Abandon Ship or Major Rethink?

Yesterday I took part in a model united nations. At the model United Nations we successfully passed a resolution on the situation in the Gaza Strip; something that has long eluded the real United Nations. The fact that in one day we successfully did what the United Nations has failed to do for decades made me consider, has the United Nations failed? The United Nations was created out of war to secure peace and freedom across the earth. The Victors of the Second World War, determined to right the failures of the League of Nations, aimed to create an organisation that would stop any possible conflicts and ensure all humans had the basic human rights. Yet 66 years after the creation of the United Nations, we still live in a world full of conflict and many are still denied their fundamental human rights. So has the UN been a grand dream that has failed?

One of the main reasons the United Nations has achieved little over the past seven decades is its failure to evolve. The five main victors of the Second World War were the U.K, U.S.A, China, the U.S.S.R and France; the five permanent members of the Security Council are the U.K, U.S.A., China, Russia and France. These countries have the power to veto any resolution presented to the Security Council. The role of the Security Council is to ensure international peace and security. The Security Council is made up of these members and 10 other countries elected for two year terms, with no veto power. This means whenever a conflict arises that involves a permanent member, a resolution is hardly ever passed. And that is not the worst part of the current Security Council situation; the biased of countries destroys the legitimacy of the council. The U.S.A always vetoes any resolution that condemns the actions of Israel. The most recent resolution vetoed by the U.S.A demanded the end to Israel building illegal settlements in the West Bank and the Golan heights; 14 countries voted in favour, but the U.S.A. vetoed. China and Russia tend to veto any resolution which condemns the actions of a Government towards it citizens. No resolution has been passed about the situation in Syria, in which thousands of civilians have been killed, because China and Russia vetoed the resolution presented as it was “unbalanced”. Nearly a year after the start of the Syrian uprising no resolution has been passed, allowing the Syrian regime to murder thousands of its civilians. Because it has not evolved and has stuck too much in the past, the Security Council has hindered world peace and allowed thousands, if not millions of innocent people to die and suffer. Five countries can completely overrule all other countries at the United Nations; surely this makes the organisation more ‘The Allies and Company’ than the ‘United Nations’.

The General Assembly is meant to be the main decision making body of the United Nations, consisting of representatives from all 193 member states. However it cannot pass resolutions than ‘condemn’ the actions of any state, only the Security Council has this power. This effectively castrates the General Assembly. Because it lacks this clout the General Assembly can seem to descend into a talking shop; lots of talk but little action. The General Assembly presents the rare opportunity for countries across the globe to come together and talk, in order to seek the higher goal. Yet in reality any resolution it does pass, which is hard in itself as you need a two-thirds majority, is pale in comparison to any resolution passed by the Security Council. Only a major rethink of how the Security Council works could give the General Assembly the power it deserves.

But just because the United Nations has not had a great track record, does not mean we should give up on it. In a thousand years the human race will look back to 1945 and say, these were the first steps to uniting humanity. The United Nations can be an incredible tool for good, creating a stable and safe world. The organisation is in desperate need of reform, but this does not mean abandoning it. In another 66 years I believe the United Nations will be a radically different organisation, but still with the same fundamental goals. The needs of humanity never change and the United Nations recognises this and strives to fulfil these needs. Although it often falls short, if we never dream we never achieve.