Introduction
The United Nations (UN) is a cross-governmental organization that aims to support international peace and security. Other stated goals are the development of friendly relations between nations, the achievement of international cooperation, human rights protection, the delivery of humanitarian aid, international law, and the promotion of sustainable development. The UN is headquartered in New York, with main offices in The Hague, Vienna, Nairobi, and Geneva. It is the most famous and prominent international organization in terms of the number of participants, which was created on April 25, 1945, to prevent future wars, and began work on October 24, 1945 (United Nations, n.d.). The UN’s role involves maintaining security and peace in the post-Cold War era, but in some cases, the organization has raised doubts about its ability to achieve its goals.
Historical Participation in Conflicts
The period after the Cold War was characterized by the unfolding of military conflicts between neighboring countries and wars aimed at determining the spheres of international influence. The UN acted as a diplomatic peacemaker and as NATO’s partner in guaranteeing security through the Security Council, which adopted resolutions on the internationally recognized sovereign status of countries that were victims of aggression. The variety of such resolutions increased significantly by 2000 when military conflicts occurred in El Salvador, Namibia, South Africa, Cambodia, Kuwait, Somalia, Haiti, Mozambique, and the former Yugoslavia (United Nations, n.d.). Under Ban Ki Moon, the UN intervened in wars in Sudan and the DRC and sent observers and chemical weapons experts to the war in Syria (United Nations, n.d.). Today’s participation of the UN in Russia’s war against Ukraine is led by the head of the organization, Antonio Guterres.
UN and Its Agencies
Diplomatic and humanitarian activities of the UN are implemented through its organizations – UNDP, UNEP, UNFPA, UN-HABITAT, UNICEF, and WFP. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) works in 170 countries to reduce poverty and inequality and support progress, including the Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations, n.d.). The UN acts following the Liberalism or Liberal Internationalism approach, implying that the global systems can create a peaceful order (Key Theories of International Relations, 2018). UN sees international cooperation as a satisfactory means for achieving everyone’s best interests. The organization condemns the negative consequences brought by aggression, such as the deaths of civilians and military men and economic losses. However, the UN expresses comprehension that countries like Russia, China, and South Korea act following the Authoritarian approach suggesting that those countries’ rulers aim to grow power and thrive from it.
UN as the Ineffective Actor in Maintaining Peace
Despite the UN’s image, a growing number of researchers, journalists, and politicians today note the organization’s inability to make an impact in conflict situations. The high-profile statements of its leadership do not go beyond rhetoric, and often in many conflicts, even the level of humanitarian aid is far less than that provided by some smaller public or private companies (Dijkzeul & Salomons, 2021). Some influential people have already suggested that their countries consider reforming or withdrawing from the organization (DerviÅŸ & Ocampo, 2022). The reason for such decisions may be the uncertainty and ambiguity of the UN approach.
According to the rules, treaties, and how the organization functions, each state makes a particular contribution with a specific regularity. In a certain way, those subsidies can be compared to insurance payments, which are very common in citizens’ everyday lives. However, the meaning of such investments is lost if, instead of assistance, the maximum that the affected party receives is expressions of sympathy, minimal and stretched over time humanitarian aid, or verbal “condemnation” of the aggressor (TRTWorld, 2018). Some of the many examples are the genocide in Rwanda, the Srebrenica massacre, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, and the current situation in Ukraine.
It is still impossible to ascertain the actual global cause: corruption, personal connections of the leading members of the UN with the sovereigns of the aggressor states, or fraud. However, many signs suggest the reason for the delay and uncertainty, for example, in Russia’s war against Ukraine is the possible personal friendship between Antonio Guterres and Putin (Majeed, 2022). In the genocide of the Tootsies in Rwanda, the UN Corps stood by and merely observed, justifying this with a concern of spoiling relations with the aggressor’s government and further problems with mending relations. It was done even though the UN had military forces in the area and could have saved thousands of lives (TRTWorld, 2018). In the same way, its removal from other conflicts took place.
Equally important, and it is worth noting, that the enormous number of financial scandals and accusations of fraud by the UN. Some of these are unsubstantiated and populist, but according to a study by Dijkzeul and Salomons (2021), financial losses for unclear reasons are widespread in this organization. The financial reporting the UN provides is overly confusing, with an abundance of staff, affiliates, donations, and competencies (Dijkzeul & Salomons, 2021). Moreover, in many cases, the leading cause is not corruption but inefficient management.
An example of such inadequate financial control is the Oil-for-Food Program (OFFP). During that program in Iraq, more than ten percent of the hundred billion dollars allocated to fight the famine went to dictator Saddam Hussein personally (Dijkzeul & Salomons, 2021). One of the reasons for this was that the dictator bribed one of those responsible for the program, but even when proven guilty, the employee was not punished and had a full pension as a former UN employee. An additional example is a large number of scandals in the New York office, marked by the loss of several millions of dollars, investigations, and lawsuits (Dijkzeul & Salomons, 2021). Many of these financial issues remain unanswered to this moment.
During the starting liberation of the Ukrainian territories in the east, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, made a statement. She declared a humanitarian crisis and complete devastation in the war-affected areas and expressed concern with the onset of winter weather (The UN assessed humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, 2022; U.S. Embassy Kyiv, 2022). Later, Denise Brown marked the importance of ensuring access to humanitarian organizations for the millions of Ukrainians who live in the occupied territories. Despite statements and appeals, the UN has taken no serious action.
Conclusion
The UN was created as a peacekeeping mission and has internal organizations that perform humanitarian functions. Equally important, the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague hands down sentences for war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, all of these aspects are exceedingly complicated by excessive bureaucracy, a convoluted and inefficient organizational system, and corruption. In a detailed assessment and review of UN actions since 1992, it is clear that serious structural reforming, evaluation of all significant managers, and regular financial auditing are required.
References
Derviş, K., & Ocampo, J. A. (2022). Will Ukraine’s tragedy spur UN Security Council reform? Brookings. Web.
Dijkzeul, D., & Salomons, D. (2021). International organizations revisited: Agency and pathology in a multipolar world. Berghahn Books.
Key theories of International Relations (2018). Norwich University Online. Web.
Majeed, Z. (2022). UN Chief Antonio Guterres speaks with Putin, pushes for Russian fertilizer exports. Republic World. Web.
The UN assessed the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as a result of the war: “It is complete devastation”. (2022). Daily News. Web.
TRTWorld. (2018). Twelve times the UN has failed the world. TRT World. Web.
United Nations. (n.d.). About us. UN. Web.
U.S. Embassy Kyiv. (2022). Remarks by president Biden before the 77th session of the united nations general assembly. U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Web.