Abstract
The very fact that the United Nations was born is something of a miracle. We do not say that in a derogatory sense as if it could not have been born if it were not for an accident or luck. Nor do we speak of a supernatural event. Rather the statement is meant to convey a sense of awe and wonder—that something amazing happened in the consciousness of humanity when the United Nations was born. Although, it did have predecessors in the League of Nations and every time the world’s powers met after a series of wars to adjudicate the principles of peace such as the Congress of Vienna after the Napoleonic Wars. One could also say the United Nations was bound to emerge, which at minimum—as suggested by Michael Ignatieff’s non-natural-based views on human rights—meant that a multilateral institution was required after two World Wars (hardly separated by a generation) to guarantee against future global evils. One does not need to search for divine, metaphysical or natural grounds to justify human rights: we need them because we human beings can’t be trusted not to hurt one another in the future. But that is not the point being made here, namely an inherent skepticism towards human nature’s capacity to be and do good.