United Nations, What Is It Good For?

The U.N. -- like War -- What is it good for? . . . absolutely nuthin' (huh, say it again). Zelensky certainly said it again at least when it comes to the Security Council's inability to act in the face of an aggressor's absolute veto power. Is he right?

John Bolton, one-time U.S. ambassador to the U.N., would seem to agree, given his (in)famous quote that if the United Nations Secretariat building in New York, "lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference." An opinion piece in the NYT, of all places, then doubled down four years ago calling that body a never-ending scandal disguised as an everlasting hope (NYT/ U.N. Opinion Piece). It cited a former assistant secretary general saying, "If you locked a team of evil geniuses in a laboratory, they could not design a bureaucracy so maddingly complex, requiring so much effort but in the end incapable of delivering the intended result."

This might be a good time, with Russia seeming to act with impunity, to discuss where the United Nations is in all of this and what, if anything, might we reasonably expect of this body with its mandate to maintain international peace and security.

The answer may (likely) be that we should not expect much more, at least without some credible enforcement power (those blue-helmeted U.N. Peacekeepers notwithstanding) -- if so, what purpose does it serve, why does it exist, what might replace it?

Perhaps it’s better to look to treaties and ad hoc initiatives. Ukraine human rights organizations are gathering the evidence for prosecution of war crimes in "an international tribunal." France, at least, opened three probes in its counterterrorism office claiming jurisdiction on grounds French nationals have been affected. Then, of course, are the loosely-organized sanctions imposed by the respective countries.

And the U.N.? – it’s suspending Russia from its Human Rights Council (which requires only a simple majority) . . . . that’s it? That'll show them, huh, yeah, say it again.

(Joining us for the session will be member Doug Gardner, who spent thirty years at the U.N. in both development and as the director of an associated college program)