UNO succeeded League of Nations. Practically it was formed to ensure that the nation members would behave sensibly and rationally with one another . Security council was to ensure peace and stability, because though World War Ended, the new War was the Cold war. With the Korean war still in place, the world was divided into US aligned or Soviet Aligned . Till the Soviet collapsed and China and India became the emerging new super powers.
UN is a classical story of a Club, where each nation flirted without any accountability and responsibilities. Depending upon its affinity , the countries voted for issues which mattered most to the Veto Block. At any given time, if you happen to see the UN security council assembly, it will show none of the members interested in listening to the other member state speech. The only time alertness is shown, when a sanction or war or similar issues needs to be voted. At such time, it becomes clear that "You are either with us or you are against us" Most countries abstain for fear of the long stick , others who vote against the sanctions generally do it for economic reasons, then rational reasons. Rationality or Fairness was never the key goal of the Veto Powers. It was always the support for a nation, no matter how belligerent and misplaced it would have been.
UN currently has become a Holiday High Paid Job. Absolutely zero work, read a speech or two , once in a while. Lobby for support once in a while and enjoy the tax free perks and great life in a city like New York, Geneva, Vienna , Nairobi etc.
The irony is not just one security council of UN, where nations put their bureaucrats, but also to one dozen other sham organizations, where bureaucrats are deputed . Eg ; International Atomic Agency based in Vienna. All 192 members will put one officer in this agency, who will attend only one meeting in the full year and do nothing. Who pays for it. Our Taxes! Same is the story for other arms of UNO.
Look around yourself and see, what UNICEF has done or world food program has done or World Bank has done. Identify one single project around you and there is none. However, these organizations with millions of dollars budgets routinely make nice reading reports, work alongside corrupt governments and happily each bureaucrats spends his term in these plush positions and retires.
The World bank loans which should have otherwise gone for development of the impoverished countries went actually in projects with conflicting interest. Billions of dollars were sucked away. However, the tax payers of these nations had to still pay back the world bank.
The most Hilarius part of UNO offices is that though they were meant to be for the development of the worlds poorest nations, however, were based in the worlds richest nations. This by itself is a very big corruption. Who is paying for such high overheads in these most expensive cities of the world. Why should the UN offices, not be located in the worlds poorest nations, where anyway they have all the work?
Visit any office of UN and see, how taxpayers money is being used. Salaries are tax free and the perks to envy the best MNC paid executive. Are these the standards of servicing the poor nations.
The bigger question is , whether such an organization is required at the first place. If yes, it still does not need a permanent secretariat in New York with ambassadors posted from around the world. It can still meet once in a while in any developing country. The other arms of UNO have to go through the system of Accountabilities and Deliverable ,which are internationally approved. They cannot be left to the governing bodies of these multilateral agencies.
UNO should have laid out the basis of good governance for the whole world. It would have laid out model bureaucracy which countries had to embrace to service its nationals. It should have been extremely strict with Human Rights Violations and would have arrested the ministers and head of nations and tried in International Court of Justice. It would have made mandatory that any army which coups and takes over as dictatorship will then face arrest and life sentences, if fails to restore democratic order within 6 months. It would openly make nations with corruption to be taken over by neutral agencies, same as peace keeping force, it would be bureaucratic force . The sovereignty of nation would be defined as the one, which excels in servicing its people and not the one where the corrupt manage the nation and seal the nation against good order in the name of sovereignty. The excuse forwarded generally is that it has no power. Well, if it has no power, then let the Secretary General first empower the organization or simply shut the organization. We dont want a Big Black Hole sucking away everything in the name of UNO.
The only place, where UNO has been effective is during Relief work, peace monitoring and some other areas. But this does not need such a huge set up.
largely, it is a Big Black Hole which even sucks away the finest ray of light. It is about time, when UNO has to be made a Shining Sun then a Black Hole.
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