The Future of the United Nations: Navigating Geopolitical Strain and Institutional Uncertainty
In-person, Open to the Public
Wednesday, February 11, 2026 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET
Geopolitical tensions, combined with shifting priorities in Washington, are pushing the United Nations into a moment of severe institutional uncertainty. A serious financial crisis has led to hiring freezes, staff cuts, and reductions in core functions, with the Secretary-General warning that the liquidity crisis could undermine essential operations and lead to a breakdown in the organization’s regular functioning if delays persist. At the same time, debates over Security Council reform are resurfacing, and there are growing demands for an adjustment to the Council’s structure and decision-making process. What reforms are realistic in a fractured international system? And what happens when global problems outpace the institutions designed to manage them?
Join us in-person on Wednesday, February 11, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Theatre II, 199 Chambers Street, New York, for a discussion with Ambassador Aglaia Balta, permanent Representative of Greece to the UN, Ambassador Christopher Lu, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN for Management and Reform, and Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to the United Nations in New York. This discussion will be moderated by Dr. Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu, Clinical Professor and director of the United Nations (UN) Specialization at the Center for Global Affairs, School of Professional Studies (SPS), New York University.
This event is co-hosted with the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC CUNY).
THIS EVENT IF OPEN FOR EVERYONE TO JOIN
SPEAKERS:
Ambassador Aglaia Balta
Ambassador Aglaia Balta, Permanent Representative of Greece to the UN.
The Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations presented her credentials to H.E. the Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres on August 25, 2025. She holds a Law Degree from Athens University, Greece. She holds a law degree from the University of Athens and speaks English, French, and Spanish.
Prior to her appointment, she held the position of Ambassador of Greece to Spain. From 2022 to 2024 she was the Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during which, she was promoted to the rank of full Ambassador.
Her leadership roles also include Ambassador of Greece to France from 2018 to 2022, Ambassador of Greece to Chile from 2012 to 2016, and Consul General of Greece in New York from 2008 to 2012.
She has served as Deputy Representative to Greece’s Political Security Committee (PSC) at the EU (1999-2003), and as European Correspondent at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2004-2007).
She began her diplomatic career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens, serving in the Diplomatic Cabinet of the President. Her early postings abroad included Consul in London and First Secretary at the Embassy of Greece in Seoul.
Ambassador Balta is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.
She has been honored with national and international decorations, including the Grand Commander and Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix of Greece, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Chile, the Commander of the Orders of Merit of Italy and Portugal, the Companion of the National Order of Merit of Malta, and the Cross of Recognition of Latvia.
Ambassador Christopher Lu
Ambassador Christopher Lu, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN for Management and Reform.
Chris Lu is the James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. During a public service career that has spanned all three branches of the federal government, Lu’s experience includes both domestic and foreign policy as well as the management of complex organizations.
Lu has been confirmed twice by the U.S. Senate for senior-level presidential appointments. During the Biden Administration, he served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for management and reform, where he led negotiations on the UN budget, coordinated oversight of UN programs, and managed cross-cutting issues, including global AI policy.
During the second term of the Obama Administration, Lu served as the U.S. deputy secretary of labor. In this role, he was the chief operating officer of a Cabinet department with 17,000 employees and a $12 billion budget.
From 2009 to 2013, Lu served as the White House cabinet secretary and assistant to the president, where he was the primary liaison between the White House and the federal agencies. President Obama said of Lu’s service: “Through his dedication and tireless efforts, Chris has overseen one of the most stable and effective cabinets in history – a cabinet that has produced extraordinary accomplishments over the past four years.”
The proud son of immigrants, Lu is one of the highest-ranking Asian Americans ever to have served in the federal government. As the deputy secretary of the Labor Department, he was only the second Asian American in history to hold that position in a cabinet department. During the Obama Administration, Lu also co-chaired the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Prior to his service in the executive branch, Lu was the legislative director and acting chief of staff for then-Senator Obama. The day after Election Day 2008, he was named the executive director of the Obama-Biden transition planning team, which was widely recognized as one of the most successful presidential transitions in history.
His government experience also includes serving as the deputy chief counsel of the House Oversight Committee and a law clerk to Judge Robert E. Cowen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
In November, 2025 Lu was named co-chair of Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger’s transition team.
Outside of government, Lu serves as the chair of the board of directors of the Fair Labor Association. He was a senior advisor to FiscalNote (a global AI/technology company), a senior fellow at the Miller Center from 2017 to 2021, and the co-editor of the book Triumphs and Tragedies of the Modern Congress. Lu is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School and holds an honorary doctorate from MacMurray College.
H.E. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett
H.E. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to the United Nations in New York.
Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett is the Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations since October 2020. She previously served at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as the Director of FAO Liaison Office in Geneva (2017-2020) and as FAO’s Special Coordinator for Parliamentary Alliances (2015 to 2017) in Rome. Prior to her tenure at FAO, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett served as Guyana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Cooperation from 2008 to 2015 and Minister for Amerindian (Indigenous Peoples) Affairs from 2001 to 2008. During the 14-year period of her ministerial tenure, she also served as a Member of Parliament.
MODERATOR:
Dr. Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu
Dr. Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu, Clinical Professor and director of the United Nations (UN) Specialization at the Center for Global Affairs, School of Professional Studies (SPS), New York University.
Dr. Waheguru Pal Singh (W.P.S.) Sidhu is Clinical Professor and directs the United Nations (UN) Specialization at the Center for Global Affairs, School of Professional Studies (SPS), New York University. He teaches graduate-level courses on International Relations, the UN & global governance, weapons of mass destruction, and emerging powers & world order, especially India. He was bestowed with the SPS Teaching Excellence Award in 2021. Dr. Sidhu has over 30 years of pedagogical and research experience in some of the leading teaching and policy-research institutions in Asia, Europe, and North America. He is also Senior Research Associate, South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg; Associate Fellow, Geneva Center for Security Policy, Switzerland; Guest lecturer at the NATO Defense College, Rome; Member, International Advisory Council of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe; and Member, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. He has also served as a consultant to UN agencies, including three UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Missiles. He is the author of multiple books, chapters, monographs, and reports, and has published in Arms Control Today, International Peacekeeping, Jane’s Intelligence Review, Politique Etrangere, and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. His recent publications include Shaping the Emerging World: India and the Multilateral Order (Brookings, 2012) and The Future of Global Affairs: Managing Discontinuity, Disruption and Destruction (Palgrave, 2021). Dr. Sidhu earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He holds a Master’s in International Relations from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and a Bachelor’s in History (Honours) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, India.
THIS EVENT IF OPEN FOR EVERYONE TO JOIN
Image credit: Photo by Mathias Reding on Unsplash
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