic performance averaging above 5 per cent annual growth.

Despite these improvements, some goals remain difficult to achieve. Persistent poverty (SDG 1) and inequality (SDG 10) continue to hinder inclusive development, especially in rural areas where most of the population relies on low-productivity agriculture.

Environmental sustainability also remains a pressing issue, with Tanzania struggling to meet targets related to climate action (SDG 13), life below water (SDG 14), and life on land (SDG 15).

These challenges are compounded by climate shocks, limited financing, and gaps in data at the subnational level.

These areas are among those identified by the government as a priority during the implementation of the electoral agenda for 2025 to 2030.

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Indeed, at international level Tanzania is leading a conversation for enhanced climate action, including the fulfilments of pledges for achieving adaptation and mitigation goals.

At Belem, Brazil during COP30, Tanzania through Dr. Richard Muyungi, Special Advisor and Envoy of Her Excellency President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Chair of the African Group of Negotiators, will champion Africa’s priorities for climate action, including renewing the call for the capitalization of the Fund for Loss and Damage, which became operational in 2022 and is currently accepting contributions in order to assist countries faced with the adverse effects of climate change.

Earlier on the discussion it was clarified that the United Nations is not a mere abstract.

It is an organization of, by and for the people. Hence the preamble of the Charter commences with unifying words “We the peoples of the United Nations…” The organization which commenced with roughly 51 members has expanded to 193 members.

The population it serves has also grown and so has the challenges facing it.

The theme Better together: 80 years and beyond for peace, development and human rights is a timely reminder for renewing our determination to realize the noble goals of the United Nations, which undoubtedly is the best tool at our disposal for achieving international peace and security, people centred development and promoting the full enjoyment of human rights for all, in larger freedom.

As Mwalimu Nyerere, the founder of the Tanzania nation once remarked, the United Nations is as strong or weak as its member nations make it, particularly the most powerful, ones.

We are better together, and with continued determination and recalibration of the United Nations System, we can achieve bigger and better outcomes in the future, in service of all mankind.

Amb. Noel E. Kaganda is the Director, Department of Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation.