The United Nations Explained: Its Purpose, Power

and Problems
By SOMINI SENGUPTA SEPT. 18, 2016
Almost everybody has
heard of the United
Nations. But how
many people know
what it actually does?
Or how it works? Or
why, as world leaders
gather to kick off the
71st session of the
United
Nations General
Assembly, the
institution has
struggled to live up to
the promise of its
In June 1945, the United Nations Charter was negotiated by representatives from
founders: making the 50 countries at a conference in San Francisco. Credit Gjon Mili/The Life Picture
world a better, more Collection, via Getty Images
peaceful place?

“The U.N. is like your
conscience. It can’t
make you do the right
thing, but it can help you
make the right decision.”
MARGARET HUANG, THE
INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
U.S.A.
Birth of the United Nations: When, Where and
Why
The United Nations Charter was signed at a conference
in San Francisco in June 1945, led by four countries:
Britain, China, the Soviet Union and the United States.
When the Charter went into effect on Oct. 24 of that
year, a global war had just ended. Much of Africa and
Asia was still ruled by colonial powers.
After fierce negotiations, 50 nations agreed to a Charter that begins, “We the peoples of
the United Nations.”
Why is that opening line notable? Because today, the United Nations can, to some,
seem to serve the narrow national interests of its 193 member countries — especially
the most powerful ones — and not ordinary citizens.
These parochial priorities can stand in the way of fulfilling the first two pledges of the
Charter: to end “the scourge of war” and to regain “faith in fundamental human rights.”

High Ideals on Human Rights

In 1948, the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
These include the right to not be enslaved, the right to free expression and the right to
seek from other countries asylum from persecution.
However, many of the rights expressed — to education, to equal pay for equal work, to
nationality — remain unrealized.

General Assembly:
Prominent Stage,
Limited Powers
Each fall, the opening
session of the United
Nations General Assembly
becomes the stage where
presidents and prime
ministers give speeches that
can be soaring or clichéd —
or they can deliver long,
Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the leader of Libya at the time, gave a incoherent tirades, such as
rambling 90-minute speech in front of the United Nations General
Assembly in 2009. Credit Timothy A. Clary/Agence France-Presse — the one given by Col.
Getty Images Muammar el-Qaddafi, the
Libyan strongman, in 2009.
 The opening of the The event offers plenty of star power, but critics
U.N. General Assembly contend that it is little more than a glorified gabfest.
“is the World Cup of
diplomacy, it’s the Oscars For the rest of the session, the General Assembly is
of diplomacy. It’s also an
interesting fashion week.” the arena where largely symbolic diplomatic jousts are
STEPHANE DUJARRIC, A won and lost. Hundreds of resolutions are introduced
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY annually. While some of them earn a great deal of
GENERAL BAN KI-MOON
attention — like one in 1975 that equated Zionism
with racism— they are not legally binding. (The
Assembly is responsible for making some budgetary
decisions.)
In principle, nations small and large, rich and poor, have equal voice in the Assembly,
with each country getting one vote. But the genuine power resides elsewhere.

Security Council:
Powerful but Often
Paralyzed
The 15-member Security
Council is by far the most
powerful arm of the
United Nations. It can
impose sanctions, as it
did against Iran over its
nuclear program, and
authorize military
The United Nations Security Council has 15 members, with five members
intervention, as it
(the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia) holding permanent
seats. Credit Seth Wenig/Associated Press did against Libya in 2011.
Critics say it is also the
most anachronistic part of the organization. Its five permanent members are the victors
of World War II: the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia. The other 10
members are elected for two-year terms, with seats set aside for different regions of the
world.
Efforts to expand the permanent membership of the Council to include powers that
have emerged since 1945 — such as India, Japan and Germany — have been stymied.
For every country that vies for a seat, rivals seek to block it.
Any member of the permanent five — or the P5, for short — can veto any measure, and
each has regularly used this power to protect either itself or allies. Since 1990, the
United States has cast a veto on Council resolutions 16 times, many concerning Israeli-
Palestinian relations. Russia has done so 13 times, including four times over Syria.
The Charter does allow the General Assembly to act if, because of a veto, international
peace and security are threatened. But in reality, it is rarely done.

Problems Keeping the

Peace
The Security Council’s
job is to maintain
international peace. Its
ability to do so has been
severely constrained in
recent years, in large
part because of bitter
divisions between
Russia and the West. A Somali refugee camp in Kenya in 2011. Part of the
United Nations’ function has been to monitor and provide
The Council has been humanitarian aid to displaced people around the
feckless in the face of world. Credit Oli Scarff/Getty Images
major conflicts,
particularly those in
which permanent members have a stake.
Most recently, its starkest failure has been the handling of the conflict in Syria, with
Russia backing the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the United States,
Britain and France supporting some opposition groups. The Council has not only failed
to halt the fighting, but has also been unable to ensure the delivery of food aid and
the safety of medical workers.
Also, North Korea, long an ally of China, has repeatedly ignored United Nations
prohibitions against conducting nuclear tests.

Secretary General: Global

Reach, Vague Role
The Charter is vague in defining
the duties of the secretary
general, the United Nations’
top official. He or she is
expected to show no favoritism
to any particular country, but
the office is largely dependent
on the funding and the good
The 10-year tenure of Ban Ki-moon, center, the
United Nations’ secretary general, will end this year. will of the most powerful
Credit Justin Lane/European Press photo Agency nations.
The Security Council —
notably the P5 — chooses the
secretary general, by secret ballot, to serve a maximum of two five-year terms. This
process makes it difficult for the role to be independent of the P5’s influence.
The secretary general has no army to deploy, but what the position does enjoy is a bully
pulpit. If the officeholder is perceived as being independent, he or she is often the only
person in the world who can call warring parties to the peace table.
The 10-year tenure of the current secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has repeatedly
revealed the limits of the office’s authority. For example, Mr. Ban was persuaded for
two years in a row to keep powerful countries off a list of those whose military forces
had killed and maimed children.
Since 1946, eight have held the position of secretary general. All have been men. Mr.
Ban’s successor will be chosen this fall.

What’s Next: 5 Questions for the U.N.’s Future

No matter who takes over as secretary general on Jan. 1, he or she will inherit a body
facing the unenviable task of demonstrating the United Nations’ relevance in a world
confronting challenges that were inconceivable 70 years ago. Here are some of the
questions that will determine whether the organization’s influence diminishes or grows:
■ Can the Security Council take action against countries that flout international
humanitarian law? And can the P5 members of the Council look beyond their own
narrow interests to find ways to end the “scourge of war”?
■ Can peacekeeping operations be repaired so the protection of civilians is ensured?
■ Can the United Nations persuade countries to come up with new ways to handle the
new reality of mass migration?
■ Can the secretary general persuade countries to keep their promise to curb carbon
emissions — and to help those suffering from the consequences of climate change?
■ Can the United Nations get closer to achieving its founding mandate, to make the
world a better, more peaceful place?