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Joris Larik in Dutch Newspapers on the Future of the United Nations

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations (UN). The world looked a lot different then than it does now. It is therefore important that the UN moves with the times. Together with experts from the Stimson Center, Joris Larik , Assistant Professor at Leiden University Collefe wrote a report to make the UN better, more inclusive and future-proof.

The UN 2.0 report of which Joris Larik is co-author, is intended as a kind of roadmap for the UN, after the organisation's 75th anniversary. We have made realistic proposals, all of which can be realized in the next three years,' says Larik. It is very important that the UN thinks ahead, because challenges such as climate change are on the agenda. However, Larik sees another and perhaps bigger problem for the UN: 'The biggest threat to the UN and the world as a whole is that people try to lock themselves away in their own country. There is nothing wrong with a little nationalism, as long as countries don't refuse to cooperate and don't want to contribute to the solution'.

Dumbarton Oaks

Larik believes that covid-19 can act as a catalyst for reforms that stimulate partnerships, just as it did during the Second World War. Larik draws this parallel several times in the report: 'Already during the Second World War, delegations from the US, China, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom met in Dumbarton Oaks to discuss how the world and international cooperation should proceed when the war would be over. We are now facing yet another such moment. We need another kind of Dumbarton Oaks to make sure the UN moves with the times'.

Read the full interview on the website of Dutch Newspaper Leidsch Dagblad.

Joris Larik is Assistant Professor of Comparative, EU and International Law at Leiden University College The Hague. He is an expert in EU external relations, comparative foreign relations law, global governance, and the external ramifications of Brexit. His work has been acknowledged with several awards, including NATO’s Manfred Wörner Essay Award and the Mauro Cappelletti Prize for the Best Thesis in Comparative Law from the EUI.

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