The UN has 2 main purposes
The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1945 by 51 countries after World War II. It has been criticized for being ineffective in dealing with a lot of international issues. To evaluate the United Nation's effectiveness, we need to look at what it is created for. Collective Security
The Security Council The United Nations is criticized for being ineffective in dealing with humanitarian crisis in time because Security Resolutions are often vetoed. . The 5 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have the power to veto Security Council resolutions. Russia has vetoed various resolutions to stall or stop actions taken from the international society. Also, according to the UN Charter, there are only two circumstances in which the use of force can be authorized. The first one is when a state is invaded, and the second one is when a state face an imminent threat. The United Nations can not legally use force to stop crisis against crimes against humanity that is connivance or committed by governments. Another complaint about the Security Council is it's memberships. The permanent members of the Security Council are the victors of World War II. But things have changed in the pass decades, some permanent members no longer have the top economy and political power. Three members in the security council are European countries(U.K, Russia, France), one member is an Asian Country (China), One member is an American Country (U.S.A). European members are the majority while European economic and political power has declined significantly in the pass decade. Germany, with the biggest economy and therefore political power in Europe is not a permanent member because it it loss World War II. Japan, similarly, as one of the strongest political and economic power in Asia is not a permanent member in the Security Council because it loss World War II. In terms of representation, the distribution of membership doesn't represent different regional interest and ideas. An entire continent- Africa is missing from the permanent memberships. Even though there is one membership in Asia, it doesn't sufficiently represent interest and ideas of Asian countries. Asia is the Earth's largest(30 % of land area) and most populous continent(60% of the World's population). There are very diverse ethnic groups, cultures, economics, and government systems in Asia.These voices can hardly be represented with only one membership. There are no permanent members from the Middle East. The only representation in Asia- China has only few allies in Asia that shares similar ideology and interest, thereby it doesn't represents much of Asia's interest and ideas. There are multiple flaws that can be found in the system of the UN Security Council, and these flaws can hardly be improved because the P5 members will very likely veto any changes that will take away or decrease it's power and influence in the UN. It is a fact that many things in the Security Council are not ideal. However, it is the best possible way to have states work together on security issues without starting a war. For countries to give the United Nations power, they will want to ensure that they can keep the final decisions so that UN actions doesn't threatens their own interests. We learned from the 2001 War in Afghanistan that even without the authorization of the Security Council, states with enough power go to war without being stopped by the international society. It is true that the United Nations didn't stop stop the US from going to war, but realistically, neither can any other power. To conclude on the evaluation on the effectiveness of the Security Council, it is as effective as it practically can be. Improving the lives of poor peopleThe United Nations: 1. Provides food to 90 million people in 80 countries 2. Vaccinates 58 per cent of the world's children, saving 3 million lives a year; 3. Assists over 38.7 million refugees and people fleeing war, famine or persecution; 4. Fights poverty, helping improve the health and well-being of 420 million rural poor; 5. Protects and promotes human rights on site and through some 80 treaties/declarations; 6. Mobilizes USD 22 billion in humanitarian aid to help people affected by emergencies; 7. Promotes maternal health, saving the lives of 30 million women a year. These data are very self evident, world hunger, diseases and human rights violations has decreased largely since the UN's creation. The fact that World War III has not happened is the best evidence to prove that the United Nations is very effective in maintaining collective security. It helps countries to resolve conflicts diplomacy. The Security Council, though having a few flaws, is as effective as it practically can be. In improving the lives of the poor, the United Nations is very effective, world hunger, diseases, and human rights violations have largely decreased since it's creation. Based on the following reasons, the United Nations is a very effective institution.
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