October 24th is observed as the United Nations Day every year, across the globe. The day is meant to commemorate the foundation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945, in the aftermath of the World War II. The organisation was established with the hope that it will be central to preventing any conflicts occurring in future, aid cooperation between nations, and promote peace, security, and human rights at a global level.
Ever since it was established, the organisation has become a global institution that has played a significant role shaping the international relations between nations on various issues such as trade, security, and humanitarianism. However, it has been criticised time and again, for its ineffectively in current times owing to its failure in adapting to the changing global landscape. On this note, let us have a look at some of the criticism that UN faces today.
Major issues with the United Nations
Lack of Balanced Power
Considering the violence that occurred and numerous lives lost during the World War II, the central role that UN was expected to play was to make sure a crisis like that is averted in the future. For this purpose, the United Nations Security Council was established with five permanent members that had an unlimited veto power. However, this has been proved to be a complete failure, as the countries focus on their personal agenda, and the council is mostly unable to reach a consensus, which often results in no action taken against the perpetrators of violence.
Inability to prevent conflicts
The United Nations as a platform is widely accepted because of its widespread membership. But has not been effective in preventing conflict. This is mainly because it foes not have the political leverage against the powerful countries. This is why, it was unable to prevent the escalation of Russia Ukraine war, and is still unable to put a stop to it. It was completely helpless in the recent violence occurring in Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine.
Unequal Representation
The UNSC has five permanent members – USA, UK, Russia, China, and France. These countries do not necessarily represent the current global order very accurately. The growing global powers such as Brazil, India and South Africa, that have a significant influence in geo-politics, does not have the same authority in UNSC, which creates a lack of trust among these countries. This inequality in representation has also caused grave dissatisfaction among countries from regions like Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The countries feel that because of this lack of representation, the organisation ends up serving the interests of only the powerful nations, rather than the international community.
Inability to Address Global Challenges
The United Nations has failed significantly in addressing the current global challenges such as climate change, cybersecurity, pandemics, rise of authoritarianism, etc. This is attributed to the gaps in its framework and bureaucracy issues. For example, the WHO was criticised for the way it managed the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics even stated that the organisation that should have been leading charge in combating the pandemic, was reduced to playing catch-up.
How can UN stay relevant in current times?
The United Nations is an organisation with an extreme potential. However, in order to ensure that it does not end up like its predecessor League of Nations, it will need to make some structural changes to stay relevant.
Reformation of the UNSC
One of the major organs of the UN that is facing persistent criticism is the structure of United Nations Security Council. This needs to be restructured at the earliest because the structure with five permanent members holding unlimited veto power, is not reflective of the current global reality. It is essential to include countries like India, South Africa, and Brazil in the permanent membership of UNSC to ensure inclusiveness in its decision making. In addition several countries have also pointed out that having unlimited veto powers have often proved counter-productive in stopping mass violence at a global scale. Thus, the countries should be prevented or refrained from using veto in such situations.
Adapt to address the new Global Challenges
Everyday, there is a news piece on a new kind of scam, that is affecting the citizens across the world. With growth in AI and other forms of technology these instances will only rise. Amid this, it is essential for the countries of the world to collaborate and address the issue of cybersecurity decisively. The United Nations needs to be more empowered to ensure that this issue is tackled appropriately.
Similarly, the institutions of UN that are aimed at addressing the issues of climate change, combat desertification, prevent global pandemics, etc. such as UNEP or WHO have to be strengthened and empowered with better resources and governance capability.
Promote Multilateralism
Apart from this, in order to remain relevant, the UN must champion multilateralism and foster cooperation among nations. In a world that is getting increasingly polarised, with rising nationalism and isolationism, the UN must reaffirm its commitment to collective action and diplomacy. In order to achieve this, there is a need to build trust among member states, strengthen regional partnerships, and promote dialogue and negotiation for the resolution of a conflict.
