Dark clouds of war loom over the start of the UN General Assembly this year. Of course, this is not the first time this has happened. However, they have rarely been as threatening as they are now.

The mission of the UN has remained the same for 79 years: the preservation of peace and the prevention of a repeat of World War II.

Can it fulfill this mission? Does it have the means required to do so?

Unfortunately, no. More and more, the major powers, specifically the U.S. and Russia, ignore the UN at the very moments when its voice matters most – at the onset of regional wars.

And yet, this international organization has not entirely lost its prestige. It still retains a significant portion of its moral standing. In fact, sometimes it acts as the world’s conscience.

Perhaps that’s why every fall it is inundated by heads of state and government.

It is a place, a building, but also a city where friends and foes alike can meet “in the context of the UN session” – in a setting that makes sense for an organization tasked with preserving peace.

Unfortunately, the tension in international relations is now so great that it is frightening. The problems – geopolitical, economic, and political – are immense. The window of peace, the longest period of continuous peace in centuries, is narrowing.

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue uncontrollably.

How many more people must die, how much more blood – often that of civilians – must be shed, how many more lives and how much wealth must be destroyed before these wars end?

This should be the focus of discussions and decisions within the UN building on the east side of Manhattan, as well as in the many other meeting places around the city of New York these days.

This is not only to keep the UN relatively useful, but to preserve peace in the world.