A Faith-Based Vision for the United Nations at 75 and Beyond

In October 2020, the United Nations System celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding. To mark this momentous occasion, several members of the community that represents Catholic Religious congregations, including Patricia Flattery, CND, came together to craft practical recommendations as to how the UN System could move forward from this fraught moment to “build back better” than it was before.

The statement they crafted offers a faith-based perspective on reform, which highlights the social principles of human dignity, option for the poor, and stewardship of creation, among others, which are cornerstones of Catholic teaching as well as the Charter and conventions of the UN.

To that end, the leadership and Member States of the UN are urged to take action in four interrelated areas, which are key to rebuilding a UN that is fit for purpose beyond the year 2020:

1. Make the role of civil society, including Faith Based Organizations, in UN processes more central and meaningful;

2. Reform the Security Council’s structure and scope of work to reflect a modern, community-focused understanding of “security” and the UN’s championship of democracy;

3. Develop a UN body dedicated to the coordination of both the internal (i.e. UN institution-wide) and national-level reviews of implementation of UN treaties, declarations, resolutions, and compacts; and

4. Scale-up technology capacity, affordability, and accessibility and revise the logistical approach to UN processes to allow remote participation to become a primary mode of operation.

Rebecca McKenna, CND, with the members of the Visitation Leadership team, have endorsed this statement. The document is available online via the following link:

English: https://jcor2030.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FBO-statement-for-UN75_ENG_24-Aug-2020.pdf