This United Nations is Failing to Deliver for All

EDGY OPTIMIST By Obinna Chima

The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81), an annual gathering that brings together 193 member states of the United Nations (UN) is underway in New York.

While this year, the theme of this high-level event is, “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All,” it is instructive to note that the UN has continued to struggle to deliver equally for all with wars, humanitarian crises, widening inequalities and unresolved global challenges exposing the limits of a system created to promote peace, security and collective prosperity.

Alongside the assembly, the World Economic Forum will hold its Sustainable Development Impact Meetings, convening leaders from politics, business and civil society.

Every September, world leaders from UN member states gather at the organisation’s headquarters in New York to debate the most important global issues.

This year’s session takes place at a pivotal moment for multilateral cooperation. Geopolitical tensions, conflict, pressure on development financing, rapid technological change and a warming planet continue to test the international system.

The UN was created in 1945, following the devastation of the Second World War, with a central mission of maintaining international peace and security. The UN tries to accomplish this by working to prevent conflict, helping parties in conflict make peace, deploying peacekeepers, and creating the conditions to allow peace to hold and flourish. The UN Security Council has the primary responsibility for international peace and security.

Also established in 1945 under the Charter of the UN, the General Assembly occupies a central position as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN.  It provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter. It also plays a central role in the process of standard-setting and the codification of international law.

Since the first UNGA session convened on 10 January 1946 in London with 51 countries represented, the Assembly has grown to include 193 member states. In 2023, 88 Heads of State, 42 Heads of Government, and over 650 ministers attended the debate.

However, recent global developments have intensified calls for far-reaching reforms of the organisation. Escalating wars and geopolitical tensions across several regions continue to test the credibility of the body. Yet in many of these situations, the UN appears unable to move beyond issuing press statements condemning the attacks.

Since the joint Israeli and US attacks on Iran and the Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel and the Gulf region, which led to disruptions and restrictions of movement around the Strait of Hormuz, a situation that disrupted global energy supplies, maritime trade and freedom of navigation, the UN’s response has largely centred on condemnation, calls for restraint, de-escalation, diplomacy and the restoration of freedom of navigation.

Yet, for countries and populations caught in conflicts beyond their control, repeated calls for restraint raise a fundamental question about whether condemnation without effective enforcement can deliver the peace and security the UN was created to guarantee.

Wars have dire economic consequences. History shows that while bombing may remove rulers, they  rarely improve the lives of ordinary people. This is evident in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.

Since the First World War, which saw the creation of the League of Nations in 1920 and thereafter, the UN, rules have been made to bring order to chaos, and human societies have long sought to craft and formalise them.

The Charter of the UN, its founding document, places emphasis on the territorial integrity and political independence of states. These widely agreed principles are meant to prevent war, especially wars of choice.

But the unequal nature of the Security Council, persistence of proxy wars and violent conflict have shown how enforcement of international law remains uneven, especially when powerful states act outside collective mechanisms.

That is why given the profound changes in global  politics, economics and security since its establishment 80 years ago, the United Nations must reform its structures and processes to align its goals with present realities.

Nigeria, like many other members countries and regional groups are demanding a fundamental restructuring of the United Nations Security Council. They strongly believe the composition of the security council must reflect the realities of the contemporary world rather than preserve the distribution of power established at the end of the Second World War.

Many of the UN’s institutional arrangements and decision-making mechanisms still reflect a bygone era, failing to adequately respond to the complex challenges and power dynamics that have emerged over the past several decades.

The main focus should be the reform of the Security Council, the most powerful UN institution with the most potential for bringing change. The UN Charter was written as a result of the bloodiest conflict in modern history, and what should be learnt from that is that the international system should not wait until after wars end to build institutions that ensure peace.

The UN Security Council ought to be the cornerstone of peacekeeping policy and the growing trend of unilateral interventions severely erodes the aspiration of collective security founded in the UN system. It also sets a dangerous precedent that larger powers can usurp smaller ones should they choose to do so.

That is why world leaders at UNGA 81 must work towards enthroning an international system where military intervention is not governed by the temperaments of individuals, as opposed to an international framework. The world becomes a far less stable place when policies are based on the mood of powerful Presidents instead of multilateral decision-making.

Multilateralism is the only realistic way to address the problems of today. Alone, no country can prevent a pandemic, stabilise the climate, secure resilient supply chains, regulate Artificial Intelligence, ensure financial stability or deliver sustainable development. Alone, no country, however powerful, can build lasting peace.

The focus should be how to enthrone multilateralism that is strong, effective, representative and capable of delivering for people. Equally, the world needs multilateralism that protects human rights, strengthens democracy and advances gender equality.

Equally, Agenda 2030 is in danger. Progress towards its Sustainable Development Goals is falling behind, putting the UN’s ambition of achieving inclusive and sustainable development by 2030 at risk. Eq

 Inequality continues to widen, leaving millions of people behind as wealth and opportunities remain unevenly distributed. Hunger and poverty also persist, underscoring the widening gap between the UN’s development aspirations and the realities confronting vulnerable populations.

Therefore, reforming the UN is imperative to restore credibility, strengthen accountability and ensure that international decision-making delivers tangible results for all nations and peoples, not just FOR the most powerful.