On this day in 1945, the world united for peace. Or at least that was the intention.
The United Nations (UN) was founded as the successor to the League of Nations as a global organization aimed at maintaining international peace and security.
In the aftermath of the second World War and the horrors of the holocaust, combined with the brutality committed by colonial powers, there was a global desire for a platform to prevent future conflicts.
As a response to that desire, the UN was officially established on October 24, 1945, when its Charter was ratified.
The original signatories include the 51 founding countries. The core missions of the UN include peacekeeping, promoting human rights, fostering international cooperation, and solving global issues like hunger, poverty, and climate change.
In that regards, the UN has conducted many successful peacekeeping missions in various countries around the world and has also majorly assisted in disaster relief, education, and healthcare. It has also played a huge role in preserving many sites of cultural and archeological importance for future generations.
Apart from this, the UN also provides a platform for fostering diplomacy and international collaboration. It also helps resolve any major disputes.
However, in recent years the United Nations has began to lose its relevance. This is due to contradictions in the way they approach countries from the western bloc and the countries of the ‘Global South’.
For example, the Permanent members of the UN still consist of USA, UK, France, Russia, and China. This is despite the progress made by countries like India, Germany, Japan, and Brazil and their growing stature in the world stage.
Another factor has been the UN’s unwillingness to prevent conflicts that benefit the USA, like the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Palestine war. This is not new and the UN has turned a blind eye to conflicts in the past including the invasion of Iraq and other wars.
In India’s case, the UN represents a missed opportunity. Despite India contributing a major chunk of forces for peacekeeping as well as being recognized as a leader of the global south, she is no closer to gaining a permanent seat. This after being the fifth largest by nominal GDP and representing 1/6th of the global population.
This is mostly due to the blunders committed by Indian leaders during 1947-71 which led to growing irrelevance on the international stage despite being handed a leadership role in 1947. India famously rejected a permanent membership and instead favored China. What a disaster.
Thankfully, India has made a lot of progress post 1991 with the growth of the economy and has gained back its global stature. India is arguably more influential in 2024 than she was in the 1950’s. The country is a prominent member of the G20 as well as one of the founding members of the BRICS+ along with China, Russia, and Brazil.
The rise of BRICS in particular raises questions for the UN. By failing to reform itself, it faces the real threat of fading into irrelevance with the countries of the Global South rallying against the bullying tactics of the western bloc and the dominance of the dollar.
In a rapidly changing world, the UN has to answer two questions?
- Are they a global body or just another arm of the US, EU, and Nato?
- Will they work with BRICS+ to mutually benefit humanity?
From India’s perspective, she looks to keep friendships with everyone and leverage her massive human capital. However, with the US turning out to be an unreliable ally, it looks like they might have just pushed India and China to reconcile. India will still maintain good relations with the western bloc and BRICS countries while building her economy and strength.
From the UN’s perspective, if it doesn’t reform itself within the next decade, it faces the same fate as the League of Nations.
