“Multilateralism remains as important now as in 1945” says LI President on 63rd Anniversary of UN
24.10.2008 
Lord Alderdice Sixty-three years after the establishment of the most successful forum for international cooperation in history, the importance of the institution has not diminished. It is as important as ever, said Lord Alderdice on the 63rd Anniversary of the UN. "The concept of multilateralism remains as important now as it was in 1945, and the UN stands at the forefront of championing this ideal. The goal of the founding nations to create an organisation which facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achievement of world peace are much in line with those of the Liberal International, founded only two years later in 1947. Both organisations hold as paramount the undeniable effectiveness of cooperation through discussion, within the framework of an international law. And both champion the ideals of creating a global order guided by truly human values rather then the short-sighted real-politik that has so often defined the western world or the discrimination against some smaller countries that we had seen in the East."
"We are now few days away from the crucial elections in the United States of America and all of our member parties around the world hope that the new administration which will soon take up office in the White House will band all its efforts to restore America´s commitment to give a lead to a world of multilateral cooperation and dialogue", added LI President Lord Alderdice.
The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945 upon ratification of the Charter by the five permanent members of the Security Council - France, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States - and by a majority of the other 46 signatories. There are currently 192 member states, including nearly every recognized independent state in the world. From its headquarters on international territory in New York City, the UN and its specialized agencies decide on substantive and administrative issues in regular meetings held throughout the year. The organization is financed from assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states, and has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
