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The world was last week on the brink of something akin to a mini-catastrophe or a major war, which could have easily slipped into a nuclear confrontation. Amid the missiles and dust, everyone seemed stunned into inaction, despite the repeated mantras of the need for calm and restraint and to let diplomacy take its course. It was evident that all international powers lacked the desire, interest or even basic human empathy to work for peace in an optimistic way.

All this coincided with the 80th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter — a collaborative dream that became reality from the ashes of the Second World War. However, we all agree that there was little to celebrate. In an increasingly contentious and fragmented world, people, nations and global actors need to dig deep to revive collaboration and multilateralism. Above all, they need to find the optimism and moral resolve to work together and build common ground as nation states, either within or outside the UN, as they have done for the past 80 years.

When the UN was born in San Francisco on June 26, 1945, the overriding goal of the 50 participants who signed the charter was stated in its preamble: “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” US President Harry Truman explained that the “job will tax the moral strength and fiber of us all,” pointing out that the UN Charter would be useless without the leadership required to uphold it.

Many have long ago condemned the UN to the margins and dismissed it as irrelevant. They say it is like an international group of employees that long ago stopped being productive; instead, they are simply concerned about their own fat salaries, pensions and short-term benefits.

But this is unfair to the organization, as well as the spirit of those who lost their lives working to promote its ethos or those who have been saved and given another chance in an increasingly cruel and uncertain world.

In an increasingly contentious and fragmented world, people, nations and global actors need to dig deep to revive collaboration

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Yes, its clout has been diminished, but that is due to many reasons, including the veto-wielding members of its Security Council’s own involvement in wars.

The UN, like other nonprofit organizations around the world, is also struggling with major funding cuts, particularly since the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. It has been trying to reform itself for years, but it has failed and is now shedding jobs due to scarce funding.

What is at stake and should keep every caring human being awake at night is the fact that the UN and its multilateralism is under siege. Its most powerful body, the UNSC, has been blocked from taking action to end the major wars in Ukraine and Gaza. And that is maybe why it watched from the sidelines as the latest conflict between Israel, Iran and the US flared.

In today’s world, adversities continue to multiply not just due to conflicts, with tens of millions of people caught up in the fighting. There is also inequality, global warming, migration and poverty, which continue to feed the system of discontent. Meanwhile, rich donors dwindle in number and aid and development budgets are axed so that governments can spend more on security, defense and wars.

The UN marked its 80th anniversary with an exhibition about the San Francisco meeting of 1945. It included a rare centerpiece: the original UN Charter — ironically on loan from the US National Archives in Washington. But due to the events of the week elsewhere, hardly anyone took any notice.

Since its establishment, the UN’s membership has nearly quadrupled to 193. The UN system has also expanded enormously from its origins, which focused on peace and security, economic and social issues, justice and trusteeships for colonies. Today, its numerous funds, agencies and entities work on improving the lives of children and refugees, in addition to 71 peacekeeping operations and other efforts aimed at protecting people’s human rights.

What should keep every caring human being awake at night is the fact that the UN and its multilateralism is under siege

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

It is easy to sweep the UN aside, especially amid the current superpower discord and confrontations on nearly every topic. However, it is impossible to find another forum or institution where any nation can talk directly at or against any other. At least they talk and do not rely on bombs or some dry, algorithm-fueled cryptic message to attempt conflict resolution.

We ought to celebrate the UN and support it, throughout the endless talk and even the peculiar and sometimes boring details, as long as the common good and conflict resolution are of paramount importance.

And it is worth underlining the words of its second secretary-general, Dag Hammarskjold, who once said that “the United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell.” The organization was clearly born from a consensus to save the world from authoritarianism. It is not surprising, therefore, to see it so marginalized by some of its most powerful members, who shrug off what they see as the constraints of the rule of law.

The adversities of today call simply for the global moral resolve, optimism and strength to face them. In every crisis, like every business deal, things only advance when people find common interests anchored in fairness and justice. Above all, they must build trust and find the optimism that drives all sides toward better results. The UN has been that forum.

Certainty is currently in short supply and might is increasingly making right. This is what 80 years of the UN has tried to help humanity and nations avoid. We ought to find that optimism once more, along with Truman’s moral strength, to steer us toward more peace and fewer conflicts.

• Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years’ experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.