Celebrating seven decades of Asia-Pacific growth, development and security

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addresses the media ahead of the UN General Debate at UN headquarters in New York, September 16, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

On this day, 70 years ago, the Charter of the United Nations came into force – hope,rising from the ashes of World War II. For seven decades the UN has driven multilateralism for peace, security, development and human dignity – in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.Although far from perfect, no other organisation has done more to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and to promote social progress and better standards of life" for all.

Conflicts have been averted.Human rights have been enshrined in international law. Hundreds of millions have been lifted out of poverty. Primary education has become near-universal. Smallpox and polio have been largely eradicated, and fewer women, men and children die now from preventable causes than at any point in human history.

Many of the greatest impacts of 70 years of UN work remain often unseen, but are at least as important in our daily lives. UN-driven regulations and frameworks facilitate trade and commerce, as well as air and maritime safety. UN-sponsored treaties help ensure the worldwide flow of mail, telecommunications and data. Progress is measured against UN-derived benchmarks. Global energy, food security, and even the acceptable use of our oceans and outer space are all governed by agreements reached under the auspices of the United Nations.

The most important contribution of the UN however has been to prove the power of a single ideal:that no nation can succeed alone. Through its institutional architecture, especially the five UN regional commissions, the organization has fostered regional development and shared prosperity as a way to reinforce multilateralism, demonstrating time and again that cross-border challenges, which continue to grow, require collaboration, integration, coordinationand an unwavering commitment to the wider common good.

No region provides better proof of these efforts than Asia and the Pacific. When the UN was created just four of the 51 founding Member States were from this region – China, India, Iran and the Philippines. Much of the continent was under colonial rule. Standards of living were falling, and post-war infrastructure in many countries was nearly non-existent.

To address these challenges, the United Nations created the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) – the forerunner of the present Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Over the next seven decades these institutions, supported by the whole of the UN system, have assisted Member States in creating the most economically dynamic and diverse region on Earth.