ur world is in big trouble. The divides are growing deeper. Inequalities are growing wider. Challenges are spreading farther….The United Nations Charter and the ideals it represents are in jeopardy,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his address to the 77th session of the world body General Assembly on September 20. The UN Day will be observed on Monday (October 24) across the world. Once again, tall claims are expected to be made by various rulers, commentators and foreign policy practitioners.

The record shows that militarily and economically strong arbiters of the international order have used the UN as a tool since its inception in 1945. The US and the USSR quickly turned the UN into a rubber stamp. The reason its predecessor, the League of Nations, had become redundant was that it failed to prevent the outbreak of the World War II. The UN has survived so far as this suited first the Cold War superpowers and later the US in a uni-polar world.

The UN was created by the victors following the World War II. Soon a rivalry erupted between the former Soviet Union and the Western powers, led by the US. The world was forced to live in a belligerent environment marked by frequent regional wars.

The disappearance of the colonisation spectre; the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948; the UN Children’s Fund’s valuable role in preventing some regional wars using quiet diplomacy for de-escalation; keeping the powerful states away from each other and highly lauded peacekeeping role are some of the remarkable achievements of the UN. Recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has been brought under control through international cooperation. The UN success story is sweet but story of its failures is horrible.

Using the UN General Assembly platform to castigate its arch-rival, Russia, and lure the world community to stand against Moscow, support the narrative of the Western powers and make a hollow pledge, never fulfilled by former US presidents, Joe Biden remarked: “Members of the UN Security Council, including the United States, should consistently uphold and defend the UN charter and refrain from using the veto, except in rare, extraordinary situation to ensure the Council remains credible and effective… Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations charter.”

In fact, the veto powers — Russia, the US, the United Kingdom, China and France - have only nominal regard to the world body. They have never allowed the UN to work according to its charter. The veto has been used to kill the Security Council’s genuine work for global peace and tranquillity. If a resolution moved by a permanent member is passed, it gets the legitimacy to dictate, mould the activities according to its global priorities and overstep the UN mandate. If it blocked by a rival, it condemns the vote and calls a violation of the UN charter. So far, 267 resolutions have been vetoed by the permanent members of the Security Council since the UN charter was officially ratified in 1946. Russia has vetoed 123 resolutions, US 82, the United Kingdom 29, China 17 and France 16.

Powerful countries call the shots and dictate policies not only to weker nations but also to the world body.

The big question is whether the UN Security Council has been weakened. Russia regularly used the veto during the Cold War. The US did the same whenever issues related to the Middle East were raised in the Security Council. A majority of the countries have been opposed to the Israeli policy of occupying Palestinian territory and other neighbouring lands and have called the settlements plan of the Hebrew state illegal. Whenever a UN Security Council resolution sought justice for the victims and a halt in Tel Aviv’s action, it was blocked by the US.

Both the UN’s strengths and weaknesses relate permanent members of its Security Council. So how can world peace be maintained when its policemen go to war? The very powers that vowed to prevent wars have shattered peace. Actually, the UN lacks the clout to control its powerful members. These powers have always locked horns with one another, scuttling the peace prospects and prolonging wars.

The veto powers’ role in contributing to international peace and security in a reasonable way has been missing for longer than seven decades. Herein lies the UN’s dilemma. The powerful states see their interests as more important than the peace and interests of weaker nations. They dictate to the world and devise rules to remain dominant in all situations.

In the world today, trust among nations is shattered; more than half of the UN member states are trapped in a debt crisis; inequalities between the developed and the developing countries are getting wider; the entire planet is literally in hot water; the fate of the Sustainable Development Goals is in jeopardy; strategies for climate emergency mitigation are not taken seriously; the terrorists and extremists are not ready to turn swords into ploughs; the theory of collaboration, cooperation, coordination and collective security has crumbled; the menace of extreme poverty has grown and the world is “gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction”.

The threat of use of weapons of mass destruction has created more instability. Nuclear proliferation is a serious issue. When the UN was established, the US was the sole nuclear power, later, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China, Pakistan, India, North Korea and Israel achieved nuclear capability. Several states are currently striving to join the club.

The global food crises, lack of opportunities to earn a livelihood, the menace of hunger, the fragile world economy, geopolitical divides, the spirit of collective problems solving and the inactive nature of the regional bodies are the pressing issues the UN needs to address. The international humanitarian laws and human rights are being flagrantly violated, the momentum for peace has been ruined. On the African continent unprecedented drought poses a grave threat to the lives of 22 million inhabitants. These issues also need the world body’s attention. Besides, the seriousness to address the climate change issue is missing. The global greenhouse gas emission has increased by 14 per cent in the current decade. Recently, a third of Pakistan was submerged in floodwater.

The Ukraine war is high on high agenda of the US and its Western allies, but not the suffering of the Palestinians. The two-state solution has been swept under the carpet. Bloodshed, fighting and aggression still prevail in Syria. India continues to terrorise Kashmiri people, and the UN-adopted resolutions about the Kashmir issue have not been implemented. Afghanistan is in turmoil, and after the US forces’ withdrawal, it has disappeared from Washington’s radar. Many developing countries are in perpetual agony. The UN mission to achieve, restore and sustain peace is nowhere in sight. The powerful countries are calling the shots and dictating policies not only to weaker countries but also to the world body.

The writer is a  KP-based freelance journalist.