75 YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN 1945. AND AFTER ITS MANY HISTORIC HIGHS & INFAMOUS LOWS, THE STRUCTURAL CHANGES REMAIN. HERE'S HOW TO CHANGE THEM.
The United Nations was established with the primary aim of avoiding a third world war. Its been pretty successful at that. But regional conflicts, proxy wars, climate change & the nuclear threat have escalated steadily under the UN's watch. And there is one structural issue which has caused all this: VETO POWER.
WHY THE VETO POWER IS IRRELEVANT THESE DAYS?
At the end of World War two, the victorious allied powers came together & under the tutelage of US President Franklin D Roosevelt & Harry Truman, the 5 nation security council was formed with each permanent nation being awarded a veto power.
However, the world has evolved geopolitically since then. The rise of China, the decline of the UK's clout, the end of American hegemony & a growing presence of developing countries has altered the international order, And the UNSC has not evolved enough.
Rather than being used for the greater good (as it was envisaged back then), Veto Powers have been used to advance the diplomatic & geopolitical interests of the permanent member.
For instance, in 2020 Russia & China vetoed a humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria who was in urgent need of such assistance to grapple with the pandemic, a collapsing economy, raging war & a blood lust dictator named Bashar al assad. The reason behind such an inhumane move was that Russia & China backed the Syrian dictator & feared the Americans might supply arms to the opposing rebels in the guise of humanitarian aid. Various such instances have occurred in the past with heavy involvement from the Soviet Union/Russia.
The UNSC is not representative enough. Countries especially from Africa have not been provided enough opportunities to voice their opinion. Instead, countries with more clout & resources like Japan, India & Canada have been elected more rapidly.
The permanent members have shown no unity in battling a worldwide pandemic as well. Such distrust & disregard for global co-operation at the highest level has impeded the progress of a cure.
The UNSC has also taken no action against the falling legitimacy of UN-affiliated bodies like the World Health Organisation. Steps should have been taken to restore credibility. Instead, its largest donor the United States stopped funding the WHO.
PARTING THOUGHTS
Its time to rescind the Security Council and place it on even terms with the General Assembly. The UNGA is a more representative & democratic institution where every nation has one vote. In today's ever-evolving world, the UN will have to adapt fast to stay relevant.