Overshadowed by the far-reaching impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, which has redefined ways people and nations work and interact with one another, global leaders kicked off the annual summitry of the UN General Assembly this week with a commemoration of the UN’s 75th anniversary.

At the High-Level Meeting of the UNGA held on Monday, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the anniversary had become a test for the organization to “enhance its relevance and manage the world’s expectations”.

In recent years, multilateral institutions have faced more challenges to their authority as more and more countries begin to favor self-serving policies and look inward at the expense of global multilateral collaboration.

The stakes are even higher as concerted global action seems more necessary than ever, as the current COVID-19 crisis illustrates.

“Countries increasingly have higher expectations [for] the UN to strengthen collective global leadership and deliver concrete results. Yet, multilateral institutions are increasingly struggling to respond, leading to weakening trust in multilateralism,” Retno said, according to a circulated transcript.

“We cannot allow this to persist. Without multilateralism, ‘the mighty takes all’ will prevail,” she said during the meeting.

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