The United Nations and multilateralism: : Ramesh Shrestha

The United Nations, consisting of 193 sovereign countries, is the epitome of multilateralism. It has served and continues to serve its member states with the best intentions since its creation (endorsed) in 1945 within the framework of the UN charter which is as good today as it has ever been. However, the UN has always been in the spotlight with a barrage of criticisms for its inefficiencies, bloated bureaucracy, and for not being able to stop wars and conflicts. Whether or not such criticisms are justified depends on who you ask. Some of the criticisms are certainly justifiable. With the growing tendency of countries ignoring or even insulting the UN system outright makes us think if the UN is doing something severely wrong. A more pertinent question perhaps is, is the ‘wrongness’ with the idea of multilateralism or is it with the individuals representing their countries in the organisation?

Recalling a nightmare

One may recall the League of Nations, the first multilateral institution created in January 1920 with the aim of promoting disarmament, settling disputes between countries and improving collective security. But three powerful members, Japan, Germany and Italy quit the organisation in 1933/4. The Soviet Union joined in 1934 but was expelled in 1939 and with the onset of WW-II the League became dormant leading to its abolition just 26 years after its creation. It collapsed because the powerful members undermined the authority of the League of Nations and its lesser members. Institutions can be good only as good as its members.

Living a parallel history

Looking at the current international affairs it is not difficult to observe that the UN system seems to be displaying the same symptoms that were noted prior to the demise of the League of Nations such as the UN system’s inability to stop wars and aggression; UN member states openly defying the UN charter; UN not being able to enforce UN resolutions and the worse of all, powerful member states undermining each other rather than working collectively for global security. During the decades of the League of Nations most of the world was still a colony of major European powers. There were no external threats against the League. Rivalry between the major powers within the League were the reasons leading to its collapse.

Unlike the situation with the League of Nations, the threats to the UN system are both internal and external. The UN does not have its foreign policy agenda to promote. Its only agenda is to promote peace, global security and universal welfare. There are several multilateral, bilateral and international organisations not only competing but ignoring and even trying to weaken the UN system rather than cooperating with their conflicting agendas. We also have among us political leaders and socialites who openly display symptoms of sociopathy and psychopathy when dealing with the UN. Some of them are even Heads of Government and Heads of State and some represent their governments in the UN. They have no respect for international law and have no regard for right or wrong. For them, staying at the helm of power – to remain supreme and dictating their will on others appears to be the sole aim in life even at the cost of lives. They are the biggest threats to multilateralism and global security, cooperation and welfare of nations.

Successes, failures & challenges

No institution is perfect and it is natural that the UN also has its successes and failures like any other institution. The peacekeeping work of the UN is especially noteworthy as it takes the UN to the conflict zones. The UN peacekeeping led to stability in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Angola, Cambodia, East Timor, etc. While on duty the UN has lost 4,345 peacekeepers since its establishment till the end of November 2023. The first peacekeeper gunned down was a Norwegian national, Ole Helge Bakke in Palestine on 13 July 1948; yes, it was in Palestine where 136 UN staff have been killed as of 24 December 2023. The threats for the UN peacekeeping personnel and the UN staff remains a continued cause for concern even today despite the fact that the UN has no enemy but some perceive UN as their enemy. The UN peacekeeping has also failed as in Rwanda, Srebrenica, Lebanon, Syria, Bosnia, Palestine and Ukraine. The failures are not for lack of trying but because of indecision or when the countries involved could not agree or when the international law is applied or not applied based on the interests of the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared on 10 Dec 1948 based upon which the UN adopted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights in December 1966 are the most important achievements of the UN. The humanitarian and the development aspects of the UN’s work is especially important for low- and mid-income countries. The contribution of specialised UN agencies such as ICAO guidelines on civil aviation standards, WHO guidelines on epidemic control, ILO guidelines on labour standards. etc. are noteworthy. The UN has also been accused of trying to form a World Government and interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign countries. There are also many multilateral organisations competing and at times undermining the UN system such as G7, G20, NATO, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), World Bank, IMF, European Union, etc.

What about the UN reform?

Two biggest problems in the UN, known to everyone are, first, the General Assembly resolutions based on deliberations of 193 are non-binding. And the second is the Veto power of the five permanent members which can override the decision of the General Assembly in one breath. The permanent members of the Security Council have contradicted the position of the Secretary General on many occasions. All these are known issues but remained unaddressed. At this point in time revisiting the Charter to correct these issues could make the situation even worse.

UN reform has been in the agenda for several decades with some cosmetic changes introduced such as abolishing the long vacant posts. It is not a reform! There are also suggestions from experts to enlarge the Security Council by ushering in countries from under-represented regions such as Africa, Asia and Latin America. If this happens it will take the UN straight from the frying pan to the fire with too many conflicting positions. The critics of the UN are aware of these issues yet, continue to insult the UN unabated. Only the ethical behaviour of the UN member states will keep the works of the UN system on track.

Until then

The UN as the largest multilateral organisation has the global reach with its political neutrality, legitimacy and expertise in all fields and shall continue to deliver its mandate. The UN may have been misconstrued as threats to bilateral agencies undermining their visibility. Only the public education about the UN in member countries could possibly change the opinions and position of their leaders in the UN General Assembly and in the UN Security Council. Meanwhile on a broader scale the UN will just have to wait for a stable geopolitical balance of power. If this does not happen soon, prayers may not be enough to save us from global pandemonium which seems to be on its way.

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