As we start the New Year of 2026, we are reminded that the United Nations remains the only universal and comprehensive body that the world has to deal with international peace and security. However, the nature of the threats to international security is ever changing. Today, we see more armed militias fighting as in the eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar (formerly Burma), a press release said.
There are vast challenges to the world society: famine, the consequences of climate change, uprooted and displaced populations, vast movements of migration. Through increased means of communication via social media, more and more people are becoming aware that we live in a tragically broken world. Yet, as we have seen in financial cuts to U.N. agencies, there seems to be an ever-diminishing willingness to help those in need.
We all have limited attention spans for crisis situations in which we are not directly involved or do not have strong emotional links. Political leaders have even shorter attention spans unless there are strong domestic reasons for being involved.
Thus to meet these challenges, we need to strengthen the capacity of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who must be able to draw on the knowledge and resources of universities, religious groups, and government services. This is the challenge before us. The process will take time and vision. As we start 2026, cooperative action among NGOs is a vital need.
René Wadlow, Association of World Citizens.
