October 22, 2018

Will the real UN please stand up?

located:	Syria, USA
editor:	Bob Koigi

In its over 70 years of existence, the United Nations has received praise and criticism in equal measure, even as it struggles with a crisis of relevance occasioned by a growing number of 21st century threats and its snail-paced response to them. And as the world marks the United Nations Day this week, calls to institute radical changes at the multilateral body continue to grow louder.

Mounting criticism from the media, politicians and civil society has focused on the institution’s expensive budget, with taxpayers funding it to the tune of $13 billion yearly, even as a growing list of global challenges including the Syrian war, burgeoning refugee population and climate change spiral out of control. Donald Trump once described the institution as “just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.”

The imbalance of power between permanent members of the Security Council and the rest of the member states has equally come under sharp focus with the argument being that as long as the institution continues to rely on funds from big countries it will always remain biased. The weak are held accountable, while the strong enjoy impunity.

The Security Council, for example, has never imposed any sanctions on China even with the country’s history of human rights violations and detainment of a million Muslim citizens being publicly known. It has also failed to rein in terror that has been meted on ordinary citizens in Syria. The former Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon summarised the role of the UN in the Syrian situation as "our collective failure."

But even with all the criticism, the United Nations has evolved into one of the most important bodies. The world needs the institution now more than it did in 1945. Besides providing a talking shop for world leaders to deliberate on some of the most complex global issues, it has positioned itself as a crucial body for world peace, order, development and prosperity. It has been a custodian of human rights, spearheaded some of the most transformative projects and addressed global issues like halving external poverty, preventing diseases, education and gender equality.

Indeed the world can hope for a better tomorrow because it has the United Nations. But to effectively tackle an increasingly tough and unpredictable future, the institution should look at serious reorganisation that is alive to the modern challenges and dynamics of a 21st century world.