The UN was created after WW2 to protect the world from the "scourge of war" and to maintain "international peace and security".
Much of the ire I have with the UN is a consequence of their relationship with Israel. The UN has become a mechanism through which the Arab world has formally promoted their slander and abuse of Israel. Amidst the gallery of resolutions that have targeted Israel, I think this point best depicts just how undemocratic the UN really is.
The UN acts through a system on UN run bodies, each with a different set of objectives. Representation in several key UN bodies, like the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, is based on groups of nations called regional groups. In order to sit on these committees, a member nation must belong to one of these groups. Yet the Asian group, in which Israel belongs geographically, is comprised mainly of Arab states that have blocked its entrance for over fifty years. For Israel to gain acceptance, the nations in the Asian group must agree unanimously, which will not happen in the foreseeable future because this requires the assent of nations like Syria and Iran.
Because of Israel’s exclusion from the Asian group, Israel has been the only member nation not eligible to sit on bodies like the Security Council. In June 2000, Israel finally gained membership in another regional group, the Western European and Others Group (WEOG). While Israel’s WEOG membership significantly increases Israel’s rights within the UN, the membership lasts only four years and is limited to WEOG offices in New York. Israel is still unable to participate in discussions about a variety of issues including human rights and racism in every other UN office around the world. While Israel’s acceptance into WEOG is a step in the right direction, Israel is still the only nation not afforded the rights of every other member nation.
If the UN is serious about protecting us from "the scourge of war" then how can it be explained that of the only ten UN emeregency sessions ever convened in the UN, 6 have been focused on condemning Israel. Surely Rwanda, Yugoslavia, should have also then merited one of these special emergency sessions?
(cartoon from Cox & Forkum Editorial cartoons)
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