UN Reform: The need and prospects

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED to save

succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has
brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights,
in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women
and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and
respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law
can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in
larger freedom. taken from the Mission Statement of the United Nations.
As an international body, the United Nations is largely responsible for peace and
prosperity in the world. Created in 1949 after a time of great brutality and mass
causality, it was built by the leaders of the world to keep nations united and
diplomatic. However this well intentioned goal and altruistic organization has
deteriorated in both effectiveness and circumspect, where it is shrouded by
controversy and bullied by a few countries that stagnate and prevent swift responses
to escalating tensions. Currently the United Nations faces a lot of pressure and
scrutiny from the international world. The issues range from an ongoing financial
crisis to humanitarian and political predicaments.
Problems with the United Nations
Corruption
The United Nations has failed to address the corruption that is evident in the
organization; issues such as bribery, theft, fraud and complaints of money laundering
have become common issues that the secretariat has been reproached for. A wellknown example of corruption is the Oil for Food scandal in 1996.
The program had humble beginnings as an efficacious multilateral effort to feed the
Iraqi people who had suffered from the overarching consequences of a military
intervention, and to improve the abject conditions of Iraqi cities. It was a
revolutionary humanitarian effort as it used the sale of Iraqi oil to entirely fund the
operation, thereby not only allowing a humanitarian effort to be completely funded
but also allow Iraq to improve its economic standing and subsequently the welfare of
its people.
However, the humanitarian mission changed from a self-less initiative led by the
international community to a poorly organized operation where the lack of
transparency led to a scandal that pointed the blame solely to the United Nations. The
seemingly innocuous humanitarian effort enabled Saddam Hussein to tighten his grip
over the people of Iraq where over 60 percent of the population were dependent on his
rations for food. It also enabled him to directly exploit the program by earning
kickbacks and surcharges up to 10.9 billion dollars. This redirected the cash flow to
aid packages for intended civilians to his own personal accounts.
Corruption is a problem that the United Nations needs to desperately fix to prevent aid
leakage and inefficiency in its peacekeeping missions. The Oil for Food Scandal
was a sobering moment for the global organization that finally realized that its peace

building initiatives were increasingly counter productive due to the surreptitious

corruption that was occurring behind the high-minded, magnanimous international
organization.
Financial Crisis
The UN Regular Budget finances the General Assembly, the Security Council, the
Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat as well as the UNs political missions
and it draws on all 196-member nations. Nonetheless, the United Nations is in
financial turmoil, accumulating a meager $7.08 billion for 16 different peacekeeping
operations undertaken over a 2-year period. Its terrible financial situation has had
drastic consequences on its relationship between donor countries, particularly USA,
and has led to failures of peace building missions such as those carried out in Rwanda
by the UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda). The current
recession has clearly put pressure on the aid budgets of all donor countries, leading to
many countries defaulting on UN membership payments or arrears; however, it is
difficult to believe that despite these shortfalls, the United Nations has taken no steps
in restructuring their budget and implementing a management with enough fiscal
oversight to control the spending of the United Nations. With the recent Syrian
Refugee crisis and rampant malnutrition in African countries, key organizations like
the World Food Program and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is
unable to meet the demands of over 49 million people living in squalor.
The problem inherently lies in the lack of transparency and the poor system of
collection of money. It essentially relies on an arrears system that has evolved into a
chronic problem for the entire United Nations; in this system countries pay based on a
proportion of their GDP. Many smaller countries are unable to pay arrears due to an
abysmal financial situation, and larger countries often default for political reasons, as
was seen particularly by the Reagan Administration of the United States of America in
the 1980s. Late payments means not only that countries lose their vote in the general
assembly, but the United Nations is crippled by the dearth of funds it can draw on in
times of a humanitarian crisis. Voluntary contributions, another key source of income,
are rarely paid in these times, further crippling task forces and diminishing resources
that may be crucial to a particular mission.
A new financial system must be looked for as currently various United Nations
agencies are contesting to fulfill long-term projects with myopic financial sources. A
system with managerial oversight, transparency and controlled funding channels may
be able to effectively provide the UN with the funding it needs to fully equip and set
comprehensive mandates for any political and humanitarian missions that it may
attempt in the future.
Ineffectiveness and a Lack of Democracy
The United Nations is deemed as unresponsive and ineffective in handling crises that
threaten the geopolitical stability of entire nations. Take the example of the Syrian
Crisis. After over 2 years of turmoil and political unrest, the Security Council finally
managed to reach a half-hearted consensus to facilitate a half hearted peace plan. The
UNSC then appointed a UN Supervision Mission in Syria, that failed to quell any
violence and it came to an end in the July of 2012. So far, the United Nations has
failed to add any impetus to a decisive action and is barred from preventing the
political tensions. This is similar to the Dutch Peacekeepers in the village of

Srebrenica where they failed to stop the brutal General Ratko Mladic from
perpetrating the genocide of over 8000 Bosnians. This poor coordination was
particularly shown when the Dutch peacekeeper force commander was photographed
drinking fine champagne with the general.
Another prominent historical example is that of the Unified Task Force that was
dispatched in Somalia in 1992 to conduct humanitarian operations in a militia
controlled state. After the killing of Pakistan Peacekeepers, the Security Council
implemented Resolution 837 that granted them the ability to use any necessary
methods. Eventually, Public opinion in Saudi Arabia turned against the US led
Peacekeepers (this was particularly displayed when a picture was taken of smiling
local children that were seen dragging a deceased US soldier on a road), and although
the peacekeepers did set up a temporary safe zone for the provision of humanitarian
aid, they did not carry out disarmament programs and remobilization programs
providing a temporary solution to a chronic problem. The ineffectiveness of
peacekeepers was also seen in the Haiti peacekeeping mission when a genome test
identified that the devastating cholera outbreak was caused by the 70,000 Nepalese
peacekeepers that were on the ground to support the peace progress.
A strong criticism that the UN has faced lately is of the exploitation of the veto power.
So far, USA has vetoed over 30 resolutions on the Israel Crisis, Russia has vetoed
over 10 on the Syrian crisis, and China has vetoed any resolution with regard to the
South- China Sea dispute. Despite reducing responsiveness, the veto is also accused
of stripping any democratic principles that were present in the United Nations, as it
provides buttress to the ability of the permanent five members to further their own
agenda. The Permanent 5 also enjoy a special authority under Chapter 7 of the United
Nations Charter, which is unchallenged by any body, even the International Court of
Justice. The power afforded to these permanent five members is often described as
oppressive and controlling, where they are able to violate the moral norms of
international law based on their special interests, this was evident when USSR
prevented any action in Afghanistan, USA prevented any external intervention in
Vietnam, and Britain blocked Sanctions on South Africa.
Perhaps rethinking the veto may be the best solution for the United Nations.
Increasingly seen as myopic and poorly equipped in handling international crises, the
United Nations must be reformed from within, its missions must be set with a long
term mandate in mind rather than a mandate that focuses largely on the current
situation and the process of responding to humanitarian crises must be streamlined so
that a tumultuous region is safely secured without going through a tortuous period of
belabor and debate in the Security Council.
Solutions
Despite the current dismal situation of the United Nations there is still hope for the
well-intentioned organization. Many solutions have been ultimately posed by various
members of the international community, which target various aspects of the United
Nations that are in dire need of reform.
A hotly debated issue is that of UNSC expansion. The Security Council is often
slandered as an undemocratic organization that allots certain countries the ability to

dominate international affairs and make the critical decisions for other countries.
Restructuring may be the best solution that is available to an organization. Although
the Permanent five may argue that because of their nuclear arsenal and vast military
superiority they hold the balance of world peace in their hand, it is important to
realize that certain countries that are equally influential like India and Germany
should be given an opportunity to voice their opinions in major conflicts. Expanding
on geographic distribution of Security Council Seats might be a better option, for
example giving a permanent seat to a country South American Country and an African
Country, which may give a better rounded perspective of global opinion into any
matter. Another vexing issue is that of Veto-Power. The veto has allowed states to
dismiss comprehensive humanitarian resolutions, and the argument that the veto
allows a minority to prevent beleaguering and coercion falls through when we look at
the number of times that a response to a crisis was delayed by a Veto from a
permanent member. There are possible replacements that can be made to the Veto
system. For example, a Veto that needs a certain majority within the Permanent
members of an expanded security council, which makes sure that the best interest of
the international community is looked after.
Removing the system of arrears entirely and replacing it with a more effective system
that relies more on compulsory donations and a base fee for membership may
alleviate the dismal situation of the United Nations funds. Also creating a monitoring
body within the secretariat that allocates and monitors funds may assist the United
Nations in balancing its budget and removing the surfeit budget deficit that it is
encountering. The United Nations is also in dire need of debt restructuring programs,
which may enable it to manage its finances in times of humanitarian crises.
Corruption is interrelated to this serious issue of poor financing. Unfortunately, the
United Nations closed its Anti-Corruption observer committee and perhaps in these
times of crisis reorganizing the United Nations efficiency might require a larger AntiCorruption committee that has an expanded mandate accompany the best.
Increasing the United Nations ability to respond to crises with the best intention
requires symmetric information. This might require the creation of a global forum
made of individuals and reputed world leaders that may voice their opinions and send
advisories to the United Nations Security Council directly. Also allowing Nongovernmental organizations that are so instrumental in peace building processes and
providing relief in the times of humanitarian crisis to coordinate with peace builders
and voice their concerns directly to the United Nations Security Council may be a
comprehensive solution to not only increasing responsiveness but also building
rapport between the United Nations Peacekeepers and the locale of an affected region.
Monitoring peacekeepers, providing medical and behavioral screenings while holding
them accountable for any crimes they may committee; and extending their mandate as
accorded by the Brahmi Report and the Capstone doctrine may further increase the
sensitivity of the United Nations to hostile regions.
Conclusion
The United Nations is of course a flagship for the peace and prosperity that humanity
ultimately aims to support in this recent age of tumultuous war and poverty. What we
must remember is that despite its shortcomings the United Nations has lessened the
toll of any war and has managed to maintain peace and carry out successful peace

building missions in the regions that are overwrought with conflict. Examples include
Sierra Leone, Haiti, Liberia and Cte dIvoire; the UN also succeeded in enforcing
environmental protection laws in the Galapagos, persuading countries such as South
Africa and Kazakhstan to destroy their nuclear arsenals. It is important to understand
that the United Nations is one organization that has maintained peace throughout the
globe and ensured that the poor and helpless are not neglected. Although it may falter
in its goals and resources, it is important for the international community not to lose
faith in an organization with an aim so altruistic. However, the United Nations must
recognize its flaws and guide itself to a more responsible, transparent and responsive
organization that truly paves the path to a better and more peaceful world.
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