United Nations at 75:
The UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell." So often repeated are the words of the Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjold, the organisation's most beloved secretary general, they have come to serve as a mission statement of sorts.
The United Nations i.e. The UN is an international organization founded in 1945, in the aftermath of World War Two with the aim of preventing future wars, succeeding the ineffective League of Nations. The headquarters is in New York City, with main offices in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna. The big five - China, Russia, Britain, France and United States led the people of the world as they launched a rule of international law and a bill of human rights. A rule of law 'they' believed- no nation large or small world dare define. The UN was set up as a tribunal empowered to mediate international disputes and to enforce it's decisions. I t is currently composed of 193 Member States and roughly 100 thousand soldiers or blue-berets (buh-REYS) operating 16 peace-keeping missions around the globe. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. They also have numerous government branches WHO, WTO, International Court Of Justice, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Food Programme.
The United Nations commemorated its 75th anniversary on September 21, 2020 by adopting a Declaration. The anniversary comes at a time when the world is amidst the major crisis of COVID-19 , questioning the authenticity, efficiency of UN and UN witnessing a retreat from multilateralism. To speak of the positives, for all its shortcomings, however, the United Nations can look back on much of the past 75 years with pride. It is credited with brokering more than 170 peace settlements, though it has proved better at preventing nation-to-nation conflicts rather than civil wars. The Cold War never turned hot, although there were Cold War proxy conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Angola, Afghanistan and elsewhere. It has helped broker major international treaties, such as the landmark, nuclear non-proliferation treaty that came into force in 1970, and helped organise historic elections, such as the first presidential contest in Afghanistan in 2004. The work of UN agencies, much of it unnoticed and unsung, has been impressive, partly because they employ some of the world's leading experts in disaster relief, public health and economic development. Often, however, the work of agencies is hindered by a lack of funding from member states, which is often called donor fatigue.
I don't deny that it has made a significant and extra-ordinary contribution, has changed the loved of many people and it continue to deliver services to people in the worst circumstances, yet sometimes the UN has been part of the problem rather than the solution. While the UN sees itself as a force for democratisation, it is a undemocratic organisation to a great extent. Its locus of power is the Security Council, which still wield crippling vetoes. Germany and Japan do not have permanent seats on the Security Council, nor do India or Brazil. Though every country has a vote in the General Assembly, a less powerful body, almost 75% of the world's population is effectively incapacitated in the Security Council. UN agencies would like to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria, to use one example, but for much of the past five years the Security Council has not mandated them to do so. In the context of the present situation of the Syria, we can say that this is the failure of the International Community in general and of the United Nations in particular. Clearly, we can see that United Nations is very helpless in controlling the situation in Syria as all the members of UNSC are involved in, directly or indirectly. So, in order to control the situation in real sense United Nation has to take some steps which can neutralize the Veto Power used by the permanent member of UN Security Council in some way or the other as Russia has used its Veto Power more than eight times in support of Syrian government. The Syrian civil war has become the greatest war of this century and till now seems no end of this war. After the intervention of the Russia and U.S., the Syria conflict is not only a civil war, now the civil war has made the question of the prestige of both superpowers.
Yet, well although despite of so many setbacks like this, the organization is without a doubt, most wide-reaching, well-respected global peace initiative that the world has ever seen. As long as they retain support and commitment from all their members, the UN couple finally be the one government entity that clears the path to future peace.
References:
1. Editorials from The Hindu and Indian Express
2. www.bbc.in
3. www.un.org.
- For a booklet 'The United' published by Department of Political Science marking completion of United Nation's 75 years of establishment.