Children learn to cooperate early, but world leaders at the UN struggle to get that done

AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Our children are told when they’re little: Play nicely. Work together. Don’t hit. Use your words. It’s called ‘multilateralism,’ and the principle has remained the same at the United Nations for four generations. Unite to get more done and find outcomes all can endorse. At the U.N. General Assembly this week, it’s a principle that leaders mention constantly. Today cooperation isn’t just an ideal but a reality, whether anyone wants it or not. But the problem, many leaders say, is that the aging model of multilateralism hasn’t been retooled for a new era.