Strengths and Weaknesses of the United Nations

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Strengths and Weaknesses of the United Nations

The United Nations came into existence after World War II in 1945.Its main purpose is to unite all the nations of the world to work together for a common cause in areas like peace and development among others. The membership of the United Nations currently stands at 192.The United Nations has been the leading organization in maintaining peace and development through promoting diplomacy as well as cordial international relations. The United Nations has been responsible for most of the diplomatic attempts in most of conflict-prone Africa. Somalia and Sudan are the best examples in this area where UN peace keeping forces have managed to bring an end to the civil wars. Elsewhere , UN has also initiated and supervised successful diplomatic ventures for example during the Iran-Iraq war which was brought to and end by peace keeping forces ,the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan plus the end of the civil war in El-Salvador.

The United Nations has various agencies that coordinate various sectors in the world. These agencies are centered on the major aspects of people’s life from human rights to the economy to health. The World Trade Organization for instance is charged with regulating trade among its member states. Within the WTO, there exists many regulations for states that engage in trade that control the standards of exports, the cost of products as well as the promotion of cheaper methods of doing business among states. This single agency has ensured that trade flows smoothly, freely and in an organized fashion. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger, raise levels and improve agricultural productivity. The International Labour Organization deals with labour issues whereas the International Monetary Fund provides financial support to nation states alongside economic advice. All these agencies have help to shape the face of many countries in nearly all aspects.

The staff working at the United Nations has been contributing to a lot of positive changes in the globe. They are overly committed and this ensures that the Secretariats come up with feasible and viable resolutions. The soldiers who take part in the peace keeping processes also take many risks in order to maintain peace in the world. Human rights workers as well sacrifice their comfortable lives and work under oppressive governments to liberate all human beings throughout the world. The various conventions of United Nations have also largely been incorporated into local common law. Most members’ states have incorporated the Bill of Rights into their constitutions and this further entrenches the United Nations principle of equal human rights for all human beings.

The United Nations has a structure that has been labeled by many state leaders as being authoritarian. The five major powers in the international system namely Russia, China, UK, France along with USA have been awarded veto powers within the United Nations. Popularly referred to as the Security Council, this group of states has been awarded the sole authority of adopting or negating any draft Council resolution, regardless of the level of international support. Therefore, one nation’s national interests within the Security Council can halt any possible action taken by the Council. Consequently, most resolutions have been vetoed even though they were of a critical and urgent nature. For example, the United States of America alone has vetoed over 30 resolutions to quell the conflict in Israel. This shows that the United Nations structure suffers from a dictatorial leadership in the form of the Security Council. Therefore ,through the veto powers, critical resolutions touching on the security , health as well as other basic rights of humans may be sidelined or ignored at the whims of one state’s national interests in the international system.

The United Nations has a major weakness in lacks a proper organ to implement the resolutions that it passes at the General Assembly. Even though it has the support of all member states, the weakness of UN lies in the fact that implementing the policies and resolutions has been very poor. States have their own sovereign right to determine what happens within their territory. It is on this premise of sovereignty that states ride on to avoid complying with UN regulations as well as directives. Some states simply fail to comply with treaties. Others distort the agreements to suit their own interests. Either way, the UN has very little influence on nation-states, depends on international law to enforce its interests.

Another weakness of the United Nations is that it still possess the same structures along with programmes that were relevant in the post World War II era but which have since become irrelevant. During World War II, the key priority was security and peace but this has since changed. New international issues have surfaced including self determination, economic development, and the HIV /AIDS scourge and arms sales. The Current United Nations has failed to keep pace with these new developments and therefore needs to changes its institutions plus its subject matters of concern. However, the Security Council membership is too limited and this makes it to be authoritarian. Many other countries also contribute to making the United Nations a significant force in international politics. The employment system in the UN needs to be revised in order to level the playing field for any member state to qualify as a member of the Security Council.