UNOG Library Talk «Société des Nations: Terrain d’expérimentation des Nations Unies»

Palais des Nations, Library Events Room (B-135)
Tuesday, 10 March 2015, from 13:00 to 14:30

Chers orateurs,
Chers amis,
Chers invités,

Je suis heureux de vous accueillir aujourd’hui à l’occasion de cette Rencontre de la Bibliothèque de l’ONUG sur la Société des Nations et son rôle déterminant dans la naissance des Nations Unies. Nous avons le plaisir d’organiser cet événement en collaboration avec nos collègues de l’Université de Genève, qui apporteront leurs connaissances légale, politique et historique à notre discussion. Une preuve supplémentaire de notre excellent partenariat et de la vaste compétence de la Genève internationale.

This Library Talk is also a reminder of the very rich historical material held here in our archives. And I am pleased that we have with us the Permanent Representative of Lithuania, which has made such a significant contribution to preserving and making available these remarkable resources. Only last month, we completed the digitization of over 35,000 pages of archives relating to Lithuania’s activities in the League of Nations - the result of a collaboration between the UNOG Library and the Government of Lithuania.

Il ne saurait être de meilleur cadre que la Bibliothèque de l’ONUG et sa fresque emblématique « Le Rêve de Paix » pour accueillir cette discussion sur l’héritage de la Société des Nations. Au sortir de la tragédie de la première guerre mondiale, la Société des Nations a parfaitement illustré le rêve de paix de tous. Au moment de célébrer le 70ème anniversaire des Nations Unies, cette table ronde est un événement pertinent pour nous aider à mieux comprendre les origines de notre organisation. Et c’est sur cette toile de fond que se sont dessinées les contraintes et les opportunités des Nations Unies d’aujourd’hui.

La Société des Nations a été pointée du doigt à cause de son dysfonctionnement au moment du déclenchement de la seconde guerre mondiale. Elle a malheureusement failli à ce pour quoi elle avait été créée. Quoi qu’il en soit, l’accent a souvent été mis sur le côté purement politique, au détriment du travail important effectué au niveau humanitaire, économique et social et sur les efforts consentis afin d’améliorer la santé publique, de promouvoir le statut de la femme et de combattre le travail des enfants et le trafic de drogue. Bien des agences, programmes et fonds des Nations Unies – tels que le HCR, l’OMS, l’ONUDC et bien d’autres – trouvent leurs origines dans la Société des Nations. Cela prouve que la Société a été construite sur un concept plus large de la paix – pas seulement un concept de sécurité mais plus largement de protection, de bien-être et des droits de chacun.

Speaking in Zurich in 1946, Winston Churchill famously said that “the League of Nations did not fail because of its principles or conceptions. It failed because these principles were deserted by those States who had brought it into being. It failed because the Governments of those days feared to face the facts and act while time remained”. To some extent, we can say the same today.

This analysis encapsulates two important lessons of the League: that we will only succeed if everybody respects the rules that they have themselves agreed to. And we will only make our institutions effective if there is political will to take timely action. A quick glance at the headlines of today tellss us that this is very much also the challenge of today.

We have since the founding of the League of Nations and later with the United Nations developed a fine web of international rules and norms - agreed to by all Member States. But we increasingly see today how these rules are flouted by the very States that brought them into being. And political, economic and social crises are not responded to with the speed and the resolve that they require. I am sure that the historians on this panel will agree it is easy to over-emphasize or simplify historical parallels. But it is clear to me that we need to heed these lessons and continuities – also in the different circumstances of today.

For me, the most important lesson is the enduring relevance and importance of international collaboration and of multilateral solutions - particularly when such cooperation is challenged the most. The fact that the League of Nations did not succeed in delivering on the dream of peace did not make the political leaders abandon the concept of multilateralism. The response to the Second World War was not less multilateralism - the response was more and better multilateralism.

The basic concept was solid, but needed to be adapted to a new reality. Our world has undergone a remarkable transformation since the establishment of the United Nations. But the need for global cooperation and partnerships is - if anything - even greater today. In our new reality, we also need to ensure that we have the multilateral structures and institutions that suit our era. An important reflection to make here in our 70th anniversary year: do we actually now have the United Nations we need?

The dream of peace persists. And it will only become reality through strong, flexible and adaptable multilateral cooperation, rooted in respect for the rules that we have created and with the necessary political resolve to make them work.

I am sure that the discussion today will provide inspiration in this regard.

Thank you very much.