Shashi Tharoor on Thursday defended the continued importance of the United Nations, arguing that despite its “failures” in Gaza and Ukraine, the organisation remains essential for global cooperation.
Speaking at the 15th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture in Cape Town, the Congress MP and former UN undersecretary-general said walking away from the UN would mean abandoning the principles that hold the world together.
Tharoor said his three decades at the UN, from 1978 to 2007, showed him how the institution has changed. He recalled watching it shift from a Cold War battleground to a space for international collaboration. He also remembered seeing it “falter in Rwanda” but “rise to the occasion in Timor-Leste and Namibia”, while continuing to “feed the hungry, shelter the displaced and give voice to the voiceless.”
He stressed that criticism of the UN did not diminish its relevance, saying that even though people pointed to its failures over Gaza and Ukraine, he acknowledged that the UN was not perfect nor was it ever meant to be, yet it still remained indispensable. He added that the organisation still matters to displaced communities, peacekeepers, and diplomats working towards ceasefires.
Tharoor described the UN as “an indispensable symbol of not perfection but of possibility.”
He quoted Dag Hammarskjold, saying the UN “was not meant to take mankind to heaven but to save humanity from hell.” Marking the UN’s recent 80th year, he said it must renew itself to stay meaningful. He argued that its legitimacy rests on the belief that “in an interconnected world, no nation is truly sovereign unless all are,” and that this is the moment for “that moral reimagination of the UN.”
He also spoke about interfaith harmony by drawing on Swami Vivekananda’s ideas. He said that as a Hindu, he had learned from Vivekananda that Hinduism stood for both tolerance and universal acceptance. Tharoor noted that Vivekananda had criticised tolerance as a “patronising idea” and preferred acceptance instead, encapsulated in the notion, “I will respect your truth, please respect my truth.” He added that the principle behind sarva dharma sambhav remained essential for coexistence, even though religion was often reduced to identity politics.
Reflecting on the legacy of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Tharoor said it rejected the notion that peace and justice are opposing choices. He urged societies to listen to survivors, confront systems that enable inequality, and work towards inclusion. He noted that the world faces conflict, displacement, climate emergencies, and rising intolerance, but insisted that despair is not an option.
Tharoor closed his speech with a call for action.
He encouraged people to become “the builders of bridges, the architects of inclusiveness, the healers of wounds, the promoters of hope.” He said the world needs “more Tutus and more Tutu-like souls.” He added that the lecture was being held at a time of deep global division and said Desmond Tutu’s life offered an example of moral courage.
Tharoor said Tutu taught the world to “re-imagine coexistence” and see “every stranger a reflection of ourselves,” urging the audience to carry forward his values.