UN CHARTER AT 80:        A CALL TO RECLAIM ITS PURPOSE

On June 26, 1945, the founding nations signed the UN Charter—not in peace, but in defiance of war's devastation. An act of hope and resolve.  

Eighty years later, that hope faces its gravest test.  

We who have served the UN and its Charter have witnessed its promise, its fragility, and its effectiveness.  

Today, the principles we swore to uphold are under systematic assault.  

War rages. Authoritarianism spreads. Facts drown in propaganda. Young people face exclusion and despair.  

This is not merely about ignoring international law. This is about the systematic dismantling of the rule of law—piece by piece, norm by norm.  

The UN transcends the Security Council. The UN is a platform for negotiations, a guardian of international law, delivering education and healthcare, protecting workers, and preventing conflicts from turning violent. While peacekeepers courageously prevent massacres, the Charter's true promise lies in preventing wars before they begin. These gains did not come easily. They can vanish overnight.  

This anniversary calls for reckoning, not ritual.

We call for moral clarity. A return to the Charter's values—peace, development, human rights, rule of law, and faith in human dignity. A renewed commitment to truth over lies, integrity over corruption, solidarity over silence.  

When this international order collapses—and without urgent action, it will— rebuilding it will take generations.  

We call for strengthening international law, preventing violent conflict, and transforming global financial systems to create opportunity for everyone, everywhere, rather than perpetuate inequality.

Young people deserve our action, not our apologies.  

 This is our moment to act. If we fail, the legacy we leave will be one of abandonment, not courage.


Signed by former senior UN officials and international civil servants worldwide.