The United Nations role today

On 11 February 2023, the director of the United Nations counter-terrorism office in Madrid, Ignacio Ibáñez, shared a lunch-colloquium with the students of the Expert Degree in Leadership and Civic Commitment in which he spoke about the work of this institution since its origins, in 1945 after the Second World War.

Ibáñez told the students that the aim of the creation of this organisation was to preserve peace and security worldwide after the cruel confrontation. In this sense, the director added that the roots of the UN are of Christian inspiration with an inclination towards the good and the practical, and highlighted the importance of the French philosopher Jacques Maritain in its foundation.

Organisation and assistance

During his speech, he gave a brief explanation of the main organs of the UN: General Assembly, General Secretariat, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council and International Court of Justice. The UN currently has 87,000 blue helmets and an annual budget of 56 billion dollars.

The director of the UN counter-terrorism office in Madrid said that the majority of UN spending goes to peacekeeping operations. Today, the UN has helped a total of 20 million displaced people in the world out of a total of 100 million. 

Ibáñez concluded his speech by stating that, regardless of his assessment, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contain a positive trend and, slowly but surely, they are being met.