Opinion Festival
The United Nations Association Estonia takes part in the Opinion Festival to bring questions of international cooperation, the UN and global politics into public debate in Estonia. We bring together politicians, diplomats, experts and representatives of civil society to speak openly about both the opportunities offered by the UN and the problems within its system.
Our discussions focus not only on what the UN does, but also ask whether today’s international system can meet the needs of a changing world and what role Estonia and other small states play in it.
2026
The UN Is Following in the Footsteps of the League of Nations
The international order is under pressure, and claims that the UN needs reform are being heard with increasing frequency. At the same time, change seems slow to come. Why? Who could bring it about—major powers, small states or entirely new forms of cooperation? In a context where the United States has withdrawn from 31 UN entities, vital programmes have been cut and the UN faces financial collapse, we seek to understand what role the UN could play in the world of the future.
The discussion will feature Eero Janson, Director of the Estonian Refugee Council; Marianne Mikko, a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; and Lauri Mälksoo, Professor of International Law at the University of Tartu.
The discussion will feature Eero Janson, Director of the Estonian Refugee Council; Marianne Mikko, a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; and Lauri Mälksoo, Professor of International Law at the University of Tartu.
2025
The UN—Hopelessly Broken or Indispensable?
Every day, we receive news about Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the outbreak of hostilities in Gaza and the rise of populism in both the United States and Europe. These tensions clearly show that international law and the UN’s protection mechanisms are more important today than ever before. We examine the UN’s strengths and limitations, Estonia’s role and interests, and the upcoming election of the next Secretary-General. We also ask how Estonia can help uphold a rules-based international order.
At the 2025 Opinion Festival, we took a critical look at the UN’s work to date and the systemic problems it faces. The discussion focused on the work of the Security Council and the right of veto, Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, human rights, international law and the possibilities for reforming the UN.
Particular attention was paid to Estonia’s perspective as a small state: why effective international law is important for our security and why a rules-based international order can be regarded as one of the most important safeguards for small states.
The discussion featured Member of the European Parliament and former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence Sven Mikser; Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Marko Mihkelson; former Estonian Ambassador to the UN Tiina Intelmann; Professor of International Law and Security at Tallinn University Tiina Pajuste; and activist Kristi Ockba. The discussion was moderated by Kjete Trutin, host of the interview series Orbiit.
The Discussion Continues
The Opinion Festival gives us an opportunity to view the UN from both a supportive and a critical perspective. Our goal is neither to defend the existing system simply because it exists nor to declare it a failure, but to create space for a substantive discussion about the kind of international cooperation we need in the future and how Estonia can help shape it.