Democratising the United Nations

It has also shown that many global institutions, particularly the United Nations (UN), established in the aftermath of the Second World War, have lost their credibility, relevance, and authority.

The UN was established in 1945 by 51 countries to maintain international peace and security.

The organisation has been spectacularly absent in both preventing and resolving Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In recent years, the UN has also been missing in action during many violent conflicts between countries.

It has failed to maintain global peace, security, and intervene timeously in humanitarian crises. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the UN Security Council was largely absent in providing global leadership.

Unless something is done about reforming the UN into a more credible organisation, the global rule of law will collapse.

In such a situation, the decline of the UN will raise the spectre of more copycat incidents of aggression by powerful countries against more vulnerable ones, making the world even more unstable, violent and chaotic.

WEAKNESSES

The United Nations has three central weaknesses. One is the UN Security Council, which is limited to five permanent members (P5) – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The five have veto powers over key UN decisions.

The P5 have often abused their power for their own national interests, rather than acting in the common good of humankind.

In February 2022, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have demanded that the country stop its invasion of Ukraine and withdraw its troops.

China has used its veto power to stop efforts to discuss criticisms of its role in Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Secondly, the P5 have often forced their choices of UN general secretaries. They also dominate the appointment of heads of UN agencies, such as Unesco, UNDP and the World Health Organisation.

The third weakness is the way in which the UN conducts its business, its processes and meeting formats – called its working methods.

These have been criticised as being secretive and lacking in accountability.

The five permanent members of the Security Council consistently block proposals to make their working methods, procedures and decisions accountable. A veto from any of the P5 can stop any reform proposal.

Feeling excluded, some countries are increasingly not cooperating with UN-led attempts to mobilise international cooperation in global crises, such as wars, health pandemics, and disasters.

They have suggested the UN be replaced by a new global organisation given the unwillingness of the permanent members to let go of their power.

PROPOSALS

During the first few weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when Russia blocked UN action, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a new “union of responsible countries” to replace the UN.

In 2009, the UN established the Intergovernmental Negotiations Framework (IGN) to look at Security Council reforms.

Discussions within the forum are considered “informal”, and not binding. Some countries have accused the permanent members of deliberately stalling.

There are essentially three broad overarching reform proposals or lobbies. Countries such as Brazil, Japan, Germany and India, referred to as the G4, have proposed enlarging the UN Security Council by adding at least six new permanent members

They have proposed the inclusion of Brazil, Japan, Germany, India and two African countries, and introducing an additional three elected seats on the council.

Another lobby, the Uniting for Consensus group, nicknamed the Coffee Club, has suggested a 26-member Council, with nine permanent seats among regions,with the remainder of the seats to be held for two-year terms, with an option of re-election for another term.

AFRICAN INPUT

African countries have, as a group, proposed two permanent seats and two additional elected seats for Africa.

South Africa has advocated a 26-seat council with an increase in permanent and non-permanent seats and representations of all five regions of Africa in some form.

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