The Faded Image

1

In a situation where every nation regards its national interests as the prime value, the UN cannot play its full role. This is evident in the fact that when the UN seems to function contrary to certain countries' liking they refuse to pay their membership dues regularly. The UN cannot function effectively in a world divided into blocs along political, economic, religious, cultural, ideological lines, which brings about tension and military build-up.

Another stumbling block to the activities of the UN is its Charter which has some weak points concerning the authority and functions of its main bodies. The real power of the UN, as far as political and military affairs are concerned, lies with the Security Council. The authority of the Secretary-General is weak. But the Security Council (as well as the Economic and Social Council) does not reflect today's political and economic realities. In it the international power balance is frozen into an image almost 57 years out of date. In the Cold War era the UN was considerably weakened by its division first along the East-West axis (1) and later along the North-South axis (2). The General Assembly found it hard to function under crossfire from those groups and even today it is hampered by the division of the world into the rich North and poor South.

2

Besides, the UN power is considerably reduced by the fact that the big powers engage in negotiations or actions outside the UN (mostly out of fear that they will not get sufficient support from the delegates in the UN). This practice of by-passing the UN or taking over some of its roles cuts the ground from under the feet of the Organization.

The UN also suffers from drawbacks typical of any other big institution. Due to a big amount of red-tape, inflated bureaucracy and duplication of efforts in the Secretariat (3) the UN has turned into a huge cumbersome body which lacks flexibility and is often behind events. It faces accusations of being clumsy in its actions and on some occasions — of inaction. It functions in a workaday routine, with the General Assembly constituting a mere talking shop which constantly fails to come to consensus (4).

Undoubtedly, the UN has been overloaded with too many complex tasks lately while being underfunded. That explains its failures in Somalia, Bosnia, and Angola (although we should not discount its obvious successes in Cambodia and Namibia in the past). All this results in a situation where the UN is increasingly ignored (as in case with US bombing of Yugoslavia which was carried out without the Security Council mandate). As long ago as 1984 Kurt Waldheim said prophetic words about the possibility of the UN facing the threat of becoming irrelevant in the real world.

3

The UN failures in some war situations were matched by equally fruitless global forums arranged to find ways to address some vital issues of the day, such as the World Social Summit in Copenhagen (1995), the City Summit in Istanbul (1997) or the World Conference on Racism in Durban (2001). That is why many critics advise that in place of the «road show» extravaganzas staged in Beijing, Cairo and other capitals, better use should be made of regular General Assembly sessions.

Some critics dismiss any greater UN role in the security or economic-social fields for the foreseeable future than just occasional disaster relief missions. Most of people and states agree that the Organization is in great need of reform.

Meanwhile, the UN continues to work, to develop its human and organizational capacities in the face of criticism coming from all quarters. (Based on the materials in World Encyclopedia of Peace (1999), Chicago, vol.6 and the Economist).

Notes

1. the East-West axis – the Cold War division of the world into the socialist and capitalist camps.

2. the North-South axis – the division of the world into poor (South) and rich (North) countries.

3. See ex.47(B) for information on the UN Secretariat.

4. The sentence contains the Nominative Absolute Participle Construction which is translated here as a simple sentence with the linking element "причём/при этом".

5. According to Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2007), the phrase "road show" has two meanings.

1. a series of radio or television programmes, each of which is broadcast from a different place;

2. a series of public events, each of which happens in a different place.