World leaders, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will gather in New York next week to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, which was founded in 1945 to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war."
While war on a global scale has been averted, the world has witnessed the outbreak of many intrastate and regional conflicts, resulting in a massive increase in the number of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), particularly since the end of the Cold War. The 70th commemorative session of the General Assembly, which begins with a three-day summit of heads of state and government on Sept. 25, should be an occasion not only for assessing the U.N.'s performance over the last seven decades but also providing much-needed hope that the world organization can remain relevant in the coming decades.
High among the agenda of this year's assembly is how to ensure sustainable peace and development of the world over the next decade and beyond. During the three-day summit, the world leaders will adopt a post-2015 development agenda aimed at combating climate change, eliminating poverty and hunger, protecting the planet and fostering peace, among others. Formally known as "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," the agenda lays out a set of 17 sustainable development goals and 169 targets in five areas of critical importance for humanity, including people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership.