Who Really Governs the United Nations - Essay Example

Introduction The United Nations traces its origin to the end of the Second World War; 51 countries formed this international organization. The countries, which formed this organization, had the commitment to maintain international security and peace. The formation of the organization also strived to achieve friendly associations among nations. Promotion of social progress, human rights, and favorable living 1 conditions also brought the need to form United Nations. This essay will focus on governance of the United Nations. Primarily, the essay will seek to address whether the United Nations works in the interest of Western States. The essay will also discuss whether states govern the United Nations, whether it is self governed, and who makes the rules. The essay will include a case study support the arguments. Who Governs the UN? Is UN Working in the Interest of the Western States? The western states have developed an interest to control the operations of the United Nations. These states have taken part in most of the activities and interfered with the programs of the UN. As a result, the UN, to some extent has acted in the interest of the Western States. The western states have an interest in ensuring the safety of their people and their allies. The United States, for example, commits itself to prosperity and liberty. Upon taking the lead in the Second World War, the United States contributed to the formation global institutions. The United Nations was among the institutions formed. Together with other western nations, the United States of America aimed at promoting its interests. Western states, such as United States, tops as the largest contributor of the UN. Americans have shaped the operations and activities of the UN Security Council. Following the September eleventh attacks in 2001, US government has strived to protect America citizens from terror attacks. The United States have joined the United Nations in a number of wars against terror. America expects the United Nations to play a significant role in making the world a better place. The United States congress established a bipartisan task force to help UN realize its aims as outlined in its charter. This happens because of the belief that the effectiveness of2 the United Nations will promote America’s interests. A few years after its formation, the United Nations, faced a lot of influence from the western powers. For example, the United States cooperated with the UN as long as UN did not interfere with its global interests. The establishment of NATO happened without any comprehensive consultation with the UN. The NATO came as a desire of the western powers to undermine powers of the Soviet Union. The treaty, which formed NATO defeats the purpose of collective security provided in the UN charter. Right from the start, the United States supported the UN as long as it supported its interests. United States refused to assist the world body when it went contrary to its interests. The western states have used the UN to legitimize their intervention in affairs of other states. The mighty powers use Machinery of the UN as a camouflage with the intention of safeguarding their political, economic and commercial interests. However, these countries claim that moral considerations of supporting the UN motivate their actions. The UN has little it can do to prevent the intervention of the western powers. Although the world body came to avoid intervention, the old system of intervention still remains. The intervention of western powers in UN affairs clearly shows that the body works in the interest of western states. The action on Korea, taken in 1950 by the United Nations portrays the influence of western powers in UN governance. UN succeeded in taking over Korea since it got assistance from the United States. The UN forces operated under the leadership of the United States. The attack on Korea can be considered an undertaking of the United States more than it can be regarded a UN venture. More than half of the ground forces came from the United States, with 85 percent of the navy and 95 percent of the air force also coming from America. The United States carried out the operation in the name of collective security. This demonstrates the influence of the United States on the United Nations. The action of UN in Kuwait acted as a victorious ground for the United States of America. Failure of Iraq to comply with resolution 678 resulted into US launching attacks on Iraq. The US led the war3 arguing that it acted on behalf of the UN. The collation led by US fought Iraq for 42 days. The gulf crisis happened to settle US differences with Saddam’s regime. The atmosphere after the cold war created conditions, which allowed the US to launch attacks. The UN backed the United States on such attacks. The gulf war resulted into the liberation of Kuwait from Iraq. In this case, the United States hid under the UN and attacked Iraq without any go ahead from the world body. The UN, on the other hand, knew US intentions but did not interfere. Recent studies indicate that the European Union and the western powers have suffered a substantial blow. China and Russia regularly outwit the west in global diplomacy. In votes conducted on Zimbabwe, the US and European Union failed to win at the UN Security Council. Similarly, failure to get support for action against Iran’s nuclear ambitions has led to the decline of western power. Defeats in Kosovo and Darfur also indicate that the Western powers have failed to convince the United Nations. Despite the west’s initial dominance, they face constant defeats in an aim to run UN affairs. This has led to the UN acting in the interest of the entire world and not interest of the western states. European and American policies on human rights got support 4from UN during past decades. However, this has recently changed as the UN supports policies from the Asian countries. The voting pattern in the UN general assembly indicates that popularity of the west has weakened. European efforts to promote human rights face opposition from the UN general assembly and other organs. Russia and China have benefited from the unpopularity of the west in the UN. These Asian countries promote sovereignty and lack of intervention sovereign countries. They do not advocate for constant, forceful efforts to oust defiant leaders. As a result, the UN has declined support for United States and the West. Is the United Nations self governed or governed by the states and who makes the rules? The United Nations came into being to bring all the world’s nations together, to enhance peace and promote the development. The United Nations gives all the nations the opportunity to balance national interests and interdependence. The organization allows all the members states to address international problems peacefully and diplomatically. The United Nations has 192 member states, which meet in the general assembly. Each of the member states, rich, poor, small or large has only one vote. None of the decisions made by the general assembly binds the member states. Nonetheless, the decisions of the assembly determine the opinion of the United Nations. The United Nations is not self 5governed; member states govern the organization. Rules made in the United Nations depend upon the decisions of the member states. The structure of governance in the United Nations can be summarized in an organizational chart. The UN cannot be regarded as an autonomous and homogenous organization. Actions by the UN depend on the will and decisions of the member states. Decision making in the United Nations takes place through a bureaucratic process. Matters of international politics and peacekeeping depend upon the resolutions made by the member states. Decisions made in the United Nations go through a slow and complex process. Consensus must be built among the member states before reaching at a comprehensive and sustainable decision. While making decisions and passing resolutions, sovereignty of the members and global needs has to be taken into account. Decisions cannot be implemented unless they get approval from the member states. The UN, as a body, does not have the mandate to initiate and implement decisions without consulting the respective member states. Therefore, the UN cannot be regarded as a self governed organization. The agencies, which form part of the UN, can be termed as autonomous and separate. They consist of intergovernmental organizations; they work with one other and the UN. These agencies may carry out duties related to such fields as communications, trade, development, transport, and agriculture. Although the agencies may have autonomy, their work within a country depends on partnership with those countries. Member states provide funds to carry out projects. Based on this, governance of the UN agencies depends on the laws of the countries where they carry out operations. Since its formation, a number of UN conferences have taken place, all over the world. These conferences have given rise to forums, which allow Non-governmental agencies to air their concerns. These forums have played a significant role in addressing the issues that face the world. However, each member state has the final word in implementing and carrying out these agreements. If the members do not approve of the agreement, they will most 6likely not carry them out. Thus, the rules and agreements, reached upon in the United Nations, have to be implemented by the member states. The rules depend on the member states; they may reject rules originating from the various UN agencies. The powers and 7 privileges vested upon the member states indicate that the agency does not govern itself, but by the states. The general assembly rules of procedure state that any member may request a session held elsewhere other than the UN headquarters. Approval from a majority of the states automatically leads to the member state getting granted its request. The organs of the UN do not have powers to change such a decision if agreed upon by the member states. This portrays the strength of the member states in determining governance of the UN. Member states can regularly change the rules that govern the holding of conventions, meetings, and sessions. Countries that form the United Nations may not pass some laws since these rules may affect them negatively. For example, when it comes to human rights, some of the member states top as the worst abusers and violators of human rights. This has led to the erosion of credibility of some UN offices such as the High Commissioner for human rights. Since some countries form part of the top human rights violators, they may reject laws on human rights. This distorts the law making as well as decision making process. The agency, on the other hand, may not have powers to pressure such countries to pass laws. This indicates that the UN does not govern itself8. Even sensitive issues, which involve human rights, may be ineffective because of lack of cooperation from the member states. The UN has not succeeded in achieving the actual purposes for its formation. Values of justice may not be upheld by the member states. The Non-Aligned movement, a product of the cold war, divides the UN member states. This movement hinders economic development, democracy, and the protection of human rights. Member states make decisions on significant matters; some of the agreements may not be reached. The divisions of the cold war have negatively affected the efficiency of the UN secretariat. The national assembly, together with other bodies, may not achieve their objectives. This stems from the fact that states may not reach a consensus. The United Nations composes of individual nation states, which lay the blame on the organization for its failures. Some of the member states oppose the interventions of the UN. The agency may be blocked in its efforts to bring peace, promote social justice, and end human suffering. For instance, in a number of cases of civil war and strife, the UN faces opposition from Nations that seem to be strong. Therefore, it can be argued that governance in the United Nations highly depends on member states. The member states contribute to the inefficiency in governance and law making in the UN. Case study The United States War on Iraq The Iraq war began in 2003 when the United States government deployed its troops in Iraq. The mark marked the beginning of a series of attacks on Iraq believed to harbor terrorists. The United States government legitimized its actions by arguing that Iraq had plans to build nuclear weapons. The decision for military action on Iraq had nothing to do with Al-Qaida attacks on America in 2001. The United States declared motives to attack Iraq before the attacks. The Bush administration argued that it wanted to protect the Iraq human rights, a case that proved false. Primarily, the war aimed at benefiting wealthy Oil dealers in the United States. As a result of the war, oil profits increased. The United Nations declared that the War US led in Iraq occurred illegally. The invasion never got any sanctioning from the UN Security Council. Furthermore, the war did not conform to the terms laid down in the UN charter. This attack can be associated to the gulf war in the early 1990s. Other western states such as Britain maintained that the war got could be legitimized by resolutions of the Security Council. Britain’s premier, Tony Blair argued that Saddam Hussein breached a resolution passed by Security Council in 2002. This legitimized the western state’s action against Iraq. However, the UN council should have determined the actions to take against Iraq. Therefore, Western powers did not heed to the agreements of the UN. Conclusion In summary, the United 9Nations came into being to promote peace, security, and fundamental human rights. Since its formation, the UN has had some impact in restoring peace in affected areas. However, actions of the world body have faced considerable influence from the western powers. These powers undermine activities of the agency. States govern the UN; the body does not govern itself. American attack on Iraq indicates the influence of western powers on the agency. The United States invaded Iraq without any prior authorization from the UN Security Council. The western states have broken some of the rules, which govern the United Nations. This has resulted into theses states manipulating the operations and activities of the UN. Bibliography Amer, R. (1994). The United Nations Reactions to Foreign Military Intervention's. Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 125 – 144. Aggarwal. J. C. (1991). Gulf crisis: pre – war and post war Scenario. New Delhi: S. Chand. P183. Best, A. (2008). International History of the twentieth century and beyond. New York: Taylor and Francis. Chanchreek, K. L. (1991). Gulf war: A global crisis: Causes and future effects. Delhi: H. K Publication. p331. Griffin, M. (2004). Picturing America’s ‘War on Terrorism’ in Afghanistan and Iraq. Vol. 5 no. 4. P 381-402. Eli– Hamad, J. (1995). American Trends towards the Middle East, reports No – 15 – First Edition, Jordan. p 201. Fasulo, M. L. (2009). An insider's Guide to the UN. Yale: Yale University Press. P 40-48. Kaplan, L. S. (2010). NATO and the UN: A Peculiar relationship. Columbia: University of Missouri Press. P 4-8. Malone, D. (2004). The UN Security Council: from the Cold War to the 21st century. UK, London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. P 30-34. Peterson, M. J. (2006). The UN General Assembly. New York: Rout ledge. Rivlin, B. & Gordenker, L. (1993).The Challenging role of the UN Secretary-General: Making "the most impossible job in the world" possible. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing.p48-55. United Nations (2005). Basic Facts about the United Nation. New York: United Nations. p39. United Nations (2004).A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility: Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change. New York: United Nations. p86. Weiss, T. G & Thakur, R.T. (2010).Global governance and the UN: An unfinished journey. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. P 17-22. Western, J. (2005). The War over Iraq: Selling War to the American Public. Vol. 14, Issue 1. P 106-139. Read More