Kenya’s Ruto punches from the shoulder as UNGA winds down

As this year’s UN General Assembly wound up its various activities, it was time to reflect on what the world’s various leaders had to say about our times and each other. Some spoke boldly, some timidly and some rudely. How did Africa fare? Anver Versi focuses on the speech given by Kenya’s President Ruto, regarded as articulating the views of the continent. He invites you to rate the speech and consider what impact it continues to have.

The 80^th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) is regarded as a major nexus not only for the organisation that has been an omnipresent presence in our lives, but also for the ongoing reordering of the world order itself.

Such a massive change – when what we took for granted for so many structures for so long, when what we considered solid ground on which to build policies and hopes begins to look like water under our feet – is not only discombobulating; it is disorienting.

What sort of future are we heading towards? Where can we locate ourselves in the wider world while it is changing before our eyes? What sort of alliances should we form? What are the immediate and future dangers we have to prepare for? In this clash of the giants, do we matter?

These were the questions buzzing around as angry bees in the corridors among the Emerging nations, including the Africa Group gathered in New York for UNGA.

While there were many questions, the answers were very few. Political, economic and thought leaders from our parts of the world are still mulling over what the ‘New World Order’ translates into.

We are still digesting the implications of the changes and how they will impact us in terms of our development, our security, our sovereignty, our future. No doubt our thinkers and analysts will come up with original solutions – as they have traditionally done in similar circumstances in the past – and no doubt many will use the platform provided by these pages to express those thoughts.

But, in the meanwhile, UNGA provided the global forum for nations and groups of nations to put their cards on the table. Some of these were outrageous and lacked any of the traditional courtesy employed in such gatherings.

For example, when the President of Argentina, Javier Milei, said the UN had become a “useless organisation whose only purpose is to sustain a caste of fatally arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats” without offering a shred of proof, one had to wonder for whose benefit this sickening act of sycophancy was being performed.

Be that as it may – people have to live with their conscience, but it is a very disturbing harbinger of the sort of behaviour creeping into this once august event.

But in the miasma of rudeness and downright lies on parade at UNGA, there was a shaft of brilliant light. It was provided by the Africa Group, in the person of Kenya’s President William Ruto.

It was essential that, despite the disorientation of the so-called New World Order, Africa had to make full use of the global forum to put forward its case in front of the whole world.

As I settled down to listen to his speech, I wondered if this stance would be timid, or sycophantic, or fearful or pleading as we heard from other delegates, or would it be honest and bold?

You can be the judge. The following is an edited version of this speech:

“Ladies and gentlemen, 80 years ago, in the aftermath of unprecedented global destruction and devastating war, the international community came together in hope. They created this Organisation – the United Nations – as a shield against the horrors of war, as a platform for dialogue, and as a bridge to a better, fairer, more secure global community.”

He reminds the audience that the UN grew out of the failure of the League of Nations (1919 – 1945). It had been formed with 42 members in the aftermath of the

“It was humanity’s first attempt to build a permanent international organisation to stop aggression, end war, and bring nations together.

“Despite these ideals, the League of Nations faltered. The United States never joined, other great powers came and went, and without enforcement authority, its condemnations carried little weight.

“When Japan invaded Manchuria, when Italy marched into Ethiopia, and when Hitler openly defied its rules, the League stood by, helpless and powerless”.

He lays the blame for this on the loss of legitimacy and relevance.

“This history is both a lesson and a warning. Institutions rarely fail because they lack vision or ideals; more often, they drift into irrelevance when they do not adapt, when they hesitate to act, and when they lose legitimacy. To remain relevant, institutions must be re-imagined, reformed, renewed, and aligned with emerging realities.

“Eight decades ago, the founders of the UN sought to correct the failures of the League by creating a stronger, more inclusive organisation, anchored in the principle of ‘We the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’”.

End of Part 1 Keep a lookout for Part 2

The post Kenya’s Ruto punches from the shoulder as UNGA winds down appeared first on New African Magazine.