Controversy and criticism
It has been suggested that some of the information in this article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) be merged into other sections to achieve a more neutral presentation.

There has been controversy and criticism of the UN organization and its activities since at least the 1950s. In the United States, an early opponent of the UN was the John Birch Society, which began a "get US out of the UN" campaign in 1959, charging that the UN's aim was to establish a "One World Government." In 1967, Richard Nixon, while running for President of the United States, criticized the UN as "obsolete and inadequate" for dealing with then-present crises like the Cold War.[43] Jeane Kirkpatrick, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations, wrote in a 1983 opinion piece in The New York Times that the process of discussions at the Security Council "more closely resembles a mugging" of the United States "than either a political debate or an effort at problem solving."[44] In a February 2003 speech, soon before the United States invasion of Iraq (for which he had been unable to get UN approval), George W. Bush said, "free nations will not allow the United Nations to fade into history as an ineffective, irrelevant debating society."[45] In 2005, Bush appointed John R. Bolton to the position of Acting U.S. Ambassador to the UN; Bolton had made several statements critical of the UN, including saying, in 1994, "There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States."[46]


Security Council criticism
Main article: Reform of the United Nations Security Council
The Security Council has been criticized for being unable to act in a clear and decisive way when confronted with a crisis. The veto power of the five permanent members has often been cited as the cause of this problem.[47] However, according to UN Charter interpretations that were made law by the General Assembly's 'Uniting for Peace' resolution, adopted 3 November 1950, the Assembly may make any recommendations necessary to restore international peace and security, in cases where the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity between its permanent members, fails to act in situations where there appears to be a threat to international peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression. Given this, the position that reform of the Security Council veto power is a necessary prerequisite to ensuring the effectiveness of the UN Organization, has been questioned.[48]

The makeup of the Security Council dates back to the end of World War II, and this division of powers is often said to no longer represent the current power realities in the world. Critics question the effectiveness and relevance of the Security Council, because responsibility for the enforcement of its resolutions lies primarily with the Council members themselves, and there are often no consequences for violating a Security Council resolution.[citation needed]

Inaction on genocide and human rights
See also: United Nations Commission on Human Rights#Criticism
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which existed from 1946 to 2006, was criticized for producing a disproportionate number of resolutions blaming Israel for its treatment of the Palestinian people while ignoring other human rights violators.[49] It was also criticized for letting countries accused of violating human rights, such as Cuba and Sudan, become members of the commission. The commission was dissolved in 2006, as part of a reform of the United Nations.

The commission's successor, the United Nations Human Rights Council was soon accused of perpetuating the UNHCR's anti-Israel bias[50][51][52] while ignoring the plight of other oppressed people, for example in Darfur.[53] Similar criticism has been echoed by Secretaries-General Kofi Annan[54] and Ban Ki-moon[55] and U.S. President George W. Bush.[56] Doru Costea, the current UNHCR President admitted an anti-Israel bias and hoped for reform of the Council.[57] This "mea culpa" was contradicted by accusations from the Canadian delegation of personal interference by Costea.[58]


Accusations of bias in the Arab-Israeli conflict
Main article: Israel, Palestinians, and the United Nations
Issues relating to the state of Israel, the Palestinian people and other aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict occupy a large amount of debate time, resolutions and resources at the United Nations.

The partition of Palestine by the UNSCOP in 1947 was one of the earliest decision of the UN. Since then, it maintained a central role in this region, especially by providing support for Palestinian refugees via the UNRWA and by providing a platform for Palestinian political revendications via the CEIRPP, the UNDPR, the SCIIP, the UNISPAL and the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The UN has sponsored several peace negotiations between the parties, the latest being the 2002 Road map for peace.

In recent years, the Middle East, which represents 2% of its member states and 0.5% of the world's population, was the subject of 76% of country-specific UNGA resolutions, 100% of the Human Rights Council resolutions, 100% of the Commission on the Status of Women resolutions, 50% of reports from the World Food Program, 6% of Security Council resolutions and 6 of the 10 Emergency sessions. Of note is Resolution 3379 (1975) stating that "zionism is racism"; it was rescinded in 1991. These decisions, passed with the support of the OIC countries, invariably criticize Israel for her treatment of Palestinians. Many have qualified this degree of criticism as excessive. In particular, the UNHRC was widely criticized in 2007 for failing to condemn other human rights abusers besides Israel.

The United States has been criticized as well as supported for vetoing most UNSC decisions critical of Israel on the basis of their biased language, the so-called Negroponte doctrine.

Since 1961, Israel has been barred from the Asia regional group. In 2000, she was accepted within the WEOG group. The UNRWA has been accused of perpetuating the plight of Palestinian refugees. Although the UN condemns antisemitism, it has be accused of tolerating antisemitic remarks within its walls. Some argue that disproportional criticism of Israel constitutes a new form of antisemitism. UN personnel have been accused of participating directly in the armed conflict on several occasions.


Oil-for-Food Programme

The Oil-for-Food Programme was established by the UN in 1996 to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs of ordinary Iraqi citizens who were affected by international economic sanctions, without allowing the Iraqi government to rebuild its military in the wake of the first Gulf War. Over $65 billion worth of Iraqi oil was sold on the world market. Officially, about $46 billion was used for humanitarian needs. Additional revenue paid for Gulf War reparations through a Compensation Fund, UN administrative and operational costs for the Programme (2.2%), and the weapons inspection programme (0.8%).[citation needed]

The programme was discontinued in late 2003 amidst allegations of widespread abuse and corruption. Benon Sevan, the former director, was suspended and then resigned from the UN, as an interim progress report of a UN-sponsored investigation concluded that Sevan had accepted bribes from the Iraqi regime, and recommended that his UN immunity be lifted to allow for a criminal investigation.[59] Beyond Sevan, Kojo Annan was alleged to have illegally procured Oil-for-Food contracts on behalf of the Swiss company Cotecna. India's foreign minister, K. Natwar Singh, was removed from office because of his role in the scandal. And the Cole Inquiry investigated whether the Australian Wheat Board breached any laws with its contracts with Iraq.[60]


Other controversies
There have been other controversies involving the United Nations. Examples include:

Iranian officials have been accused by the UN of antisemitism by its stance towards Israel, and by ignoring Holocaust denial.[61][62][63][64][65][66]
A UN ambulance was videotaped transporting Palestinian armed forces in 2004.[67][68]
UN peacekeepers have been accused of sexual abuse or soliciting prostitutes during various peacekeeping missions in Congo,[69] Haiti,[70][71] Liberia[72] and Sudan.[73]

P.S: The above observations are taken from the main article in wikipedia on United Nations