United Nations: I spent decades working inside the system

 

I’ve Worked Inside the UN. Here’s Why I Still Believe in It.

By Victor Ângelo

Every September, I find myself watching the United Nations General Assembly with a mix of hope and frustration. It’s a ritual I know well — not just from the outside, but from within. I spent years working under the UN flag, in places where diplomacy wasn’t just a word, but a lifeline.

And yet, each year, the same question resurfaces: Is the UN still relevant?

It’s tempting to say no. The speeches can feel repetitive. The Security Council often seems paralyzed. And the world, frankly, looks more chaotic than ever.

But I’ve come to believe that pessimism about the UN is not only misguided — it’s dangerous.

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🛠️ The UN Needs Help — But Not Abandonment

I won’t pretend the UN is working as it should. The Security Council, in particular, is stuck in a post-World War II time warp. Power is unevenly distributed. Vetoes are wielded like weapons. Reform is overdue.

But here’s the thing: we don’t fix global problems by walking away from global institutions.

When I was in the field — in conflict zones, post-crisis regions, places where the UN was often the only international presence — I saw what it meant to have a neutral actor, a voice for peace, a mechanism for dialogue. It wasn’t perfect. But it mattered.

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🔄 What We Can Do

If we want the UN to work better, we need to:

• Reform the Security Council to reflect today’s geopolitical realities.
• Give the UN teeth — the ability to act, not just talk.
• Support multilateralism, even when it’s slow and messy.
• Hold leaders accountable for how they use the UN stage.

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🌱 Why I Still Believe

I’ve seen the UN at its worst — bureaucratic, slow, sometimes painfully ineffective.

But I’ve also seen it at its best — bringing food to starving communities, mediating fragile peace talks, offering hope where there was none.

That’s why I believe in it. Not blindly. Not naively. But because I’ve seen what happens when it’s not there.

Pessimism is easy. It lets us disengage. But optimism — especially the kind rooted in experience — is a choice. And it’s one we need to make if we want a better world.