As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, the multilateral order is in deep crisis. Wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan continue, the Security Council is paralysed, major powers openly defy the Charter, and budget cuts are forcing UN agencies to reduce life-saving operations. Rival blocs such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation promote themselves as alternatives to a “Western-led” multilateralism, while states withdraw from key treaties and question the UN’s relevance. The organisation is seen as being in “free fall” — short of resources, relevance and unity — caught in what may well become a “lost decade for humanity.”