The United Nations Charter is a magnificent document which starts with the words, “We the peoples of the United Nations…”. The main purpose of this Charter and the United Nations Organization (UNO) was, and it is, to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war alongwith the multitude of other objectives. Yes, as the name of the organization suggests this was to be, and is to be, achieved in a united way. Nevertheless, the contemporary world order and the happenings since the time this organization was established belie many claims and it seems the word ‘united’ suits not this organization. There is more of disunity than of unity in the world.
The countries of the world are not united in fighting the challenges that mankind is beset with, the challenges which were the main reason for establishing the UNO. They are scattered and apart on the basis of their economic development, their affiliation to a region or even religion and their national interests. They are apart in their behavior when they represent themselves in this institution. At times the semblance of some unity that exits also evaporates in thin air to the disappointment of the people of the world.
Seventy two years have passed since this institution was formally established. During this time if the countries of the world had acted in a united manner most of the major problems of the world would have been solved by now. Had they played their roles considering the larger interests of human race there would have been no hunger and hate in the world, there would have been no fear and favor and there would have been no war and vanquished in the world. And, had they not remained stuck to the parochial policy decisions – which one wonders about how they are in the interests of these countries – the world by now would have attained the level of sustainability and the safety for the existence of the generations that are going to follow.
Nothing of that sort happened. The powerful countries tried to find ways to undermine the weaker ones and for that they used this otherwise the savior institution of the human race. The economically well off ones kept exploiting the backward countries to keep their hegemony intact and this institution was used to fulfill those ends of the former nations. The plunderers and looters of national sovereignties and national integrities kept holding the most important decision making posts of this organization to subvert all the efforts that were made to ensure peace in the world and deny the right to self determination to the people who were promised that.
Today a cursory look at the working of this institution and the achievements that it has made explicitly suggests that the world is there where it was in the year 1945, or even before considering the level of disunity and insecurity. The world again is increasingly shifting towards a state of bipolarity with the only difference that we do not know which country is going to be leader of the Eastern Block, Russian or China. The Third World War is as possible and probable today as it was at the peak of the Cold War days. The continued North Korean crisis makes the global scenario even more precarious.
Alongside the threat of a Third Word War, there is a threat of regional wars which have more or less the same consequences as that of a Global War. The nuclear weapons have blurred the distinction, in terms of the destructive capabilities, of regional wars involving nuclear power possessing countries and the global war. The UNO has simply failed to eliminate the threat of a major war and that of regional wars as it had promised to the world community.
The scourge of the ongoing conflicts and wars may not be that much damaging as that of a major war could be but there is damage, great damage to human life and property that is caused by these conflicts and wars. They should have been the first priority of the UNO in the sense that they not only cause death, destruction and damage but are also a potential cause to the outbreak of a major war. They seem to be no of priority for the UNO or for the countries of the world. The major world powers instead use these conflicts and wars to serve their national interests. The resultant disorder and violence in the world belies the Article 1 of the Charter which promises to maintain peace and security in the world.
The mechanism of collective security which proved defective in case of the League of Nations is by no way better in case of the UNO. It is used only against the weak states and the powerful states have been rendered more or less immune to this mechanism. Amazingly, the grounds on which this mechanism has been used proved in most of the cases as flimsy. Unfortunately, it was this mechanism, to safeguard the sovereignties of countries as per the Article 2 of the Charter, which was used to trample the sovereignty of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. This mechanism never works against the powerful states of the world, in particular the United States.
The track record of the UNO in respect of safeguarding the human rights and fundamental freedoms is also not too encouraging. The violations of these rights continue and are committed by the countries and people who claim to be their guardians. No collective and united mechanism is applied to stop this evil, and crime, from taking place. In Myanmar, in the Middle East, in many countries of the African continent, in Kashmir and in many other parts of the world these rights are crushed under the cruel boots of the mighty. The UNO at the most issues some statements and that is all. No serious attempt is made by the organization to end the violation. Painfully, the seal of the UN is used to commit acts of grave violations of human rights in many parts of the world by the powerful counties.
In terms of the weapons of mass destruction, they are in much higher concentrations present in the world and qualitatively they are many times more destructive than those present in the past. They can wipe up the entire humanity just with a single trigger. There are many declared and undeclared nuclear powers in the word which is against the spirit of the Charter, and a perpetual threat to the existence of the human species. The recent acts of firing of missiles by North Korea and retaliatory fires by the South Koreas are worrying signs in this regard.
The underdevelopment was a serious issue at the time of the formation of the UNO and it is an issue today as well. Although many of the countries of the world have raised their level of development appreciably but there are many others who have not moved even an inch up the ladder of the advancement. In their case the gulf between them and developed countries has widened further to make the matter worse. Here deliberate attempts are made to keep that gulf intact and keep the underdeveloped in the perpetual state of their underdevelopment so as to keep the powerful ones dominating and benefiting.
The condition of the environment is worse than it was in 1945. It is becoming more and more unsuitable and unsustainable. The current attitude of global powers like the decision of the United States to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord is making the prospects of a sustainable environment even more bleak, and dangerous. It could be dangerous trend setter and damaging for the overall wellbeing of the people of the world. The United Nations is watching helplessly as it literally cannot do anything against the USA.
Terrorists and terrorism is decided according to the whims and whishes of the powerful countries. Those people and organization which support these countries are patriots and patriotic and the ones who are not working according to these powers are terrorist and spreading terrorism, no matter if the latter kind of people and organizations are working for a just cause. In respect of all other issues it is the will of the powerful that decides their fate and not the Charter of the United Nations.
To be realistic to blame the intention of the UN is not always good to do. There are many fundamental flaws and limitations which stop this organization from taking action according to its Charter. These include the overdependence of this organization on the powerful and economically well of countries of the world to run its finances. The weak character of the international law, which according to many experts is not a true law for lack of a supporting coercive force, is another limitation which prevents the UNO from acting the way it otherwise ought to work.
The inability of the weak and developing countries of the world to work in a coordinate manner at the world stage, and in the UNO is still another cause which gives the powerful ones unbridled powers. Some instances are there where the coordinated working of the weaker countries has made a difference. This coordination and cooperation is needed to find out ways to take care of the limitations to help the organization to ensure better future prospects for all the generation of humans to come. Outlook
By way of conclusion, to say that the United Nations has not achieved anything in more than seven decades of its existence is not right. It has done commendable job in many areas but the job that was before it, and is still unachieved, is much more challenging. It is this unprecedented nature of the objectives to be achieved which makes the work already done seems as negligible. Hence, lot more needs to be done. The only option is to do this work or get perished.
Fayaz Ganaie can be reached at fayaz.greatstep@gmail.com