As a result of differing interests of member states
The United Nations is having a bad year and a state of deterioration
Flooding in Pakistan is a disaster caused by climate change.
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António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, is deeply divided.
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As world leaders arrived in New York for the 77th Summit of the United Nations General Assembly, the world had never before been as divided, challenged, or hungry for leadership as it is now.
The promises made during the first term of office of the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, have not been fulfilled, and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the fight against climate change, and the preservation of human rights have failed.
The war in Ukraine was a sign to remind the world of a flaw in the work of the UN Security Council, after Moscow used its veto.
Likewise, the resolution of the United Nations Assembly, in which 141 countries participated, on the second of last March, was not binding.
Both votes highlight significant divisions among member states of the UN General Assembly.
Turkey's diplomatic mission
On the humanitarian front, the United Nations appears to be worn out.
The only victory this year was the diplomatic mission, backed by Turkey, to negotiate humanitarian corridors for civilians stuck in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, and the export of food through the Black Sea.
But less than 24 hours after this agreement was signed, Odessa, a port city and an important port, was subjected to heavy bombardment.
Moscow said that it did not violate this agreement, and that it did not intend to bomb any target directly used for the export of foodstuffs.
inability
The United Nations is facing a shortfall in humanitarian aid amounting to $32 billion and had to resort to a reserve fund to support urgent aid programs in areas located in 11 countries.
Donor support has become high as a result of multiple crises, both natural and man-made, but there is a very high need for donor money.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently withdrew about $100 million from the fund in 2022 alone.
Humanitarian appeals coordinated by the United Nations represent the largest demands for aid.
In 2017, the total needs amounted to about $25.2 billion, double the previous five years.
Compared to 2022, the funding gap was $11 billion less.
development goals
In addition to the humanitarian disasters related to war, there is additional evidence that the UN's signature development goals, a set of 17 goals, have failed.
This data was collected over several years.
Reports show that the United Nations development goals in 2021 and 2022 have made progress and setbacks.
In 2017, the medical journal The Lancet published a study showing that more than 35 health-related indicators for many developing and middle-income countries were facing many problems, including cases of obesity, tuberculosis, and fatal traffic accidents.
In 2022 an assessment was published in the journal Nature Sustainability, which includes several authors from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, showing that the “global goals,” as they are called, have limited impact.
In addition, nearly seven years after its establishment, there is little evidence that it contributes to reducing the challenges facing the world, such as climate change, economic and social inequality, and the protection of biodiversity, which many see as the greatest of these challenges.
special purpose
The Millennium Development Agenda, established in 2000, was supposed to begin, in a period after 2015, to launch an approach starting from the ordinary population to achieve human development.
But evidence now indicates that governments use the UN Development Goals for their own purposes through selective interpretation and implementation of these goals.
These goals are now on hold, as a result of the Corona pandemic, other challenges caused by disasters caused by climate change in the Sahel region of Africa and Pakistan, in addition to food shortages globally, and there is no reason to believe that they can be launched again in the next few years. .
Compounding the human rights challenges facing the United Nations in many places, including Myanmar, the peace, security and human rights machinery have been absent or silent.
Civil society organizations in Myanmar have long called on the UN Security Council to respond to the violence that overthrew the democratically elected government, as well as to take more resolute steps such as imposing a no-fly zone or an arms embargo.
Other than condemning the execution of pro-democracy activists last July, the UN Security Council has done little to address the violence in the country.
Diplomacy was left to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose consensus on the five points failed to make any meaningful change.
Japan and the Security Council
Some country leaders are trying to push for reforms in the UN Security Council, an idea that has been mooted several times in the past, with a sea of suggestions coming from both the West and the East.
The issue goes back decades as Japan sought a seat on the UN Security Council after years of prestige and prestige by providing official development assistance, participating in diplomatic efforts for peace in Cambodia and providing support for the reintegration of combatants into the country. Society in Afghanistan, but as a result of the Chinese veto, Japan did not get a permanent seat on the council.
Since that date, proposals for reforming the council have varied, with some wanting the council to be more representative of the African and Asian continents, while France suggested that the veto be abolished when it would prevent an end to crises or a genocide.
But reform will not come easily, and given the simmering divisions, the prospects for much-needed reform look more like diplomatic theater than opportunities for change.
Given the many issues polarizing the members of the United Nations, this international organization will remain in a state of constant crisis.
This year provided further evidence that the United Nations is in a steady decline as a result of the diverse interests within it and of failed leadership.
• In addition to the humanitarian disasters related to wars, there is additional evidence that the development goals bearing the signature of the United Nations, amounting to 17 goals, have failed. Evidence indicates that governments use the UN Development Goals for their own purposes through selective interpretation and implementation of these goals.
• The United Nations is facing a shortfall in humanitarian aid amounting to $32 billion and had to resort to a reserve fund to support urgent aid programs in areas located in 11 countries.
Mark Kogan, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Kansai Jade University, Japan
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