United Nations at 75 years: Cause for hope or concern?

by Seth Farsides

On Monday 21 September 2020, leaders from around the world came together, virtually, to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN75).
Formed out of the ashes of World War II, the United Nations has championed a multilateralist approach to enhance peace, equality and human rights for all people.
On June 26 1945, representatives of 50 countries convened in San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre auditorium to sign the U.N. Charter, a treaty that established a world organisation committed to “succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” It would do so by collectively working to maintain international peace and security, strengthen international law, expand human rights, and promote social progress and better standards of life.

“You members of this Conference are to be the architects of the better world. In your hands rests our future.”
– President Harry Truman, address to first UN delegates on April 25 1945

The proceeding 75 years have seen the world change drastically and the United Nations should be proud of its legacy.
However, this special anniversary comes amidst a new set of challenges, arguably on a par with those faced by those very first delegates. The United Nations stands at a pivotal crossroads: COVID-19 has led to a global public health crisis and resulted in massive loss of life; the pandemic has resulted in the shutting down of borders and the fostering of isolationist sentiments among many member states; larger nations have gained undue influence in a number of key areas throughout the organisation; and funding and support for the UN more generally appears to be in decline.
UN75 should rightly be a time to reflect on the achievements of this great organisation, but it should also present an opportunity to review, to plan and to adapt to the changing demands placed upon it in the modern day.

Zoom or bust: Leaders tune in virtually to UN75

The 75th anniversary of the UN would have brought global leaders and many thousands of delegates to New York for the General Assembly meeting. However, with the pandemic still rife, the world has gone virtual in what  the Guardian newspaper dubbed: “ the worst zoom call ever”.
On Monday 21 September, a day before the General Assembly officially started, world leaders came together to celebrate UN75. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wasted no time in addressing the huge challenges facing the United Nations, whilst making a plea for the revival of multilateralism, saying:

“Today, we have a surplus of multilateral challenges and a deficit of multilateral solutions… [COVID-19 has] laid bare the world’s fragilities…no one wants a world government — but we must work together to improve world governance.”


 
The scaled down event saw world leaders provide similar sobering assessments of the state of the world. As a sign of the commemoration’s importance, heads of government like Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke personally, despite usually not being directly involved in the General Assembly.
President Trump, despite being listed to speak first out of the scheduled 182 speakers, did not offer remarks. In an open snub to the UN he was instead represented by the U.S. acting deputy U.N. ambassador, Cherith Norman Chalet. Though Trump did make a pre-recorded address to the General Assembly the next day.
In a continuation of the recent trend, it was China who filled the void left by the absence of the United States. President Xi urged member states to recommit to multilateralism and “work to promote a community with a shared future for mankind.”
Perhaps making reference to his American counterpart, President Xi went on to say:

“Unilateralism is a dead end…No country has the right to dominate global affairs, control the destiny of others or keep advantages in development all to itself. Even less should one be allowed to do whatever it likes and be the hegemon, bully or boss of the world.”

On Tuesday 22 September 2020, the first day of the General Assembly, Guterres used his opening speech to reiterate his previous warnings of the “four horsemen in our midst – four threats that endanger our common future”.
These being: The “highest global geo-strategic tensions in years”; an “existential climate crisis”; Deep and growing global mistrust; and the dark side of the digital world.
The Secretary-General warned that the coronavirus represented a:

“Fifth horseman lurking in the shadows … joining the four other horsemen and adding to the fury of each…We face simultaneously an epochal health crisis, the biggest economic calamity and job losses since the Great Depression, and dangerous new threats to human rights.”

Somewhat alarmingly, the running order for Tuesday 22 September 2020 had 50 men address the assembly before the first woman got a chance to speak, Slovakia’s Zuzana Čaputová.
What was clear is that this General Assembly and UN75 will be a balancing act between celebration and realism. Speeches were largely positive, and some leaders appeared in native dress and in unusual settings, adding some colour to what can often be a staid affair.
President Trump used his speech to the General Assembly to target China for their role in the spread of the coronavirus, before stating that:

“The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions,”

Further signalling America’s growing detachment from the UN, President Trump said “I am proudly putting America first,” and urged other nations to do so for their countries. This was in stark contrast to the multilateral theme of UN75.
President Trump also used  his platform to emphasise how he’s achieving results independently from the intergovernmental body, listing his achievements and successes in combating the coronavirus while driving world peace. He hailed his work as creating “a new dawn in the Middle East”.
Other member states made sure their positive messages were punctuated with stark reminders of the challenges that lie ahead: Stressing that countries must collaborate to beat back the coronavirus pandemic, end the numerous smaller conflicts from the Middle East to Africa, and achieve U.N. goals to eradicate extreme poverty and preserve the environment by a 2030 target.
Perhaps the best illustration of this balancing act came from the French Premier Macron on Monday (21 September 2020), who started by highlighting how the United Nations had tried to remain true to the promises made three-quarters of a century ago:

“To save future generations from the scourge of war, to assert human rights and the equality of nations, and to promote social progress in greater freedom.”

Before going on to warn that:

“Our common home is in disarray, just like our world… Faced with the health emergency, faced with the climate challenge, faced with the decline in rights, it is here and now that we have to act, with those who want to and with those who can, by exploiting all possible spaces for cooperation.”

UN member nations did manage to agree, after prolonged negotiations, on a declaration to mark the U.N.’s anniversary, which was adopted Monday (21 September 2020). The declaration recalls the body’s successes and failures and vows to build a post-pandemic world that is more equal, works together and protects the planet.

UN75: A celebration of the history

What began as representatives of 50 countries communing in a theatre, has grown into a truly global intergovernmental organisation of 193 member states and two observer states.
Within five years the United Nations had established key agencies that remain essential in driving positive change to this day: The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF, 1946); The World Health Organisation (WHO, 1948); and The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR, 1950).

“The United Nations is our one great hope for a peaceful and free world”
– Ralph Bunche, recipient of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize

On a public health front – which is of particular salience in today’s climate – the United Nations was key to the eradication of smallpox in 1979, following a 12-year WHO global vaccination campaign. In 1988, WHO established the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, since then polio cases have decreased by 99% because of access to immunisations. In 2001 the Global Fund was created to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the three largest infectious disease killers in the world.
In 2006, the number of children who died before their fifth birthday declined below 10 million for the first time and in 2019, 190 U.N. Member States adopted the historic political declaration on Universal Health Coverage at the UN General Assembly identifying ways to make health for all a reality.
On a human rights front, The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) remains a key protection for women the world over. In 2002, the UN established the International Criminal Court (ICC), the first-ever worldwide court dedicated to investigating and ending crimes against humanity. In 2006, The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was established to promote and protect human rights around the world and has since endorsed a number of resolutions relating to the protection of human rights.
The United Nations has also placed itself at the forefront of conflict resolution, from Iran to Iraq, Yemen to Syria and Bosnia to Kosovo, UN peacekeeping has remained a crucial aim. An emphasis on peace is understandable considering the fact the UN was borne out of the Second World War and immediately thrust into a Cold War.
The United Nations has provided food to more than 90 million people, assisted over 34 million refugees, and drives democratisation by assisting in over 50 State’s elections each year. The United Nations has provided vaccinations to 58 percent of children in the world, assists 30 million women a year with maternal health efforts and protects human rights through over 80 treaties and declarations.
So why does it need to change?

(Un-)United Nations and the UN Security Council

In preparation for the Commemoration of the UN’s 75th anniversary, the Office of the Under-Secretary-General compiled a report titled: The Future We Want The United Nations We Need. The report was a global consultation which conducted over one million surveys and dialogues with individuals from every member state. People were asked their priorities “ international cooperation and for the United Nations in particular.”
The results of the surveys may speak to the wider issues of cooperation in the UN. For obvious reasons, access to healthcare is almost universally seen as a current priority. However, “tackling climate crisis” only makes the top five immediate priorities in North America and Europe, wealthy countries who might have the luxury of worrying about such things.
In contrast, Latin America & Caribbean, Northern & Western Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central & Southern Asia, Eastern & South-Eastern Asia and Oceania & Antarctica all list “Support hard hit places” in their top five immediate priorities.
Such discrepancies between regions priorities can be seen time and time again and demonstrate how member states might not be so united.
Also of note, 74 percent of respondents see the UN as “essential” in tackling global challenges; yet participants overwhelmingly called for the UN to be more inclusive of the diversity of actors in the 21st century and consistently called for “increased accountability, transparency and impartiality”.
Youth representatives shared the summary and outcomes of these findings at UN75 on 21 September 2020. These youth representatives stressed the importance of youth involvement in multilateral discussions on issues varying from gender equality to education provision, prompting praise from Mr. Guterres.


The United Nations relies on cooperation, this was perhaps an easier principle to agree on 75 years ago, when States had collectively witnessed the death of over 85 million people. But memories fade and priorities change over time.
Somewhat ironically, the joint belief of never again, that was so important in guiding the first years of the UN, has led to some of the deep-rooted issues within the structure of the organisation today.
In the early years, the institutional resilience of the UN was rooted in the United States’ support to create a liberal, rules-based order, which was essential in setting up the United Nations. Every nation’s leader puts their country first, that’s why a global organisation was needed to moderate and regulate conduct among themselves. This led to the One Country, One Vote principle of the General Assembly. However, it was clear that so many different voices would never result in swift decisions.
The Security Council was established to become the UN’s rapid response body to international insecurity. As a reflection of the situation at the time, it was decided that China, France, Great Britain, the US, and the Soviet Union (now Russia) would become permanent members of the Security Council, with the other ten members (six in the original Charter) elected by the General Assembly. The five permanent members (P5) were bestowed with veto powers and, while the elected members could in theory build a majority, the reality remained that resolutions would only be accepted through effective cooperation.
Fast-forward to today and such cooperation is made increasingly difficult. Relations between the U.S. and China are currently characterised by trade wars and finger pointing. President Trump began his speech to the General Assembly by condemning China for not managing the Coronavirus at source, contentiously calling it “the China virus”.
This sort of antagonistic rhetoric underlines the discord between the world powers. Russia has consistently tried to exert influence over other P5 members through subterfuge and mutual trust in multilateral negotiations is now a scarce resource.

“If the United Nations is to survive, those who represent it must bolster it; those who advocate it must submit to it; and those who believe in it must fight for it.”
– Norman Cousins, American political journalist and prominent world peace advocate

What’s more, in 1945 the P5 accounted for more than 50 percent of the world’s population, now that figure is just 26 percent. Without China, the other four permanent member states account for just 7.8 percent of the world’s population.
The ineffectiveness of the UN Security council has led to many concluding that multilateralism is faltering, if not failing and it is clear that the Security Council in its current state is not fit for purpose. Divisions have been blindingly obvious in the Council’s inability to tackle the big issues of the day: Be it the securitisation of human suffering, growing inequality, finding a joint response to COVID-19 or the conflict in Syria, the rapid response body has only resulted in gridlock.
While any reform would need to be considered carefully, many commentators agree that the Security Council would benefit from expanding its permanent and elected membership,  making it more representative of today’s geographical and political reality and consider removing the P5’s veto powers .

Undue prominence and big player scepticism

Another issue is what happens when any particular state gains too much power. As stressed above, the UN project is based on all countries involved working collectively. The UN should not be used as a vehicle for a state’s global ambitions; It appears China now views it as just that, just as the United States has ceased to do so.
In recent years, Beijing has systematically been positioning Chinese nationals as heads of a wide range of UN agencies.
In 2018, Zhao Houlin, began his second four-year term as the secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, a crucial body that sets technical standards for communications networks. Since 2019, the U.N. The Food and Agriculture Agency has been led by Qu Dongyu, formerly China’s vice minister of agriculture.

“The past cannot be changed, but the future can be shaped. Bearing history in mind is not to perpetuate hatred. Rather, it is for mankind not to forget its lesson.”
– Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China at the General Debate of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly

Even the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the U.N. agency that regulates global air travel headed by Fang Liu, a Chinese national, has been accused of keeping Taiwan out of the loop on Covid-19 protocols.
Chinese representatives currently head four out of 15 UN specialised agencies.
Most recently in April 2020, despite being widely condemned for their own human rights record, China was appointed to a seat on the Consultative Group of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
While Beijing has presided over a concerted effort to expand their influence in the UN, it has been made possible because of a void left by the United States. Trump has continually signalled he is not committed to, or as he would see it, bound by multilateralism.

“I have long felt the United Nations is an underperformer but has tremendous potential. There are those people that think it’s an underperformer and will never perform.”
– President Trump, 26 December 2016

This has manifested itself through decisions to defund WHO for being too easy on China, downgrading participation in other U.N. organisations and withholding funding.
The UN faces a period of rebalancing, and while no country should exert undue influence in proceedings, the direct opposition of China (and for that matter, Trump’s America) to so many of the UN’s guiding principles is cause for concern. Unchallenged by an alternative vision of moral leadership, the UN risks becoming a platform for China’s foreign policy initiatives.

Funding in free-fall?

The United Nations, despite the recent cooling of relations, is still heavily reliant on U.S. funding. The United States remains the largest donor, contributing roughly $10 billion in 2018 (the most recent fiscal year with full data available). Each year the U.S. represents slightly less than one-fifth of the body’s collective budget.
How long this remains true is yet to be seen. While President Trump has sought major funding cuts to UN agencies, Congress has by and large approved higher contributions than requested by his administration, and overall U.S. funding has remained on par with prior years.
However, if President Trump is successful in pushing through his newly proposed cuts to foreign aid spending, the United Nations will likely be forced to undergo significant changes.
Already, the United Nations is facing a crisis of sorts where funding is concerned. On occasions things as seemingly simple as the operation of UN buildings have been hindered, with working days being cut short owing to an inability to pay to keep the lights on.
The amount a member state is required to contribute, known as its assessed contribution, is determined by a complex formula that factors in gross national income and population.
Mandatory contributions help fund the regular budget, which should encompass administrative costs – such as building maintenance – as well as peacekeeping operations. However, States may also make voluntary contributions. Many UN organisations, such as UNICEF and UNHCR, rely almost solely on voluntary contributions.

“As I have said before, now is the time for unity and for the international community to work together in solidarity”
– Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General on 14 April 2020

Even prior to the pandemic, the UN was imploring States to increase their funding, now the need is even greater. By their own estimates the UN predicts the total humanitarian impact of COVID-19 could reach $90bn.
In March 2020, the UN launched a $2bn appeal to address the humanitarian crisis posed by COVID. By May, in light of the skyrocketing price of providing humanitarian aid, the UN increased their ask by $4.7 bn dollars, to their current appeal of $6.7bn.
This is on top of the estimated $28bn they planned to spend on humanitarian responses prior to the pandemic. Of these pre-corona responses, only 13% had been funded as of early May 2020. Most if not all of these crises have become worse as a result of the coronavirus.
The United Nations needs to re-enthuse member states on the benefits of the organisation or risk losing the traditional sources of funding they’re so heavily dependent on.

Closing remarks

The opening day of the General Assembly was characterised by open recognition of the issues discussed above. The Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said the U.N.’s 75th anniversary is an ideal time to realise change, saying:
“We face our own 1945 moment…We must meet that moment. We must show unity like never before to overcome today’s emergency, get the world moving and working and prospering again.”
However, rhetoric is one thing. Countering deep routed polarisation and competition between the world’s major leaders is another. What is certain is that issues such as climate change and a growing global population will only be solved through cooperation: The world still needs the United Nations.
Yet it is at a crucial juncture in its journey, it remains to be seen which way it will go from here.