Since February 24, 2022, when the largest conflict since the end of World War II began, the world has been waiting for a demonstration of how the UN can act against an aggressor. A year and 3 months later, the Secretary-General of this organization declared that the UN is not fulfilling its function.
Why was the UN created?
The organization was created 78 years ago after the end of World War II. The main functions according to the charter are as follows:
- maintaining peace in the world;
- strengthening of international security;
- development of cooperation between states.
The UN Secretary-General Guterres admitted that the Security Council proved its inability to prevent military conflicts. Many politicians and famous people, starting with Donald Trump and ending with Pope Francis, also share this opinion.
Loser №2
The first such organization after World War I was the League of Nations. When it turned out that it was impossible to prevent military conflicts by only political means without military forces, the organization was simply disbanded. It was replaced by a formation of a new model – the United Nations.
It should be noted that in the first decades of its activity, the Security Council was much more decisive than now. An example is the operation to stop the war in the Congo, when peacekeeping troops of the UN conducted large missions using aviation, aimed at ousting separatists from Katanga.
Another example is the Korean War. At that time, the UN forces prevented South Korea’s seizure. However, now only memories remain of that determination.
Why did the UN stop acting?
After World War II, when a common enemy united irreconcilable camps, such as Great Britain and the USSR, politicians did not imagine that these states would be on opposite sides. Especially since the USSR itself will not exist, and its countries will be at war with each other. Therefore, as of the 1950s, the scheme was effective.
But time passed, and overwhelming problems appeared. They interrupt the UN from preventing wars. The biggest of them is the ability to block decisions of the Security Council by its co-founders, using the right of “veto”. That is, the founder becomes actually unpunished, as the UN does not act against him. One such member is Russia, the result of which is its military aggression against many countries over the past 78 years.
