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The Need of Reform in United Nations
United Nations as the most recent yet the longest living global organization in human history has nearly completed its sixty nine years in 2015. Its history is chequered with successes and failures. Its advances towards the goals it was aimed to achieve are undeniable, yet the need to reform it calls more loudly upon the peoples of the world. One of the reasons for its reforms is the drastically changed world of second decade of 21st century from the world of 1945. Many developments have taken place. Many new issues have arisen and many issues of 1945 have become irrelevant. But there is no justification whatsoever for the dismantling of UN, as some would suggest, because “the need of peace and security” is still as germane to the world as it was in post world war two era. The only option, therefore, that our world is left with is to constructively and innovatively reform United Nations for it to become a more representative, efficient and transparent international body.
The second reason that demands reformation of UN is the plenitude of its failures in many respects. The logic is clear: the body that was produced to perform certain functions has failed to perform them; so we need to reform the way it works by finding out the reasons of its failure. Some of the starkest failures of U.N are purely international in nature. They are its failure to obviate Korean, Vietnam, Granada, and Afghan wars, genocide perpetrated by pol pot, Rwanda war, and many other violent conflicts. In other words, it failed to prevent the interstate and intrastate warfare during the cold war Era. The price was extremely high. The number of people who died in these 45 years in the presence of U.N are no less than those who died in WW2, before U.N took birth. This is a dismal account, for it questions the very rationale of U.N’s existence today. It is apt to ask here: what use is such a body that was too impotent to reduce human misery, war and violence that taxed the world with millions of human lives?
To temper this gloomy account, it is appropriate to briefly highlight the utility of U.N because if its very usefulness is questioned, then the talk of reforms becomes irrelevant.
Chief Achievements of U.N:
1. It prevented any direct major war between the two cold war rivals, U.S and U.S.S.R, through allowing them both a mutual platform to discuss and deliberate at its Security Council. The power of veto accorded to both of them also played a role in keeping them from direct conflict which could have imperiled the existence of the world, in case of a nuclear outbreak between the two giants.
2. U.N Law Commission made tremendous contributions to the codification of mostly noramtive international law. Though, International Law still lacks the binding force, yet it has acquired a written form which gives it greater credence in the eyes of the world comity.
3. United Nations played an important role in the decolonization of third world countries. The greatest contribution in this regard was made the U.N charter’s approval of the “right to self determination” given to colonised nations. And the decolonization increased the U.N membership of 52 in 1945 to 118 in 1965.
4. U.N played an important role in the eradication of African apartheid. The sanctions placed on South Africa through joint act of world’s nations made it impractical for South Africa to continue color discrimination.
5. On the nuclear frontier, various treaties kept the world agreed on reducing or at least limiting the nuclear threat to the world. Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, Total Test Ban Treaty, Outerspace Test Ban Treaty are some of the most significant of such efforts.
6. In the field of regulations on Sea, Laws of Seas of 1965 and Laws of Seas of 1983 are the gospels that regulate the complex relations of states at high seas and territorial seas.
7. In environmental domain, various treaties on climate change, ozone layer protection and carbon emission are notable.
8. United Nations Human Rights Commission, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNESCO, and ECOSOC are some of the most important contributions towards human security, that go to the credit of U.N.
Areas that need reform and relevant remedial suggestions:
So far, the areas of U.N success story have been highlighted, but it should blind us to the weak spots that call for reform. They are following.
1. There is rampant financial corruption in the U.N Secretariat, the international bureaucracy. The figures of misappropriation are hard to come by, but it suffices to satisfy our suspicion that U.N General Assembly has been unable to transparently establish the expenditure of its funds.
The U.N general assembly and the secretariat must be made accountable. The lack of accountability breeds corruption.
2. The meritocracy is lacking in Bureaucracy. The highposts, as Munir Akram, former Pakistan’s representative in U.N, has pointed out, are mostly held by white people. The remedy is to help advance the colored nations of the world, who are brimming with human talent of high professionalism.
3. The contributions in bureaucracy are not commensurately rewarded. Red-tapism has take over and efficiency is replaced by political considerations in job promotions. The spirit of professionalism must be infused in the bureaucratic body through transparency and checks and balance.
4. The U.N General Assembly is usually like a herd of sheeps, where whatever the flock recommends, the wolves sitting in the security council can ignore or revoke. Though, it still performs the function of providing platform to various nations, it must be further empowered to make U.N a more effective body.
5. The entrance of new nations in General Assembly is to be approved by Security Council. Where the security council represents set patterns of national interests, new members find it hard to enter U.N. General Assembly’s role in the admission of new states must be enhanced.
6. U.N’s budget system must be forthwith reformed. Due to budgetary dependence of U.N on U.S, it finds it hard to resist the dictation of America. And it can play in the hands of U.S, like in Afghan invasion, or can be altogether ignored, as in the case of Iraq invasion.
7. U.N Security Council’s (UNSC) power of veto has caused more harm than good. In case of Pakistan, Russia vetoed Pakistan’s Resolution in general assembly three times, purely on political basis. It harmed the very reputation of U.N as a conflict resolving international body.
8. The expansion of UNSC is desirable and now more and more inevitable in the wake of 69 years of exclusiveness of only five countries’ power of veto. But in case of admission of such states as India as permanent member of UNSC, the qualms and conveniences of the neighbors must be taken in consideration. A systematic set of rules should be carved out so that this issue doesnot evict controversy from various nations of the various regions.
9. Peacekeeping forces and the laws governing them must be reformed to make them more effcient and law abiding. Rather then requesting mercenaries from various countries, which is always a daunting task, a special force must be maintained for effective and speedy peace keeping.
10. A check on the security council members must be placed that limits their capability to intervene in various countries on various pretexts such human rights violation, weapons of mass destruction and promotion of democracy. The reason is all just justifications are always driven by parochial national interests of the great powers, that cost million of lives in the intervened countries. For example, according to 2011 report, 17 million people became the victims of U.S invasion in Afghanistan and Iraq.
11. The role and jurisdiction of International Court of Justice must be expanded. Otherwise, the territorial violations like those in Kashmir and Palestine cannot be apprehended and reduced.
12. There should be a tax system for the members. As per a 2010 report, U.S have arreras of $ 100 Billion and 28 nations have not paid their membership fees.
13. The Budget of U.N must be disciplined. It has doubled over the last decade due to such reponsibilities as Afghanistan and Iraq. The trend must change and its expenditures must be reduced, so that it does not become a highly expensive body.
14. The UN staff size must decrease. The emphasis should be on quality not quantity.
15. Accounatability must be brought the functioning of various U.S agency. They spend a hefty budget of $36 billion annually.
16. The misconduct of UN peacekeepers in the host countries must be eneded. Such abuses as sexual exploitation of local population must be put an end to.
17. UN website provide a lot of information but little user-friendly information. This should be dealt with, so that more people will know about its functioning.
Epilogue:
U.N is a body of its kind, it must continue to exist but with certain reforms. And those reforms are not impracticable or impossible. They are much easier to achieve than was the very birth of U.N. Only the determination and wisdom of the U.N’s founding fathers is required. The nations of the world must put their national interests aside for the welfare of humanity and must proceed in the direction of innovative reforms in U.N.