Global statesmen: UN needs to be more muscular and united

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A group of elder statesmen founded by Nelson Mandela says the United Nations needs to be more muscular and united if it wants to remain a central player in tackling the world’s multiple escalating crises. Former world leaders in the group known as The Elders told AP executives that the U.N.’s most powerful organ, the Security Council, needs to address the paralyzing impact of its vetoes, and the secretary-general of the 193-member world organization needs to speak out on violations of international law. Former U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, The Elders’ deputy chairman, said he told Security Council ambassadors “we are living in a world where multilateralism is in crisis” — and the United Nations “is most responsible for that.”