BRINGING NATIONS TOGETHER

During a recent exclusive interview with Beijing Review， former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin shared his view on the role of the United Nations and China-France cooperation within its framework. He also stressed that France and China have a common understanding that the UN must reform. An edited excerpt of the interview follows：

Beijing Review： How do you evaluate the UNs work in the past 75 years？

Jean-Pierre Raffarin： The UN， established in the wake of World War II， was the splendid manifestation of an exceptional will for peace. The supreme body for dialogue among all nations， it has enabled the longest period of peace in modern history. The UN Security Council， peacekeeping operations... there have been many peace initiatives during this period.

However， the world has changed a lot since its establishment 75 years ago. Africa is no longer the same， Asia has changed， the rules and the balance of power continue to change. To save multilateralism， the UN must reform and adapt to the new world situation.

How do you view the importance of the UN， the World Health Organization （WHO） in particular， in coordinating global response to the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19）？

During the COVID-19 crisis， nations have generally played the national protection card rather than that of international cooperation. This is unfortunate because by definition， viruses know no borders. As far as vaccines， treatments and prevention programs are concerned， international solidarity is more relevant than ever. Efforts must be made to strengthen WHO rather than weaken it. France and China have a common understanding in this respect.

Facing new challenges such as pandemics and climate change， what reforms should the UN undertake？

The priority must be to bring nations together. It is not acceptable that when a nation encounters diffi culties， it decides to slam the door on multilateral organizations. This is what has happened with the UN Educational， Scientifi c and Cultural Organization（UNESCO）， and this year with WHO， and to some extent， with the World Trade Organization （WTO）. Multilateralism does not make sense without the U.S.， nor would it make sense without China.

The UN must ensure the representativeness of its bodies. The Security Council should also review certain of its aspects to improve its functioning and regain its referee function.