The United Nations (UN), created in 1945, had the goal of actively maintaining peace within the international community. In the wake of World War II, the world was ready for calm and there was widespread motivation to create peace as a joint community. However, the world of international politics today is even more complex, thus calling into question the relevance of the United Nations as a governing international body. There are many arguments that highlight the shortcomings of the United Nations, deeming it irrelevant. However, since the UN is a long-standing institution that has facilitated beneficial actions, it is essential to implement structural revisions to adapt institutions for the modern day.
The Ineffectiveness of the United Nations Security Council:
One of the arguments at the forefront in support for eliminating the United Nations is that the most powerful organ of the UN, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), is not relevant to the modern world. The main evidence for this claim is that the UNSC only has five permanent member states: USA, Russia, Britain, China, France) and 10 non-permanent member states. This structure results in misuse of veto power, often blocking key decisions that are needed by nations with little to no representation. It also prevents developing countries from being represented, which is necessary in the present day.
Over the years, it has become clear that the Security Council’s permanent members have little interest in internal reform. Since this is the case, it is in the best interest of the other UN member states to continue to push for reform. With powerful countries moving to unilateralism, populism, and nationalism at the expense of multilateralism and collective action, a united and forward-looking Security Council capable of effectively driving the wider United Nations to achieve its goals is essential.
Global Health and the Role of the UN:
Critics of the UN believe that the failure of the World Health Organization (WHO), during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and in its prevention, is another sign that the UN is irrelevant. With the occurrence of future global health crises rising, instead of creating a global approach, the WHO should simply be reformed. This can be done by creating an international antivirus consortium, protecting biodiversity, and strengthening warning protocols within UN agencies.
The main priority should be to reform the WHO to create an international antivirus consortium. This would guarantee access to a COVID-19 vaccine for all countries, as well as access to future vaccines for new viruses. The consortium would be funded the same way the UN and peacekeeping budgets are - using a scale of quotas under which every member country financially contributes according to its payment capacities. The responsibility of the consortium would be to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines and personal protective equipment to every country.
Second, a new international strategy for the protection of biodiversity is key. Neither the antivirus consortium nor future vaccines will be enough without other preventive measures. The preservation of biodiversity is one of the best ways to do that. New viruses emerge because human activities disturb ecosystems and undermine their biodiversity. Creating a global emergency plan to identify, safeguard, and protect biodiversity and the ecosystems of endangered species would help countries that cannot afford other protective measures themselves.
Lastly, due to the increase in likelihood of future pandemics, the likelihood of pandemic-adjacent threats is also increasing. Therefore, the world needs new information-sharing procedures between specialized agencies to take quick and preventive action to detect, prevent, and mitigate potential new threats that could undermine international security, national economies, sanitary and health conditions, and food security. Early warning protocols on international emergencies including famines and pandemics can help alert all UN members to take appropriate early and preventive action, such information-sharing procedures should be proposed as resolutions at the UN Security Council and General Assembly.
The Modern Role of the Indo-Pacific and its Recognition:
Since World War II, the pillars of global governance are rapidly changing. Institutional infirmities are being highlighted and a normative shift is becoming increasingly relevant. These changes show why another very important reform would be safeguarding the Indo-Pacific.
India’s pursuit of permanent membership on the UN Security Council is evidence of its global ambitions. Additionally, it is equally important for New Delhi that global institutions better reflect contemporary global realities – like the reality of the economic and strategic strengths of India.
The security dynamics in the immediate aftermath of World War II focused on managing a divided Europe and safeguarding its peripheries from the Soviet bloc. However, in the modern international political sphere, the Indo-Pacific is driving the global economic and political agenda. Because of this reality, global institutional frameworks should reflect this power shift, especially when a weakening United Nations is leading to a proliferation of self-selected groups. The issue of UN reform is also linked with that of ensuring proper resourcing. Discussing reforms without making provisions for adequate resources will lead nowhere; the flip side is that channeling more resources in the absence of genuine reforms only perpetuates the status quo. While some countries have gradually deemphasized the United Nations in favor of new frameworks to address their most pressing challenges, others have been gaming the UN system to further their narrow interests. For example, the danger in having UN officials and agencies champion China’s Belt and Road Initiative is immense.
The Bigger Picture:
Unlike in 1945, the international community faces three common enemies: climate change, infectious diseases, and nuclear weapons. The existence of these threats also highlights their commonality: only global, multilateral efforts can reduce their destructive potential. The United Nations can prioritize these threats by debating and drafting a resolution identifying them as the core global challenges. A permanent coordinating platform should be set up to integrate the UN response across agencies, funds, and related organizations, and to act quickly, comprehensively, and efficiently in various fields, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization. Establishing such communication channels will bolster cohesiveness, which is fundamental when dealing with ongoing, multidimensional threats in a fragmented UN system.
This coordinating platform could be created through the existing Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB). The platform’s goal would be to link threat mitigation to all policy fields in the UN system when planning, deciding, and assessing results. Ideally, the Security Council should be stripped of veto power when a matter relating to these existential threats is on the agenda; such a move, however, is unfortunately unrealistic. More realistically, prioritizing this debate would lead to greater focus on what matters most. On its seventy-fifth birthday, the United Nations needs to think big if it is to see its one hundred and fiftieth.
Looking to the Future:
The United Nations is still relevant, especially since the world has become interconnected and where current global problems, such as hunger and climate change have emerged, thus the UN’s collective efforts are essential to tackle these modern challenges. The UN has attempted to improve its structure, however, the lack of willingness by member states has impeded the UN’s progress. The reform agenda should be directed towards strengthening the UN’s outstanding thinking and could be a solution that would encourage \ member states to be involved in building such a network which could ultimately lead to better adherence to the UN’s structural reform agenda. Clearly, it is relatively complicated to determine the measures that can generate the will and it is not going to be easy to design a new UN once these measures are discovered either. However, if the member states notice that the only alternative without the UN is to address the growing number of complicated interconnected and wide scope challenges by themselves. They will be left with no choice but to accept the fact that it might be better to collectively repair the UN rather than be left alone to face the dramatic challenges of today's world.