In this article, I cover the past, present and future of the United Nations (UN), including its achievements and failures since it was founded eighty years ago. I take a critical look at the challenges faced by the UN and the case of its most exceptional member state, the US. Finally, I talk about reforms of the UN, both in the short and long terms.
Last month, I was interviewed by the Harpenden Town Mayor on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN. The questions she asked were submitted by students from UN clubs at schools in Harpenden and St Albans. This article is based on my answers to their questions.
The following ten questions were the most relevant to the subject matter of this article:
- What changes have come about the UN after its inauguration?
- In your opinion, what has been the UN’s most impactful decision?
- With many peace negotiations being held between small numbers of countries behind closed doors, to what extent is the UN still relevant in preserving world peace?
- How effective has the UN been in maintaining global peace and security?
- Given the UN’s founding mission to maintain international peace and security, how does the organisation justify its limited success in preventing or de-escalating recurring conflicts in the Middle East, and what structural reforms are being considered to ensure greater effectiveness in future interventions?
- What is your opinion on the United Nations being dominated by powerful nations, especially the United States?
- How does the UN collaborate with regional organizations and governments?
- Do you think the UN has succeeded at setting up an organization that is able to sustainably and consistently achieve its goals? (specifically, regarding current environmental issues and maintaining peace)
- What are some of the biggest challenges the UN currently faces?
- What are the major reforms being considered or needed within the UN system?
My answers were based on a vision of a world where humanity flourishes everywhere in balance with all life and the environment of our planet. A world where peace, justice, equality, democracy, well-being, harmony and development are universally valued. This vision drives the mission of United Nations Association (UNA) Harpenden, a 100-year-old civil society organisation. I have been the Chair of UNA Harpenden for the last five years. We spread awareness of global issues relevant to our values, to create a common understanding of the problems and solutions needed to improve the future of humanity and of the planet.
The Structure of the UN
Headquartered in New York, the UN is a complex entity made up of multiple organisations and agencies. The two most well-known organisations are the General Assembly and the Security Council.
The General Assembly is the primary deliberative assembly of the UN, where all 193 member states are represented by their governments and can vote on resolutions on any issue. However, its resolutions are not binding on member states. It makes decisions on membership and budgetary issues of the UN.
The Security Council is charged with maintaining peace and security. Its resolutions are binding on member states.
The Achievements of the UN
The UN officially turned eighty on 24th October this year. Set up as an intergovernmental organisation at the end of WWII, the world’s most devastating war, its principal aim was to stop future such wars from occurring and to achieve and maintain peace between warring states through peaceful means. The UN Charter, signed by the 51 original members in San Francisco in June 1945, provided and still provides a road map for a peaceful world.
The UN today, with 193 member states, stands on three key pillars: peace and security, human rights and justice, and sustainable development. The achievements of the UN have benefitted millions of people across the world. It is a norm setter in areas such as human rights, gender equality, international law, peacekeeping, humanitarian aid distribution, and helping to eradicate infectious diseases. As an intergovernmental forum, it is unique in representing all the countries of the world.
Peace and Security – The UN has been successful in achieving peace through conflict resolution, peacekeeping and peace building measures in small to medium sized conflicts in several parts of the world, including in Africa, Latin America and Asia. These are often not reported in the Western mainstream media, as they are deemed not of significant interest by their readers, in general. But these successes have been documented by the UN and reported via UN News channels. In addition, many states in the Global South have gained freedom from European colonisation with help and encouragement from the UN.
Climate Crisis – Beginning in 1995, the UN has been holding yearly climate conferences, known as COPs, which are attended by member states as well as action groups and regional groups. The UN has been providing climate reports and facts through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a highly respected body for assessing the science related to climate change. Climate change considerations and actions are embedded in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as well as many of the policies of its councils. The UN has been playing a leading global role in encouraging member states to do more than meet their basic obligations to address the impact of climate change. At the end of the day, it is up to the member states themselves to take effective action in their own jurisdictions.
Sustainable Development – In 2015, the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. An important purpose of many of the 17 sustainable development goals is to address global inequality between the high-income countries and the developing countries. For example, the goals of no poverty, zero hunger and clean water and sanitation. Since 1990, extreme poverty in the world has decreased from 43% to 12%, with China having removed another 2% to 10% in the world. However, although huge progress has been made, it is looking less likely that many of these goals will be fully met by the target date in 2030. Urgent action is needed to reverse the trend. Extreme poverty is defined as living below the International Poverty Line of $3 a day. So, next time you buy a coffee, think what that money could do to save a person from extreme hunger.
The Failures of the UN
Peace and Security – The worst failure of the UN has been its inability to resolve or stop conflicts involving its larger members states, especially the Permanent Five (P5) members of the Security Council. The P5, who were the victors of WWII and who maintain large military industrial complexes and trade arms globally, have engaged, either directly or through proxies, in several devastating and wars in violation of the UN Charter. For example, in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Serbia and Ukraine. The Korean War (1950-53) which had involved the US and China was the only exception.
The reason for such failures is because of the use of the veto by the P5 to block Security Council resolutions to end the conflicts. Like any democratic organisation, the actions of the UN depend wholly on agreement between its constituent members, especially amongst the P5, the largest powers. The US and Russia have been the most warmongering of all states. Unless they resolve their differences through peaceful means, which is what the UN Charter says and which both have signed up to as members, preserving peace in the world has turned out to be a tough challenge.
War Crimes and Genocides – Another key failure of the UN has been its inability to prevent war crimes and genocides, such as in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Rohingya and Gaza, among others. The last one being the most egregious given that it happened and is happening with the entire world watching it on social media.
The Case of the UN’s Most Exceptional Member State
Since the founding of the UN after WWII in 1945, there has been only one economic superpower, the US, which has not hesitated to dominate the UN and the world from the start, leading to both positive and negative impacts.
US political and economic domination enabled: the recovery of Western Europe and Japan from WWII, the decolonisation of the Global South from the Western European colonisers (with Soviet help), the spread of democracy and capitalism outside the Soviet sphere, the spread of telecommunications and new technologies, and the spread of globalised trade around the world.
At the same time, US political and economic domination has led to: the spread of the US Military Industrial Complex to 750 US military bases around the world, the US becoming the biggest trader of arms around the world, US military involvement, directly or indirectly, in multiple and several illegal wars in the 80 years since 1945 and which has led to the death of millions across the world (not counting those killed and affected by the atomic bombs dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki), US complicity in the deaths and destruction in Gaza, the US becoming the biggest emitter of CO2, the use of US-controlled IMF and Western Bank loans in keeping South American and other Global South states in perpetual debt, keeping millions in poverty and depriving those nations of essential development.
The days of unchallenged US political, economic and military domination is fast coming to an end due to the political and economic rise of China and other Global South states. The world is becoming politically multilateral. Whether the US will peacefully accept the new geopolitical order or not remains to be seen.
The UN organisation, including the UN Charter, was indeed successfully set up to achieve its primary goals of peace and security. However, its most powerful and capable members, especially the US, have not allowed it to deliver on its most important goals. Until the big powers collaborate, the mission of the UN will remain severely hampered.
Other Challenges for the UN
US President Trump – The most urgent challenge today is the lack of funding due to the UN’s highest funder’s (the US) decision to withdraw a large part of its funding. This is forcing the UN to streamline structures, reduce redundancy, lay off staff worldwide, some of which are needed to make the organisation more efficient. Similarly, the shutdown by US President Trump of USAID, the world’s largest agency for aid, has had a hugely negative effect on the UN’s ability to support humanitarian aid programmes worldwide. With President Trump’s government, there is a potential danger of the US withdrawing from the membership of the UN.
Democracy and Equality – One of the most intransigent challenges for the UN is the undemocratic nature of its top-level organisational architecture and, therefore, the effectiveness of its governance capability. Established at its founding 80 years ago, these remain archaic and not reflecting the evolving order of the world. Despite being a tenth of the size of the world’s population, the West holds most of the positions of power within the UN and its various organs. Hence, their decisions are often West-centric and highly undemocratic. The same applies to gender, where men occupy most of the powerful positions at the UN in comparison to the women. What is also missing in the UN is a democratic council consisting of diverse representatives elected by the people, including a Youth Chamber, rather than those solely appointed by the governments. Such a Council and Chamber may be able to produce a more balanced outcome of decisions, especially those that are geopolitical in nature.
Key UN Reforms
Pact for the Future – At the Summit of the Future on September 2024, the UN agreed to embark on a package of reforms called the Pact for the Future. These include: (a) sustainable development and financing for development, (b) international peace and security, (c) science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation, (d) youth and future generations, and (e) transforming global governance. It includes two annexes: (i) a global digital compact and (ii) declaration on future generations. The Pact for the Future is being described as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape our common future. For example, it includes the ethical use of AI to benefit the future of humanity.
One for Eight Billion – This is a global campaign for the selection of the next Secretary General of the UN in a transparent and inclusive manner. It aims to achieve gender parity in international institutions and make history by appointing a woman to lead the 80-year-old organisation in 2026. The UN’s normative power is waning, and historical injustice can no longer be tolerated – we need a feminist woman leader who reflects the future we want and the UN we need to get there.
Beyond Sovereign Nations – A Regional Approach
I believe the long-term future for the world is regionality. The new world order could be more peaceful, stable and collaborative if it is based on a mature structure beyond that of simple sovereignty.
The key underpinning of the UN Charter is the sovereign equality of states that are its members. The principle of state sovereignty was a Westphalian concept that originated from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 which ended the Thirty Years’ War in Europe.
The last eighty years have shown that it is not realistic to assume that there could ever be any sovereign equality of states in a world where the size of the state matters. In geopolitics, the big will always dominate if not exploit the small and there is no higher authority capable of peacefully policing or restraining the big powers. But, with regionality, there could be a better balance of power based on regional security and collaboration structures across the world.