The UN@70 and Beyond

“There is no single institution that I found more exhilarating at its best, yet more debilitatingly frustrating at its worst, than the United Nations...”  Gareth Evans (erstwhile foreign minister of Australia)

24th October marks the date the United Nations was called to being after the ratification of the United Nations Charter by majority of the original signatory countries inclusive of the Allied Victors from the Second World War----United States, United Kingdom, France and the Union of Socialist and Soviet Republics (USSR). As such, on this date since 1945, has been declared United Nations Day. The year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary since the world’s largest socio-political organization was formed; and same for the 70th anniversary year after the end of the Second World War.

Aircraft Acrobatic display at Beijing to commemorate the 70th Anniversary since the end of WW2
Source: bbcnews.com

 In reminiscence of this numerical feat, it calls to question for a moment of retrospect of the United Nations attainments so far.

Originally conceived 1st January 1942 when 26 Countries fighting under the aegis of the Allied forces against Axis powers decided to sign the Declaration of the United Nations, that Declaration in itself was borne out the concept of The Atlantic Charter which was a mutual charter between the United Kingdom and the United States signed 14th August 1941 aboard the USS Augusta off the coast of Newfoundland. After series of strategy meetings of the Allied powers to shape the cause of World War 2 and its apparent aftermath, the United Nations Charter was born and signed by representatives of 50 Nations on 26^th June 1945 in San Francisco, USA. The charter was subsequently ratified and adopted by majority of the signatory countries on 24th October 1945, thus, calling the United Nations Organization into being.

The 1945 feat was not the first attempt at having a global socio-political organization, as the first of such attempt was in 1899 following the International Peace Conference at The Hague which adopted the Convention for pacifist measures for International Dispute resolution, thereby calling into being the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 1902. This body played no part in stemming the protractive and contractive scourge of the First World War (1914-1918). After a gruesome four years of combative murder amongst European powers from World War one, The League of Nations was founded as a resultant of the 1919 treaty of Versailles which formally ended World War one. Though a brain child of the then US president-Woodrow Wilson as part of his Fourteen Points Plan for a peaceful Europe, the USA, adopting a policy of International isolation never became a member. With its headquarters in London, other European powers such as Germany, Italy and Russia never became committed members each joining late and leaving early. Being only an effective organization of the United Kingdom and France, The League of Nations was powerless in controlling the voracious expansionist appetite of Hitler and Mussolini, and ultimately, despite sanctions which with weak enforcement, these two fascists plunged Europe and the World into another global conflict. Thus, The League of Nations ceased to Exist.

From the horrors of two World Wars, global leaders stood up to the mantra of ‘never again’ to another global conflict. As such, it became customary for newly independent nations to seek UN membership. Comprising of over 98% percent of Sovereign states on Earth, the UN membership has surged from a paltry 51 countries at its founding in 1945, to 193 member Nations today.

“The United Nations was created not to lead mankind to heaven but to save humanity from hell”.... Dag Hammarskjöld (Third UN Secretary General)

Despite a committed action to international peace and global cooperation on matters of trade and development, the UN has seemingly become a clog in its own wheels of progress. Originally adopting a leadership structure in which the Allied Victors from World War 2 (US, UK, France, China and Russia) do not hold administrative leadership positions in the UN, yet this clique which essentially comprise the ‘veto’ votes of the United Nations Security council have by their individual or collective actions jammed any sort of progressive network collaboration the UN may achieve.

Being run with a heavy budget and bureaucratic technocrat personnel, it is sometimes bemusing to see member nations more ready to spend on expensive war efforts rather than peace initiatives. It is also harrowing to note how much heavy budget is apportioned to protracted humanitarian aid resulting from conflict situations whilst a feeble attempt is made at resolving the root cause of conflicts.

From initial success stories of international development cooperation as seen in post World War Two devastated Europe, helped to stand by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UN has sought to build on this template by launching international development initiatives in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which is now being transited to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, threats to international peace and stability from several conflict hotbeds around the Middle East and Africa especially since 2010 has rubbished whatever strategic gains these initiatives has tangibly achieved.

Popularly identified as blue helmets, the United Nations peace keeping force having a weak mandate when deployed to conflict situations have most times been ineffective in preventing conflict escalations, genocides/Massacres especially as seen in Democratic Republic of Congo where the UN has its largest contingent force.

Overall, the UN has been a success story in forging international bonding and cooperation on sundry matters via its various agencies. On its 70th year and looking forward, it is hoped that the UN will rise above another unseeming East-West bipolarity between the USA and Russia to continually guarantee the World an avoidance of an impending Armageddon. However, this depends on the will power of the member states especially the bi-polar powers.

"The 70th anniversary of the United Nations is an opportunity to reflect – to look back on the UN’s history and take stock of its enduring achievements. It is also an opportunity to spotlight where the UN – and the international community as a whole – needs to redouble its efforts to meet current and future challenges across the three pillars of its work: peace and security, development, and human rights." - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's message for UN70

World Peace: A responsibility of every Nation!

Since the inception of recorded history of mankind, it has been inundated with tales of conquests and heroic actions of individuals who rose to fame through leading their peoples through warfare. Even in religious parlance, figures like the biblical Joshua and King David are popular conquest heroes whilst contemporary history boasts of empire builders in Nebuchadnezzar 1, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Shaka Zulu, Alexander the Great, Emperor Justinan 1, Genghis Khan amongst several others. However, there are several other Empire builders who ended up on the losing side of history in Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Attila the Hun, Hannibal, amongst several others.

Whether conquerors, heroes, victors, plunderers, terrorists or villains; one thing is common to these historical figures and their empires—they were founded by shedding of millions of human blood.

until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."…………Chinua Achebe

 "History is written by the victors"……Winston Churchill

Human Skulls-- Relics of mass murders of humanuty around the world
Image: LKEM / Flickr)

Whilst the murderous antecedents of human history over the past centuries has been long forgotten or forgiven/relegated to the shredders of human memories; there is a sharp awakening to humans murderous tendencies especially from the 20^th century to the present 21^st century, as rough estimates has it that the number of murderous annihilations of specific tribes, race and religions over the last 200 hundred years (this includes the first and second world wars) almost equals the number of humans who have died (through natural or human causes) over the other centuries.

To buttress this, reckoning from the obnoxious slave trade (trans Atlantic and colonial expenditures of the 16^th,17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries); humanity experienced murders on the industrial scale during the first and second world wars where war causalities were reckoned in millions as hundreds of thousands were felled in minutes -no thanks to the technology of machine guns, ‘conventional’ bombs and nuclear bombs.

From the 1915 Armenian genocide, the Jewish Holocaust, to targeted deportations and killings of several ethnic nationalities under varied guise during first and second world wars, leaders of the world powers said never again in 1945 through formation of the United Nations and allied charters.

Nevertheless, since 1945, the sanity of humanity has again been called to question as a resultant of awakened genocidal tendencies in massacres and ethno-religious cleansing in recent conflicts around the world. Sadly, this murderous tendencies has had a contagious effect in 3 of the World’s continents.

Europe has it in balkanization of Yugoslavia which had its high point in the Srebrenica massacre of 1992. Currently, there are heightened tensions in Eastern Europe especially amongst former Soviet bloc nations over the ethnic consciousness of Russian speaking peoples in these nations which has caused the Russian-Georgian conflict of 2008 and is currently heightening tensions in Ukraine.

Africa has it Sudan where prolonged conflicts (sometimes dubbed Africa’s longest civil conflict) lead to the splitting of Africa’s largest nation and the emergence of a new nation in South Sudan in 2011. This never ended the conflict in that region as battles still rage in South Sudan and mother Sudan itself (both targeting ethnic nationalities).

Across the Sahara to South, brutal civil conflicts in Liberia, Cote d’ivore and Sierra leone during the 1990’s and 2000’s claimed thousands of lives with associated brutality of limb amputations of survivors. To the east, Africa’s most populous country Nigeria, has had a civil conflict in the 1960’s which had ethnic undertones and yet scores from that war are yet to be settled as it a common trend for riots and recently ‘scotch the earth’ annihilation by Boko Haram insurgents to sporadically claim the lives of hundreds of Nigerians daily -all of which has ethno-religious undertones.

Away from the Rwandan genocide of 1994, which already had a precedence in targeted killing of Hutus and Tutsis in Burundi in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s; the drooling effect of these menace has eternally plundered peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the Banyamulenges are almost extinct. Somalia reels from an eternal conflict now engulfing its larger economic neighbour Kenya and also causing a serious concern for the wider East Africa sub region. The Central Africa Republic is also witnessing an annihilation of it Muslim population. No thanks to years of civil wars and religious revenge attacks.

In Asia, targeted marginalization of the Rohingya Muslims amongst other tribal wars is an issue in Burma (Myanmar) and is a reminisence of the brutal Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Kurdish repressions as experienced in Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran as well as the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict, calls to question the sanity of humanity. The Arab spring has provided another butcher field in Syria and questionable anti-terrorism interventions by the United States and her allies has forever destroyed the bliss once known in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of all the continents, only South America has tended to move on from its murderous pasts but pockets of conflicts still remains in the drug fuelled clashes/wars of Columbia and Mexico.

After reeling the murderous tendencies and man’s inhumanity to mankind over the 20^th and 21^st centuries, one must note that these murderous tendencies if not nipped can spell doom to humanity (especially as seen in the origin of the first World War).

Amidst the conflicts, terror attacks and civil unrests that grips our world today, it is not enough for words of condemnation to be said no matter the veracity. Considering the burden of refugee welfare which usually lies of on non-conflict countries, there is a call for every nation to ensure world peace and reassert our common humanity.

Articles 43 through 48 of the U.N. Charter already provide for a permanent command structure for a standing volunteer rapid response force, which has never been created- a liberal interpretation of those articles would  permit creation of a standing world army.

On a year when the world the centenary of the outbreak of the first World War, there is no better time to set aside selfish international interests amongst world powers and other Nations who inadvertently by their actions fuel conflicts around the world and see to a stop of mass murders. We are all humans with one Heart, Spirit and Soul. We should be sane and protect the sanctity of human life to save humanity from outright annihilation by our own actions.

SYRIA- A NEMESIS OF WORLD POWERS?

On the streets of Dimashq, Aleppo, Idlib, Homs, Deraa...Syrians welcome people with an outstretched hand while saying Marhaba (“Hello”). It is however shattering to note that the once happy faces that lit the Syrian milieu is haunted by the thought of the Shabiha, Mukharabat, the Syrian army and the deafening sound of mortars and raving MIG fighter jets dropping deadly  rounds at low altitudes. No doubt, there must be war in the air!

On 31st January 2011, inspired by the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square, six young Damascenes organised the first major demonstration of the Syrian uprising. They prepared placards, modest in their message, calling on the Egyptian army not to kill Egypt's young people and adding "Yes to freedom!", and they posted an invitation on Facebook urging people to show their support by demonstrating outside the Egyptian embassy. Like the hazy hamattan dust, the embers of the Arab spring had spread from its birth place in Tunisia to Libya, Egypt and across the Suez canal it found solidarity among the youth of Syria. A modest crowd of about 100 people turned up for the event, which at the time was only filmed by a Russian TV crew!

Filming by Russia?...Yes Russia for no undertones! Little was it known that this little demonstration would be quelled with the most brutal force ever imagined! The fact that Syria had been governed by emergency rule for over three decades and the Jisr al-Shughour massacre of 1980, Tadmor Prison massacre of 1980, and the Hama massacre of 1982 gives the prelude of the reaction of the Syrian government to any form of uprising. From the peaceful protests, the Syrian case turned bloody; pitting the Syrian government forces against the Free Syrian Army and other armed opposition elements. Thus, the Syrian senario began to trend the 2011 Libyan uprising.

The drenching of Libya in the Arab spring and the resultant debate for foreign intervention on the floors of the United Nations Security Council no doubt generated ripples. Aside the first Gulf war in 1990-1991, the United States had had a heck of time pulling up resolutions for intervention into middle eastern conflicts. This calls to question the Iraq and Afghanistan mess- a stench that irks the thought of international diplomats, Arabs and indeed the Islamic world. With this in mind, ‘Never again’ to American intervention remains the unsung parlance in the middle east. Whilst the Libyan case was addressed tactfully, the respite shown to the Syrian case among the world powers calls for some concern. The question is for how long will the carnage in Syria continue while nemesis brings to bare the unwholesome actions of the permanent members of the Security council? For how long will USA, UK, France vs Russia and China trade tackles, and flex their veto muscles?

Syria is a strategic country to note. It holds the world’s fourth largest arsenal of Chemical weaponry, its common border with Turkey lies at the NATO eastern frontier. It is still unfinished business between Syria and Israel. Both belligerents only ceased fire—No peace deal/treaty!.

On the quest for regional power, Syria remains strategic. From the formation of the Baath party to the days of the United Arab Republic, Syria has been a strategic ally for any serious contender for Arab dominance! Little wonder the Syria-Iran alliance which has Hezbollah and Hamas as its protegee to counterbalance 1979 peace accord between Israel and once friendly Syria friendly Egypt.

Tartus elucidates another flash point in the Syrian quagmire. A Russian Naval outlet to the Mediterranean, the divergent interplay of world powers underscores some salient undertones.

While Israel is viewed as a Zionist outpost of the United States and an unacceptable state to most nations of the Arab world (Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab nations to recognise Israel), it is consequential for the world powers to take sides in the conflict. With Israel finding a permanent ally in the US, the UK and France too may lend some sympathy to the allied cause while Russia and China try to counterbalance by backing the other party to the conflict.

The story of the Syrian dilema calls to question the consience of the civilized world. Everyday, Syrians wake up to the thought of an endless conflict, there’s a school of thought that the Syrian regime is weakening. Assassinations of some of the core members of the governing inner circle and occasional bombings of government safe points may lend some credence but that does not dispel the fact that countless Syrians are suffering from the pangs of an endless conflict. It is a tug of war with no foreseeable end: despite temporary gains made by the government and the opposition in different parts of the country, neither side can deliver a knockout blow.

The sooner the United Nations heavy weights realize this, the better. Ideologies should be put aside for the common good of the Syrian people. The failure and frustration of Kofi Annan must not be repeated in Lahkdar Brahimi!.