Middle powers can’t be bystanders as the UN falters

Elina Valtonen is Finland’s foreign minister. Penny Wong is Australia’s foreign minister. Many people look at the state of today’s world and wonder if the United Nations has failed in its promise. Some question whether it can still rise to meet the moment and if we should be searching for solutions elsewhere. It is understandable, but it is dangerous and misguided. To paraphrase Dag Hammarskjöld, U.N. secretary-general from 1953 to 1961, the U.N. may not have brought us to heaven, but it has — so far — saved us from hell. For more than 80 years, the U.N. has underpinned humanity’s progress.