San Francisco: On June 26, 1945, in a world scarred by war and still reeling from its deadliest conflict, representatives of 50 nations gathered in San Francisco to sign a new covenant for peace: the Charter of the United Nations. Eight decades later, the ideals etched in that historic document remain as urgent and as fragile as ever.
The UN Charter, with its noble vision “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” and to “promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,” was born from the ashes of World War II, a conflict that extinguished nearly 50 million lives, most of them civilians. Its founding was a defiant act of hope a diplomatic miracle, many said, forged in a city named after St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of peace.
Today, 80 years on, that miracle bears deep creases. The “Glass Palace” of the United Nations in New York, a symbol of global consensus, seems increasingly brittle in a world where brute force often tramples over justice, and where international law is honored more in breach than observance.
Despite its flaws, the UN has given the world a framework for peace and the rule of law. It helped codify international legal norms, shaped human rights protections, and pioneered peacekeeping operations. It has mediated in hundreds of conflicts, launched humanitarian missions across the globe, and fostered a fragile yet vital sense of global accountability.
But the UN’s authority is now under immense strain. Its calls for ceasefires are often ignored, and its resolutions vetoed or dismissed by global powers more invested in geopolitical leverage than moral leadership.
In a stark assessment, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, speaking at the University of Padua, described the present condition of international governance with striking clarity: “Multilateralism has died, and the UN matters in the world about as much as Europe does: nothing.”
He lamented that the “international order” is often determined not by shared principles, but by the whims of the powerful, who selectively apply or discard international law based on their own interests.
In recent years, this reality has become painfully evident. From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to the devastating October 7 attack by Hamas, from the obliteration of Gaza to the escalating regional conflagration between Israel and Iran, the world has watched as laws were broken, civilians slaughtered, and international institutions sidelined.
At this critical hour, the Church has raised its voice, with Pope Leo XIV echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Speaking in the shadow of continued violence, the Pope offered not just a lament, but a call to action. “Let this voice from on high be heard,” he pleaded. “Let the wounds caused by the bloody actions of recent days be healed. Let all logic of domination and revenge be rejected, and let the path of dialogue, diplomacy, and peace be chosen with determination.”
The United Nations, for all its visible cracks, remains one of the few global platforms where dialogue can still happen, where small nations can be heard alongside the mighty, and where the moral language of rights, peace, and law still endures.
The world stands again at a crossroads. The temptation to return to an era where “might makes right” is growing. But the memory of San Francisco 1945 reminds us: peace is not a given it is a daily choice. A fragile miracle that must be defended, reimagined, and strengthened.
As the UN enters its ninth decade, humanity must reclaim the spirit of its founding, or risk losing not just an institution, but the very idea of a shared future.
Only through renewed commitment to multilateralism, genuine diplomatic cooperation, and the rejection of violent power politics can we hope to keep the promise made 80 years ago: “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”