United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres plans to instil new life into the United Nations by making prevention of wars and armed conflicts the hallmark of his administration. This is laudable! After all, in 1945, the United Nations was created for this very purpose: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Though geopolitical circumstances have changed considerably since then, the aim of preventing wars and other forms of armed conflicts is still as vital today as it was over 70 years ago. The only question is, how to achieve this?

A recent joint World Bank-United Nations study, “Pathways for Peace – Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict,” intends to find answers to this question. The study was conducted by an integrated team of senior staff from the two organizations, supported by an impressive group of experts, political analysts, and think tanks. Yet the study is misleading in three fundamental ways: (i) it ignores the UN Charter, (ii) it obscures the UN’s core issue of war and peace, and (iii) it side-steps the UN’s collective decision-making process. If pursued, such an approach could undermine the core of what the UN is all about. As an alternative, this paper proposes three steps towards reinvigorating the UN’s role in preventing wars and
armed conflicts that are grounded in the UN Charter.