Most of you know where I stand regarding the United Nations. I worked the UN beat for a couple of years as a journalist, during which time, I came to realize how corrupt and ineffectual the organization is as a whole.
UN staffers routinely party through the entire night before major presentations on a variety of topics, showing up hung over and appearing embarrassingly inept. Votes are essentially bought and sold as commodities and the Human Rights Council is . . . well . . . anything but a Human Rights Council.
Elections were held today for the international body’s HRC. I’d be willing to bet you’re all wondering who was elected. Here’s just a taste:
China
Cuba
Saudi Arabia
Russia
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – it’s time to shutter the United Nations much like its predecessor, the League of Nations. A new world body needs to be formed, the goals of which should somehow entertain at least the “idea” of human rights.
Read more here.
I fear no world body will ever work. A bilateral agreement between nations has some chance as the contracting parties will limit themselves to areas where conflict won’t occur. Add a third nation and the limits are more difficult. A fourth compounds the problem and each one thereafter reduces the possibilities. Under threat, some multilateral treaties may be cobbled together. NATO worked as long as the Soviets were an obvious threat. With the collapse of the USSR, NATO has lost its spirit and is simply a debating society where the Europeans can try to influence the United States. Even natural allies, as in NATO, cannot overcome the tendency to splinter when things are not grim.
Another problem is enforcement. No sovereign nation is going to accept multinational enforcement unless the only alternative is chaos. Even then it might not. I don’t think the US should consider any organization with enforcement powers and if it doesn’t have them, what use is it?
A world body is a utopian dream that has proved to be unworkable in any form. Let the pipe dream die.