A High-Level Dialogue at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs

Eight decades after its founding, the United Nations stands at a crossroads. Originally conceived to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,” today it grapples with new challenges: geopolitical rivalry, humanitarian emergencies, climate shocks, shrinking budgets, and a crisis of trust in multilateralism. With global governance under strain, we must ask: Is the UN still relevant?

Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs will host a distinguished panel of senior UN leaders and practitioners who have each shaped UN policy and action at the highest levels for decades:

Kanni Wignaraja is a current UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, overseeing the work of the UN in development in the most populous region of the world. With decades of UN experience, she has led complex development issues and managed responses to global and regional crises.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, Jackson Senior Fellow, is a former UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. also served as UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. A globally respected lawyer and advocate, she has advanced the international human rights and humanitarian law agenda.

Jessica Faieta, Jackson Senior Fellow, is a former UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. She has led UN responses to some of the most pressing crises of recent years, including the Haiti earthquake and the implementation of the Colombia Peace Accords, bringing deep expertise in humanitarian action, peacebuilding, and development.

Together, these leaders will examine whether the UN remains fit for purpose in a world of growing complexity. The conversation will cover:

• Human rights and international law in an era of shrinking accountability.
• Development, geopolitics, and great power competition with China, Iran, and others reshaping the multilateral space.
• Peacekeeping, humanitarian response, and peacebuilding under tightening budgets and political constraints.

The event will give students the opportunity to engage directly with UN leaders in a timely and thought-provoking discussion on the future of global governance and the role of the UN in shaping it.