Relocating the United Nations (Valdai Discussion Club 10-10-19)
October 13, 2019
The United Nations is the world’s premier and its only universal international organization. It alone houses the divided fragments of humanity. But currently it faces a threat to the foundational principle of inclusivity. Its purpose-built headquarters was located in New York after the Rockefeller family announced a donation of $8.5mn (worth $103mn in 2014) and the city contributed land along the East River and spent $23mn ($279mn in 2014 dollars) on constructions and improvements around the permanent site. On 14 December 1946, the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to make New York the host city. The Headquarters Agreement signed in 1947 obligates...