Questions increase on relevance of the United Nations

By Yanyan Mochamad Yani

BANDUNG, West Java (JP): The United Nations (UN) is to celebrate its 53rd anniversary on Saturday in a different way from usual amid debates over its function in keeping international peace and security.

Some parties argue that the UN should be dismantled because its performance is getting worse and worse. Others disagree, saying that the international body should continue operating but introduce self-reform programs, including some on the role of its Security Council.

To assess the reforms, it is important to discuss the requirements for the organization to effectively perform the task of maintaining global peace and security and the challenging problems facing reform in the advent of the next millennium.

Generally, discussions nowadays focus on the UN's constraints and opportunities in performing its role in the post-Cold War era; the atmosphere of global security versus national interests; governance, development and sovereignty; and the prospects of the UN in global security in the coming years.

It is assumed that the UN lacks dignity in managing international disputes. Even the UN's global security functions are restrained by the geopolitical interests of the most influential members of the Security Council, the limitation of sources and the nature of the conflicts.

In many respects, the cause of the aforementioned conditions should not be blamed only on the UN, as argued by former secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Ghali noted that the UN needed to be cognizant of the changing context. He realized that national leaders should take into account the need for good internal governance and the requirements of a more interdependent world, as well as the need to preserve its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Furthermore, the UN is aware of the necessity to broaden the definition of global security to include social and economic development, environmental protection, the reconstruction of institutions in countries which have experienced civil strife and good governance. These issues, including basic needs such as housing, food, health and education, have become part of the long-term strategy of enhancing good governance and global security. Nevertheless, these wider UN roles should be strictly implemented without disturbing any nation-state's sovereignty.

Meanwhile, an issue that should be discussed in detail concerns potential constraints on the work of the UN, stemming from the nature of the international system as well as in the real political game. Governments worldwide are understandably concerned with their national interests, and because of this there is the potential for rivalry among successful UN members and some permanent members of the Security Council, especially the United States. The UN has often been subservient to the interests of member states, and therefore the organization was paralyzed by superpower geopolitics during the Cold War.

On the basis of assumptions regarding an inevitable drift toward the aforementioned problem, Hurrell (1992) and Tomuschat (1994) argue that the diverse security problems which have characterized the post-Cold War era can be tackled meaningfully only through multilateral efforts and on a cooperative basis.

Such sentiments ought to be tempered with considerations of realpolitik. For example, the U.S. super-active involvement in the war between Iraq and multinational powers in 1994 highlighted the real weakness of the UN's role in keeping international security. This is an example of how difficult it is to manage a dichotomy between the national interests of super powers and global concerns.

Moreover, the question of whether intrastate conflicts could endanger global peace and security also needs to be reviewed. The Security Council decided that the repression of the civilian population in northern Iraq (Resolution 688 issued in April 1991); the Haiti military junta's reluctance to restore power to President Jean Bertrand Aristide (Resolution 940, July 1994) and the humanitarian suffering caused by internal conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Resolution 770, November 1992) and in Somalia (Resolution 794, December 1992) were threats to international peace and security (Luhulima, 1995).

In addition, some member states, particularly certain rich ones, have been unwilling or unable to meet their commitments to the financing of the UN (Makinda and Dodds, 1995), and this has severely affected the organization's ability to perform its proper functions in peacekeeping and peace-building operations. For example, it should be noted that despite being a world super power, the United States is the largest debtor to the UN with regard to its obligatory contributions to the UN.

In fact, another serious problem is related to the UN's attempt to promote good governance, respect for human rights and other long-term strategies. It is a fact that the meaning of human rights, or even its implementation, is different in each nation-state. In 1996, the United States upset Indonesia by tying its foreign aid to human rights demands. At that time Indonesia assumed that the United States was interfering in its internal affairs. Indonesia countered it by "asking" the United States to lessen its foreign aid. Indonesia stated that the impressions and implementation of human rights in Indonesia were different from those in the United States.

However, it should be considered that the priority issues of the structure, process and resources of the UN should be put in the top ranks (Omar Halim, 1996). Therefore, the UN should realize its full potential and emphasize the need for reforming the Security Council and contending with the super powers' interests (the United States and Russia).

The Security Council should be reformed by, for example, introducing clearer rules on the implementation of the veto system. A veto should be highly supported by, at least, two- thirds of the UN members.

Meanwhile, permanent membership of the Security Council should be expanded to involve Japan (as one of the economically largest countries), Saudi Arabia (a representative of the one-billion- strong Moslem world) and a representative of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Radical reform is necessary because the UN, which has created the values of international democracy and international human rights, in fact, is the worst institution in terms of the implementation of its own values, due to the centered power of its Security Council.

If such reform can be implemented constructively for the sake of keeping international peace and security, this planet will be happy as its inhabitants will no longer be disturbed any international wars or poverty.

The writer is a lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Padjadjaran University, in Bandung, West Java.