Let's Recreate the UN: 81 Years Show Why It’s Worth the Effort

24 Oct 2026

Tags: International Relations   Global Bodies   Global body reforms

Source: The Indian Express

Significance and Achievements of the United Nations

• Established in 1945: The United Nations (UN) was created after the Second World War to maintain international peace and security, promote cooperation and uphold international law. Despite its limitations, it remains central to global governance.
• Humanitarian achievements: UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) helped reduce global child mortality from approximately 12 million in 1990 to 6.9 million in 2011, advanced polio eradication and coordinated responses to Ebola and COVID-19. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assists millions of displaced people, while the World Food Programme (WFP) provides emergency food assistance.
• Poverty reduction and development: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 2000–2015, contributed to reducing extreme poverty and expanding access to primary education and maternal healthcare. They were followed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 2015–2030.
• Environmental governance: UN-backed international agreements, including the Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement, have shaped global environmental cooperation. The Montreal Protocol has successfully phased out approximately 99% of controlled ozone-depleting substances.
• Social policy: The UN has advanced women's rights through initiatives such as the 1995 Beijing Conference and established a global framework for migration cooperation through the 2018 Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
• Peacekeeping and conflict resolution: The UN has brokered numerous peace settlements, helped manage international crises and supported transitions to peace in countries such as Namibia, Timor-Leste (East Timor) and Mozambique. Its diplomatic role has also been significant during major confrontations such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Iran–Iraq War.

Crisis of the UN Security Council

• Outdated representation: The composition of the UN Security Council (UNSC) reflects the geopolitical realities of 1945 rather than today's distribution of population, economic power and political influence. Major contemporary powers and entire regions remain underrepresented among permanent members.
• Veto power and institutional paralysis: The five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States—possess veto power over substantive Council decisions. Its use, or the threat of its use, can obstruct action during wars and humanitarian crises, weakening accountability and confidence in international law.
• Declining effectiveness: Conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, Libya and Yemen illustrate the difficulties faced by the international system in preventing or ending conflicts. Critics argue that the UNSC's deadlock has undermined its central responsibility for international peace and security.
• Crisis of legitimacy: The mismatch between the Council's formal authority and contemporary geopolitical realities creates a representational deficit, leading some countries to question the legitimacy of its decisions.
• Rise of alternative groupings: When the UNSC is paralysed, states increasingly turn to regional organisations, ad hoc coalitions and forums such as the G20. However, these groupings cannot fully replace the UN's universal membership, peacekeeping machinery and international legitimacy.

Why the UN Remains Indispensable

• Universal membership: The UN General Assembly (UNGA) provides a forum in which all member states have representation, including smaller and developing countries.
• International legitimacy: The UN provides a continuing platform for diplomacy, negotiation and cooperation that exclusive regional or economic groupings cannot replicate.
• Peacekeeping capacity: The G20 and other informal coalitions do not possess the same institutional peacekeeping framework as the UN.
• Multilateralism as a shock absorber: The UN allows adversaries to communicate, negotiate and de-escalate tensions, even during periods of intense geopolitical rivalry.
• Alternative to power politics: Without effective multilateral institutions, international relations risk becoming increasingly governed by the principle that stronger states can impose their will on weaker ones, undermining international law.

Reforms Required to Strengthen the UN

• Expand UNSC representation: Reform permanent and non-permanent membership to reflect contemporary geopolitical realities and improve representation of underrepresented regions and emerging powers.
• Restrain the use of veto: Develop clear norms to limit veto use, particularly in situations involving mass atrocities and serious violations of international humanitarian law.
• Strengthen UNGA–UNSC accountability: Improve formal accountability and communication between the Security Council and the General Assembly.
• Improve institutional efficiency: Rationalise mandates, reduce duplication and improve coordination across UN agencies without undermining essential humanitarian and development functions.
• Balance efficiency with inclusion: Developed countries often emphasise budget cuts, mergers and administrative streamlining, while developing countries prioritise representation, inclusion and a greater voice in setting global priorities.
• Avoid institutional breakdown: Reform must preserve the participation of powerful states. Changes that prompt major powers to withdraw could weaken the UN itself.

Important Concepts for UPSC

• UN Security Council: Has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. Its five permanent members possess veto power, while ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms.
• UN General Assembly: The principal deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN; each member state has one vote. Most resolutions are recommendations rather than legally binding decisions.
• Multilateralism: Cooperation among three or more countries through common rules, institutions and diplomatic processes.
• Veto power: The ability of any one of the five permanent UNSC members to block a substantive draft resolution, even if it receives broad support.
• Sustainable Development Goals: Seventeen goals adopted in 2015 under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, covering poverty, health, education, inequality, climate action and other development priorities.