19/09/2026
Dear Friends,
I would like to share some of my observations about the United Nations, based on my association with the UN, as well as my experience and observations of its work since 1992. The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly opened earlier this month, and the General Debate will take place from 22 to 28 September 2026.
I believe that one of the major achievements of the United Nations has been the development of numerous policies, conventions, frameworks, standards and guidelines covering many areas, including development, humanitarian action, human rights, governance and peace.
At the same time, I have serious concerns about the gap between policy development and implementation. The United Nations has adopted many important policies, conventions and commitments, but it has not been able to demonstrate that these commitments are effectively implemented at the national and global levels.
In my personal observation, implementation of many UN policies and conventions remains far below what was originally expected. In some areas, the gap between commitments and actual implementation is extremely large. This raises an important question: How can the UN strengthen accountability and ensure that the policies and commitments it develop are translated into real improvements in people's lives?
I have also observed that the UN's role in promoting political discipline, responsible political conduct and respect for international commitments appears to be limited by the authority and mechanisms available to it.
At the same time, the UN appears to have limited capacity to prevent or stop wars, armed conflicts, autocracy, corruption, money laundering from low-income nations to develop nations and other serious violations taking place around the world. This creates growing concerns about the effectiveness of the international system and, in some cases, contributes to declining public confidence in the UN. Some people even question whether the world still needs such a large international institution if it cannot effectively prevent major conflicts.
War and armed conflict have a devastating impact on ordinary people, often resulting in disabilities. Overall, the number of people with disabilities is rising globally due to various factors, including demographic and health-related issues. According to World Health Organization estimates that agreed by UN, approximately 16 percent of the global population—or more than 1.3 billion people—experience with significant disability.
This raises another fundamental concern for me: Are 1.3 billion persons with disabilities adequately represented in the decision-making and planning processes of the United Nations?
I therefore would like to raise several important questions:
1. What percentage of the United Nations workforce are persons with disabilities?
2. What percentage of the UN's overall budget is utilized to promote the rights, participation, empowerment and development of persons with disabilities?
3. Why are persons with disabilities and their representative leaders not adequately represented in the governance, decision-making and leadership structures of the United Nations?
4. How can the United Nations effectively promote the rights, participation and representation of 1.3 billion persons with disabilities around the world if their representation within the UN's own structures remains limited?
These are questions I raise based on my long-term engagement with and observation of the United Nations since 1992.
I also believe that it is time for the international community to have an open and constructive discussion about the future role, structure, resources and authority of the United Nations.
Should the UN's enormous institutional structure, workforce and expenditure be reviewed and made more efficient? At the same time, should the UN be given stronger and more effective authority to protect international peace and security, so that Member States are more effectively bound by their international obligations?
In my view, any strengthening of the UN must also be accompanied by stronger democratic decision-making, transparency, accountability and meaningful participation of all parts of humanity—including persons with disabilities.
The United Nations Charter begins with the words “We the peoples.” Therefore, the voices, leadership and participation of all people should have a meaningful place in the UN system.
I hope the United Nations will create more opportunities for constructive global dialogue on the implementation of its policies, accountability, democratic decision-making, and meaningful participation and representation of all population groups, including persons with disabilities.
The world needs a United Nations that is more effective, more accountable, more democratic and more capable of fulfilling its fundamental responsibility to help protect international peace and security.
I share these observations not simply as criticism, but as questions arising from more than three decades of engagement and observation. My hope is that they will contribute to a constructive discussion about how the United Nations can better serve humanity and become a more effective guardian of global peace, security, human rights and development.
