The United Nations, which was established in 1945, will celebrate its birthday on October 24th. A reconfiguration, not retirement, is in order for this 64-year old--to reflect the passage of time and a contemporary world that is far different from 1945.
Reflexive ruminations about the UN, particularly since September 11, 2001, always seem to be with respect to the crises in the Middle East and Afghanistan
But, of course, when it comes to preventing wars, the UN’s track record is not unblemished. Furthermore, the first forty-four years of the UN were against the background of the Cold War, and the intense political differences between the United States and the USSR
Unfortunately, the bright spotlight on the UN’s involvement in peacemaking amidst wars has pushed many other activities of the UN, most of which are nearly irreplaceable, into a media darkness.
Consider the UN’s High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR.) Because of wars and famines there are displaced people scattered all over the world, and the UNHCR has an immense task of coordinating relief efforts. For instance, estimates are that more than four million Iraqis have left their homes in the six years of military engagement there, and the UNHCR assists about a fifth of them. According to the UNHCR, a staff of about 6,600 oversee the work done in more than a 100 countries, and about 80 percent of the staff are in the field—far away from the headquarters in Geneva.
Equally important—perhaps even more important than the UNHCR—is the UN’s World Food Program (WFP.) I am immensely thankful that I have never had to suffer the misfortune of not having food, and every once in a while I do cringe when I exaggerate my hunger with a statement such as “I am starving.” But, that is not the case worldwide for more than a billion people who are chronically undernourished. Even with its severely limited resources, the WFP not only works to save lives during emergencies, it also systematically works on strengthening the capacities of countries to reduce hunger.
These two examples easily show that there is a lot more to the UN than the regular spectacle of grandstanding speeches at the General Assembly, especially from dictators, and the relatively ineffective deliberations and resolutions at the Security Council.
But, the UN certainly does not seem to be in any hurry to address this huge image issue. If at all, reports such as the UN's chief envoy not acting on evidence of vote rigging in the yet to be concluded presidential elections in Afghanistan further diminish the agency’s credibility as an international broker of peace.
However, it is clear that the UN does not have the luxury of being in denial about its increasingly marginalized status. There is one tangible and compelling reason, more than anything else, for restructuring the UN—budgets. The reality is that the UN’s finances have not been in the best possible shape for more than a decade, and can be expected to worsen as member countries struggle through the global recession.
If a crisis is a terrible thing to waste, then there is no better time than the current Great Recession for the United Nations to initiate changes. Learning a few lessons from multinational corporations that seem to be rapidly falling like unstable dominoes, the UN, too, can restructure its operations in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
Of course, reforming the UN is not entirely a new idea. The latest effort was initiated by the current Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon soon after he took over the office. I hope that the reform initiatives pay dividends soon because the problems humans face are increasingly global, and an effective United Nations could help mitigate them.
For now, happy birthday, United Nations!
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