UN needs reforming

Fifty years ago the United Nations was established in the closing days of World War II, when 50 governments around the world came together at an international conference in San Francisco between April 25 and June 26, 1945. Some of their aims included a commitment to eradicate war, to promote human rights, to maintain respect for justice and international law, and to promote social progress and friendly relations among nations of the world.

Unfortunately, the UN has done little to achieve its initial aims. Different scholars, academics, intellectuals and others have expressed different opinions regarding the failure of the UN to achieve its initial missions.

With regard to peace and security issues, the UN charter provision states the General Assembly "may consider the general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of peace and security...and may make recommendations with regard to such principles to the members or to the Security Council or to both."

The UN achieved little in terms of protecting human life. It acknowledge this failure in Somalia and later in Bosnia and Rwanda. In the case of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the UN did impress me by successfully handling the crisis.

It is said that most UN funds come from the giant powers of the West, so that makes the West the breadwinner of the family. This is incorrect, and we know that today the U.S. is the largest debtor at the UN, with a whopping amount of over US$1 billion. Isn't it amazing that the U.S. is still hosting this world body?

I am disappointed that in so few days the U.S. was able to recently convince the UN to organize in Cairo what it called the "international conference on terrorism" simply because U.S. interests were threatened by Hamas' bomb attacks in Israel. If the bomb attacks were in Africa or the Pacific it might have taken months before the UN could organize such an important conference.

The UN can only work if the charter provisions are changed. For example, the idea of permanent Security Council membership should be scrapped and immediately replaced with a system that properly addresses the intercontinental geographical representation of all. The reforms should consider population and economic realities.

BUHARI ABDU

Jakarta