Does the UN have a real role to play in today's world? Analyze the role and effectiveness of the UN in recent conflicts

Résumé du document

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization created in 1945 after World War II. Currently it is composed of 192 members. Because of the horrors of the two world wars, the aim of the UN is first of all to establish a lasting peace in the world. During the Cold War, the role of the UN was limited in antagonisms between the USA and the USSR. Remember, Khrushchev boycotted the UN meetings by putting his shoes on the table. The end of the Cold War permitted the UN to take back its world-wide role. However, the UN not always had successes, that is why nowadays, the international community doubts its effectiveness.

Extraits

[...] Analyze the role and effectiveness of the UN in recent conflicts. The United Nations is an international organization created in 1945 (24 October 1945) following to World War II (WWII). Currently it is composed of 192 members. Regarding to the horrors of the two world wars, the aim of the UN is first of all to establish a lasting peace in the world. During the Cold War, the role of the UN was limited by antagonisms between the USA and the USSR. [...]

[...] The operation “Restore hope” which aim was to bring food to the population didn't reach its objective. In the end, let's say that the UN also failed in ExYugoslavia. It was the United States that resolved the conflict in 1995 with the Dayton agreements. An explanation of these failures is that the UN doesn't have a real army. The UN peacekeeping forces are composed of soldiers of the member states. Besides, the UN doesn't have enough military funds to be really effective. [...]

[...] That's why nowadays the international community has no more confidence in the UN. Each country and continent tries to find a solution alone, without the help of the UN. In Darfur, even if the UN is present, the African Union also tries to stop the conflict; it's the same in Europe. When there is a problem in Europe (especially in the eastern countries), the European union tries to resolve the problem itself. The UN is many theories, many laws, many rights but it's few effective actions. [...]

[...] This right is very criticized by the other member states of the Security Council; moreover the veto can block all the ways to take decisions. In the end, the UN is totally limited by the US. It's not a coincidence if the headquarters of the UN is in New York; it's a way for the US to have a better control of the organization. Since Bill Clinton (1993), the US wants the UN to be at its service. When the UN takes a decision that doesn't suit to the US, they don't care about it. [...]

[...] That's why in 1988 the UN recognizes the humanitarian intervention in a country where the population is threatened. The important in this measure is that the UN can now intervene in a country without its consent. That's what happened for instance in Rwanda, in 1994 when the UN tried to help the Tutsi population victims of slaughters by the Hutus. In addition to the Charter, the UN enabled the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which judges war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocides. [...]