This year’s general assembly looked to lose its excitement due to the absence of direct interactions among the world leaders, but not its substance for sure.

What did the leaders convey to “we the peoples of the United Nations”, as said in the first line of its “sacred” charter? They shared with us: reflections of the past, current state of affairs and, of course, expectations for a better future.

In his first appearance at the UNGA, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo reminded us “There is no point of celebrating victory among ruins”, because “conflicts are still happening […] and poverty befalls on many”. He hopes to maintain multilateralism and appeal to UN member states to strengthen “collective global leadership”. In the midst of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, his hopes are surely ours.

It is certainly not an easy job for the UN secretary-general. All nine “chief of the administrative officer”, as stipulated in Article 97, have struggled to make this body “a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends” (Article 1.4).

The center is old enough but this goal is far from being attained. In the third quarter of century of its existence, the UN has been bearing the same old problems, military conflicts from one region to another, poverty and disease, to rivalries among big powers.

As we are one-fifth way through the 21^st century and entering the digital age, this supposed-to-be powerful organization has to confront newer challenges like adapting to climate change and regulating the digital space. All needs to be immediately addressed and solved, but the means and infrastructure to mitigate the “virus” remain unchanged or slightly restored.

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