How effective is the United Nations?
Before we say that the U.N is or not an effective institution, we must know or assess their performance in all areas in which they are involved in. And after that why they have not been successful.
Also its important to explain two different views, the realist defended by Hobbes, Weiss and the liberal view supported by great thinkers such as Kant, Adam Smith.
The United Nations is an institution nowadays responsible for various issues, is involved in so many areas for example, collective security, peace keeping, health, environment changes, human rights, humanitarian aid and much more.
This essay will expose in a simple way both points, views and evaluate its effectiveness in some of the areas I have mentioned above.
The U.N was created in 1945 with the main purpose of the main objective of maintain the international peace and security. Is part of United Nations preventing conflicts against nations, finish them maintain the peace and establish the conditions to allow peace to prevail.
The Organ responsible for that mission is the U.N Security Council. At this single area they found difficult to maintain the peace and prevent conflicts in some countries like we have seen in Rwanda genocide in 1994 were the U.N peace keeping forces despite the time they take to went there they were not authorized to use military maneuvers to achieve their goal, and it ends with ten soldiers were killed and close to one million Rwandans were killed equivalent to twenty percent of the population.
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The Sudan, Darfur case in 2003 considered by many one of U.N biggest failure, the United Nations rejected to do something about it , instead urging the African Union members to intervene. Only in 2006 some soldiers went to Sudan in seven years three hundred millions Sudanese’s civilians were killed. The Khmer rouge in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 had killed two million Cambodians amounting to thirty percent of their population and despite that once again the U.N failed.
Weiss Realist thinker argue that the “logic of collective security is contrasted with the difficulties on its application” looking back at the cases I have mentioned realists would argue that the reason why the U.N failed to prevent them is largely due to the fact that the great powers , permanent members of the institution had little interest on those countries.
Other cases like the Korean War had strong intervention from United Nations due some members’ interests. Despite that we cannot say that the they totally failed because it’s possible to state that was successful in some cases like Suez crisis , Cyprus , Yemen , west new guinea , Mozambique , Namibia as a result of that in 1988 the U.N peacekeepers were awarded the Nobel peace prize.
When it comes to Health, the U.N organization WHO is the organ responsible for the promotion of health and development in poor countries that suffered consequences of conflicts. The smallpox program is the greatest achievement by WHO , with the cooperation of countries all around the world. The prevention activities , surveillance programs , strategies relied on mass vaccination , and other measures helped to eradicate the smallpox.
Kant liberal theory defended that this international organizations gave a good response dealing and solving conflicts and health issues. The organization fulfill the goal of provide general health care effectively and get a good result in poor countries in needs. According to Kant their promotion have been succeeded and effective in what matter to health.
Other area which U.N its involved and a key purpose and a fundamental issue it’s the Human Rights. The OHCHR office of the high commissioner for Human Rights is the organ that deal with the promotion respect and protection of the Human Rights , they have dealt well with the implementation of the principles in some African countries where torture , women and child rights , discrimination as to race , religion are not one hundred percent respected . In Europe we have seen some liberal approaches like Portugal, France, Germany, and United Kingdom.
The same sex marriage, lesbian couple adoption have been legalized the recognition of the human rights and help for people with the disabilities and integration, equally than normal people. The protection of immigrants without documents and their families, the lesbian, gays, and bisexual rights have been placed on international agenda.
States recognize the role of civil society in the advancement of human rights, there are now guidelines for states which support freedom , while determines where speech , cartoon , information constitutes a direct incitement to hate or violence , like Charlie Hebdo case. By many this steps were considered a win for those who defended the equality across all cultures and human beings.
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Concern to protection of the environment, the creation of a global program called The Earth Summit, in 1992 was the way founded to solve this question. That result in treaties on biodiversity, and measures taken to avoid climate change by many countries promoting at the same time the concept of economic growth while protecting natural resources. Other programs were started like sustainable energy for all , all that to avoid climate changes consequences like , sea level rise , melting glaciers , earthquakes , hurricanes .The Kyoto protocol is regarded as a big achievement and a strong effort to finish this problems. They had planned some decisions in 2014 in New York to be taken this year 2015 on the next seminar in Paris. All this actions showed how United Nations dealt and is always making efforts to prevent effectively the environment problems.
At last but not at least one of most important area in the present days which the U.N is involved is the Humanitarian Aid. Achieve cooperation among states to solve international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character its one of the principles stated in U.N charter. The United Nations have done helping in the reconstruction of the Europe after Second World War , nowadays alongside with some other nongovernmental organizations.
It’s possible to say that the U.N organizations responsible to solve this issue have made and still making a very good and efficient job dealing with human aid. UNICEF , United Nations Children Fund have responded well to problems such as nutrition , hygiene , basically education millions of kids have been denied the right so study , investment in girls education , social inclusion all over the globe. The United Nations Refugee Agency helped lots and lots of immigrants providing food, clothes, advices on asylum applications, provide transport to those returning home. All These actions resulted in two prizes Nobel peace prize for UNICEF in 1965, and Principe of Asturias. Great advance in the prevention and fight against HIV other very important step towards Human better living conditions
To conclude the United Nations prove to be an efficient institution , because it’s unfair to do an evaluation , based in only one area no matter the importance given to this issue by the state members. The U.N Security Council failure has more to do with the cold war than other reason. The institution is nowadays more than a peacekeeper, an organization for conflict resolutions. They are more engaged in a vast array of work that seeks to improve people lives all over globe. So it’s possible to say that the U.N will be as good as the members will allow it to be.
References
http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/women/
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/who5.htm
wwwwww.isn.ethz.ch.globalpolicy.org
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