Ever since its inception, The
United Nations has made many achievements. Apart from that, it has a number of
failures also. In some ways it has achieved success in maintaining world peace
and in other ways it appears helpless against five permanent members of Security
Council having ‘Veto Power’. The doubts about the UN’s performance in compliance
with its charter have increased since the United States’ blatant and unilateral
attack on Iraq in spite of the UN’s opposition. Such attack openly disregarded
the UN’s basic principle of respect of sovereignty of states and justified the
view of UN’s becoming helpless when it comes to the interest of any of the
permanent members of the Security Council.
The debate whether the UN has successfully met the requirements of its charter
by complying with its basic principles and standards has increased since the
advent of 21st century. Since the major objective of the UN is to maintain the
world peace and improve the living standard of the people regardless of racial,
religious, ethnic, gender and any type of discrimination. But many problems like
territorial disputes, nuclear proliferation, and invasion of weak countries by
mightier ones in the name of war against terrorism and production of weapons of
mass destruction, deteriorating global climate, declining women’s social status
etc. witness the flawed system and ineffective policies of the UN. Therefore,
maintaining a view that the UN has partly failed in coming up to what its
charter demands would not be wrong.
Territorial disputes continue to linger and all the efforts to seek solutions
have failed. Issues of Kashmir and Palestine are the very examples of such
disputes. Palestine issue is older than that of the Kashmir issue on the agenda
of the UN, yet it is nowhere near an amicable resolution. In spite of the UN’s
emphasis on the resolution of the Palestinian issue, Israel and its
‘benefactors’ do not wish to come to any terms. India and Pakistan have fought
at least three wars including India-Pakistani wars of 1948, 1965, 1999 over the
Kashmir issue. Now as both the countries are nuclear-armed, this issue poses a
threat to whole the world peace. Many resolutions have been moved in the United
Nations for a consensual resolution of the issue but in vain.
The UN’s failure to protect the territorial integrity of sovereign states is
evident from the United States’ invasion of Iraq. The argument ing the
invasion was the possession of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq. In 2002, the
United Nations Security Council passed a resolution 1441 which called the Iraqi
government to completely cooperate the UN’s weapons inspection team to verify
whether Iraq was in possession of the weapons of mass destruction and cruise
missiles. Prior to invasion, the United Nations Monitoring, Verification, and
Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) found no evidence of the presence of such
weapons. Hence, the UN did not authorize the United States to wage war against
Iraq. But it could not prevent the US from an open violation of its fundamental
principle of respect of sovereignty of states.
On 27th December 2008, Gaza Offensive took place which claimed over 1300
casualties from the Palestinian side mostly civilian, 400 of which were
children, whereas claiming just 13 lives at the Israeli side. A unilateral
ceasefire announced by Israel and later by Palestinian authorities which brought
an end to the offensive. However, the question regarding the UN’s role in
resolving the conflict is still unanswered.
In spite of the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and about
189 countries becoming party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the
UN has not successfully prevented the enrichment of the fossil materials for the
defense purposes. Israel is an undeclared nuclear-armed state, Iran is said have
started working on producing the nuclear arms, North Korea is also claimed to
have worked on nuclear proliferation and the number of countries aspiring to
have nuclear weapons may increase over the time. This would happen if the UN
continues to fail in implementing its policies pertaining to the enrichment of
the uranium and plutonium.
Right from the creation of the United Nations, interference in the internal
affairs of the weaker countries by the United States has continued. In 1965, the
United States plunged into the Vietnam war which further deteriorated
environment for peace and caused millions of casualties from all sides. American
involvement in the Korean War in 1950 also questions the UN’s credibility
regarding the maintenance of international peace. Instead of preventing the US
from getting involved in the conflict, the United Nations Security Council
authorized the US direct interference in the war. The conflict led to a large
number of deaths and displacement of the people. Nowadays, the American
involvement in the Middle East crisis in the namesake promotion of democracy is
another bitter example of the violation of the basic principle of the UN that is
about the maintenance of the world peace. Middle East crisis or in other words
the ‘Arab Spring’ has destabilized Libya, Egypt, and Syria and the process
continues. No considerable measures have been taken by the UN to halt the
American aggression against the Middle East countries. Whenever American and
NATO authorities are asked about their violent role in the Middle East, they
maintain the view of safeguarding the human rights and the promoting the
democratic norms in the region. Whereas, they don’t speak of reforming the
political system of Thailand, Sweden, Cambodia, Norway, Vatican City and many
other monarchies.
One of the contemporary global issues is of the rapid decline in the world
climate. Till now, no considerable progress has been made to improve the
deteriorating environment. All the scientists agree that the production of
carbon is most likely creating ‘greenhouse effect’ which is responsible for the
‘global warming’. The Copenhagen Accord was agreed to by Heads of State, Heads
of Government, Ministers and other heads of delegation at the UN Climate Change
Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. Later on, the ‘climate change talks
in Cancún’ in December 2010 concluded with a package of decisions to help
countries advance towards a low-emissions future. But, according to the UN
Environment Program (UNEP) the state of the environment is in steep decline as
the global agreements to tackle many problems have proved ineffective in all but
a few cases. The whole scenario shows how ineffective the UN’s policies have
been which have not brought any productive results.
In spite of the initiation of many programs by the UN for the promotion of the
status of women on equality basis, still women are facing the problems of
illiteracy, early marriages, violence, poor health, political deprivation,
poverty, food security etc. According to CIA World Factbook, of all the
illiterate adults in the world, two-third are the females with extremely low
literacy rates from three concentrated regions i.e. Arab states, South and West
Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. This level of literacy justifies the poor
performance of the UN. About 21,000 children die before their fifth birthday
everyday only due to preventable diseases. Most children in developing countries
face the deadly diseases which ultimately raise the child mortality rate.
Whereas, no substantial measures seem to be taken by the UN in this regard.
While analyzing the UN’s overall role by considering only its failures will be a
partial work. There is a record of successes of the UN also which is as glaring
as its failures.
The major success of the United Nations is that it has so far prevented the
Third World War. If the UN was not there, surely the Third World War would have
started because of the Cuban Missile Crisis which is also known as the October
Crisis. The crisis started on 14th October 1962 when the US exposed the
photographs of the missile bases which were under construction in Cuba. The
construction of the missile bases was a reaction of USSR to an anticipated
aggression of US in Cuba. It is generally regarded as the moment in which the
Cold War came closest to turning into a nuclear conflict, or possibly World War
III, with an American research center estimating that 100 million Americans and
over 100 million Russians would have perished. But the confrontation ended on
October 28, 1962, when President John F. Kennedy and United Nations General
Secretary U Thant reached a public and a secret agreement with the Russian
Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
Despite many crises, the United Nations has not met the fate of the League of
Nations and kept itself intact. It has helped in liberalizing the trade among
the nations with the help of World Trade Organization (WTO) – An organization
with 157 member states that has an objective of promoting the international
trade, resolving the trade related disputes among the countries and supporting
the developing economies.
Specialized and autonomous agencies of the UN in coordination with the machinery
of the United Nations Economic and Social Council work for the resolution of
many economic and social issues. These agencies may or may not be created by the
UN, but they are the official parts of the UN and work according to the UN’s
agenda. Currently the UN has 17 specialized agencies .that carry out various
functions on behalf of the UN.
United Nations has also contributed a lot to the social and economic development
of the people living in the least developed countries. Following the Millenium
Summit of the United Nations in 2000, eight Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)
were established. The MDGs were equally agreed upon by all 193 member states and
at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve these goals by
the year 2015. Millenium Development Goals include the eradicating the extreme
poverty and hunger, achieving the universal primary education, promoting gender
equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality rate, improving maternal
health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other disease, ensuring environmental
sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development.
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is playing a very important role in
the global development. It is presently working in 177 countries to develop
their local capacity to the development. UNDP also works with the countries to
achieve the Millenium Development Goals as with the help of UNDP in 2011, 50
countries introduced social protection programs targeting youth, women and other
vulnerable groups. As noted by the UNDP Human Development Report 2011, when
barriers to political, legal, and social participation are reduced, women and
other excluded groups can make vital contributions as agents of change.
In Egypt, UNDP supported the government to implement an innovative conditional
cash transfer program which should benefit approximately 25,000 households.
African Regional Dialogue or the consultation process on governance and the
post-2015 framework, co-led by UNDP and OHCHR, is underway. This process would
definitely bear some fruits of better governance in the said countries. UNDP
helps more than 80 countries to prevent conflict, reduce the risk of natural
hazards and disasters, and recover following crises.
United Nations Peacekeeping Missions have helped many countries such as Somalia,
Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Congo and Liberia to resolve the internal conflicts. UN
peacekeepers succeed in restoring stability in 70 percent of the nations in
which they serve.
United Nations' partial failure can be attributed to its dependency over its
major contributing member states. United States’ contribution to the UN’s annual
budget is about 22 per cent according to 2011-12 budget which the highest
contribution of all its 15 member states. This is one of the major causes of the
UN’s failure in many directions, because the US being the major financier,
dictates the UN whatever it wants and blatantly crosses the international legal
domains.
Another cause for the UN’s inability to meet the demands of its charter is the
issue of legitimacy, commitment, and service delivery with the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC). The UNSC permanent five members enjoy the ‘veto power’
which is a clear negation of the organization’s claim of being democratic in
nature. So long as Germany and Japan are excluded from permanent membership,
along with Brazil, India, and Nigeria, the Security Council can hardly claim to
be representative of the power balances of the modern era. And with the fading
of legitimacy over time comes a diminished capacity to exert moral authority.
The divergence of interests between the great powers is also one of the reasons
why the UN is unable to move ahead to achieve its goals. The present agitation
in Syria and the development of two different approaches by the US and Russia
indicate the difference of interests between the two giants. In spite of the
development of consensus on the Syrian issue to be resolved by the ouster of
Bashar Al-Assad, Russia still sides by Assad’s regime. Such difference of
approaches has affected the UN’s role for so long.
There is no any executive machinery in the United Nations which can play a role
in implementing the decisions made by the General Assembly. In other words, the
UN has no authority or power to get its decisions implemented. This is also a
reason that contributes to the failure of the UN in achieving its goals.
The call for reforming the UN is given many times by the international
community. Many proposals have been submitted by many of 193 member states of
the UN. But agreeing to what should be the method of reforms and what kind of
reforms should be made is a matter that right now needs more concentration.
Non-government organization leaders aim for a more democratic UN, with greater
openness and accountability. Technocrats seek more productivity and efficiency
from the UN's staff. Delegates favor reforms that conform to national interests
and promote national power. Idealists offer plans for a greatly expanded body
that would reduce states' sovereignty. While conservatives push for a downsized
UN with sharply reduced powers. The agreement is exceedingly hard to come by.
Presently, the organ of the UN that needs to be reformed is the United Nations
Security Council. It can be expanded as the total number of its members is 15.
This number is too small to represent all the member states of the UN and to
carry the mission of maintaining the world security and peace. As the number of
UNSC’s permanent members is only 5, so almost all the member countries show a
concern regarding the authority to veto-wielding to a handful of nations. So
expanding the number of permanent as well as two-year term members can create
somehow a notable balance of power in the UN. The expansion of the UNSC must not
slip it into an inefficient organization, rather it must make it more efficient
by emphasizing more on the achievement of its long-term goals.
The financial dependence of the UN on a very few nations can also be decreased
by the introduction of a better fund-raising plan. The member states with stable
economy can be made obligated to increase the amount of contribution, and that
may increase annually at a fixed rate. This can be a good strategy to make the
UN to some extent free from the influence of a few member states.
United Nations General Assembly’s most of the decisions remain dead-letters of
non-compliance. The major concern for the GA is to make some arrangements to
ensure the proper implementation of all its decisions. Otherwise its existence
will relate to that of toothless lion.
Every organization goes through a life cycle and the UN is not the exception.
Established in 1945 it has existed for too long. Such a long time period really
justifies the need for the UN to be reformed. By an introduction of proper
reforms, surely the UN will reemerge as an effective and efficient organization.