Ambassador Bob Rae’s Address to the United Nations on the 80th Anniversary of the Signing of the UN Charter
The following is the text of the address delivered by Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, on June 26, 2025 on the 80th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter.
Monsieur le Secrétaire General, Monsieur le Président de l’Assemblée Générale, Madame La Présidente du Conseil de Sécurité, Monsieur le Juge en Chef de la Cour International de Justice,
Excellences, Chers amis et collègues,
En reconnaissant cet anniversaire historique, il est important de comprendre le sens significatif des réalisations de 1945, tout en prenant un moment de réflexion sérieuse sur notre parcours actuel.
Quand on considère que les experts retracent désormais notre existence en tant qu’espèce à 300 000 ans, et la révolution néolithique à 12 000 ans, il convient de se rappeler — comme je le dis à mes petits-enfants — que 80 ans, ce n’est pas vieux. C’est dans notre mémoire vivante que cette organisation, tout comme nos vies, a été marquée par des réussites et des échecs, des périodes de véritables avancées et des reculs difficiles.
Nous aurions avantage, en ce moment, à poser un regard lucide sur ce que nous avons accompli, en reconnaissant à la fois nos succès et nos échecs, sans pour autant sombrer dans l’autocritique stérile ni dans des banalités suffisantes.
L’ONU n’est pas un gouvernement mondial et la Charte, dont nous commémorons aujourd’hui la signature, n’est pas parfaite. Elle a été fondée avec de grandes aspirations, mais aussi avec les marques de la géopolitique de l’époque. Nous continuons de vivre avec son imagination et ses limites.
Notre travail doit se poursuivre. Il ne faut pas céder au pessimisme ni se laisser emporter par la rhétorique. Lorsqu’on a demandé à Benjamin Franklin quelle forme de gouvernement avait créé la Révolution américaine, il répondit sagement : « Une république, si nous pouvons la conserver ».
On pourrait dire la même chose de la Charte. Avec la création de l’Assemblée générale, du Secretariat, du Conseil de sécurité, du Conseil économique et social, de la Cour internationale de Justice et de toutes les institutions et traités mis en place depuis, on nous a donné les outils pour bâtir un monde meilleur — “si nous savons comment les utiliser”.
C’est le grand philosophe Blaise Pascal qui a bien décrit le dilemme qui nous entoure : “la justice sans la force est impuissante. La force sans la justice est tyrannique”.
Pascal’s embrace of the profound irony that without enforcement justice is impotent, but that power without justice is tyranny, is the central dilemma that surrounds us.
Tyranny and injustice enfold and threaten us today just as surely as they did in 1945, but like the generation that struggled with the Great Depression, the rise of fascist and communist dictatorships, and then fought a bitter and devastating war, our own times require our commitment to values and principle in a spirit of achieving the possible.
Human rights and economic justice are as much a part of the Charter as peace and security. The Charter insisted on the equality of nation states, and the dangers of aggression, and it also created an Economic and Social Council whose focus is nothing less than the human condition itself, the dignity and equality of all people, the deeper and widening prosperity so important for wellbeing.
Mr. President, I have in my hand the copy of the charter that my father used to use. And I have time to time, referred to it. I will only refer briefly to two pages. In the first article, when it states the purposes of the UN, it states very clearly that its objective is, yes, peace and security, yes, improving relations between countries, but also to promote and encourage respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms, for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.
So, those who say they are friends of the Charter, this is what you have to be friends with — not just pick and choose, not just the à la carte menu that the secretary general referred to. And all of chapters 9 and 10 are all about the social and economic rights of all the people.
It’s all about how can we use the experiences that took us through not just the war, but the dark valley of poverty and of depression and of excessive nationalism that marked the years leading up to that war. And that’s what led to the creation of the Economic and Social Council.
That is what has led to the creation of all the agencies that are as much a part of the purpose of the United Nations as the security council, or of the presidency, or even of the secretary. And it is important for us to remember that.
Over the last 80 years, we have seen billions lifted out of poverty, and over 140 countries achieved political independence.
We have learned that the pursuit of peace and security, the linking of development and sustainability, and the expansion of human rights and freedoms under the rule of law are not only compatible, they are essential partners.
The intricate and complex network we have built collectively is there for a reason, not to subsume nation states but to strengthen them. Global and even planetary problems and challenges cannot be solved by national and local governments alone, but neither can they be addressed effectively without civil society, nation states, local and regional governments, and an active citizenry, all engaging in transforming laws, treaties, and even resolutions into realities.
The great Jawaharlal Nehru once described the Commonwealth as “independence plus”. We should see the UN in the same spirit — not as the enemy of sovereignty but rather as its enabler.
Let us take this moment to renew the vows we made in 1945, and upon the acceptance of the Charter by every member state since then, to fight hate, tyranny, and the poverty that afflicts too many. And to renew our commitment to freedom, sovereignty and equality under law.
There are forces in the world that spread messages of despair. Let us resolve to join together in the fight against misinformation and lies, and to take back the dark night that denies the light of truth, rationality, and science.
We did not find perfection in 1945 and we do not have it. What do we have? The dedication of the doctors and nurses who care for the sick and wounded, the refugees struggling to find the pathways to education and work and who never give up; the women refusing to accept the autocracy of gender apartheid; the innovators and entrepreneurs excited by the potential of new technologies and new discoveries. We have the courage and heart of good people. We have the skills of good builders and the persistence of those who have taught us never, ever, to relent in the face of cruelty, neglect, complacency and cynicism.
Dear friends, let us avoid the tendency to seek perfection and then beat ourselves up because some say we have failed. Let us rather embrace the beauty of the broken, to see that failure is the essential step in learning how to pick ourselves up and succeed. The poet and singer Leonard Cohen told us to “ring the bells that still can ring” and said “forget your perfect offerings. There is a crack in everything — that’s where the light gets in”.
Let us continue to learn, to repair, to heal, to forgive, and yes, to love and to treat each other and the world we are in with dignity and respect. Let us continue to find the places where the light gets in.
Bob Rae is Canada’s permanent representive to the United Nations and a Policy contributing writer.