World body facing calls for reform amid funding shortfalls - Interview with Mukesh Kapila : Shared by NIloufar Pourzand

 

The lamentations over aid cuts and angst around United Nations reform continues. The general critique is akin to wailing and gnashing of teeth, looking back with nostalgia, and looking forward with foreboding over millions dying and collapsing multilateral co-operation. Perhaps, but most unlikely.

 
A more nuanced debate is needed. The UN can't be expected to carry on doing what it was always doing for 80 years - just because it always has. There are many others who can share the burden and more countries are capable of doing more for themselves. So is it still necessary for the UN to be at the centre of everything? And what should the UN do by the enforced necessity of being less well-funded?
My point of view via this TV interview on TRT .

Mukesh

Summary
In this interview, former UN humanitarian chief Mukesh Kapila discusses the implications of severe UN budget cuts and what they reveal about the organization’s changing role in the modern world. He describes the reductions as “brutal,” forcing the UN to do less in fewer places and to reconsider where it can step back to let others take the lead in aid delivery.

Kapila argues that the global landscape has evolved dramatically since the UN’s founding 80 years ago. Many nations now have stronger governance, greater capacity, and more educated populations. He suggests that the funding shortfall could serve as a catalyst for transformation, pushing the UN to concentrate its remaining resources on areas where it remains truly indispensable.

According to Kapila, the UN’s future focus should be threefold: assisting the poorest nations, supporting countries in conflict, and helping those most affected by climate change. This reflects a broader shift toward humanitarian work rather than comprehensive development functions — roles now largely handled by financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF.

However, he warns that this narrowing scope risks undermining the UN’s original mandate as a peace and security body. Increasingly, the UN is excluded from major conflict discussions — including Gaza and Ukraine — and may become primarily a humanitarian relief agency for the world’s poorest 20–25 countries. Kapila concludes that the future may lie in stronger regional multilateral organizations, as the UN’s global model struggles to remain relevant.

Quotes

• “The cuts are brutal — they mean doing less in fewer places.”

• The world has evolved. Many nations now have their own capacities and educated populations.

• “This is an opportunity for the UN to transform, to focus where it is still essential.”

• “The UN was founded for peace and security, but today it is not even consulted on Gaza or Ukraine.”

• “We may be moving toward a world where regional organizations take on roles the UN can no longer fulfill.”