United Nations
Why UNSC member states need to give up their Veto Powers.
In this post, I would like to talk about how the United Nations has failed severally and repeatedly to stop different conflicts around the world and how the Veto power of some Member States is killing the organization’s productivity.
I started blogging actively in Dec 2013 and I did so throughout 2014. I’ve been blogging about Human Rights, Humanitarian issues around the world, social injustice and the influence of politics on the kind of life people have around the world. For the time I’ve been blogging, due to my undying will to find out what’s really happening and get the accurate facts, I have keenly followed so many human rights stories and humanitarian situations around the world; Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, Cambodia, Mali…just name the country and you’ll most likely find that I’ve written something about the situation in it.
Trust me, I’ve been constantly overwhelmed by the amount of evil a and injustice I have seen around the world, most recently the ISLAMIC STATE medieval style executions, kidnappings and brutal rape. A story currently making headlines is how the group kidnapped about 90 Christians in Iraq, shortly after beheading several others in Lybia.
2014 was indeed a catastrophic year for human rights and world peace and we are experiencing a spill over into 2015.
As said by Amnesty International, 2014 was characterized by:
• World leaders failing to protect civilians from groups like ISIL.
• Arms trade approaching $100bn annually
• Number of displaced globally highest since WWII (50million)
How does the United Nations come in?
The fundamental aim for the establishment of the UN is to ensure world peace and foster unity and cooperation amongst world nations.
However, with the way the world is presently boiling over with multiple crises to which the UN either says it is overwhelmed by or lacks the capacity to deal with, it won’t be wrong to conclude that the UN is failing in its primary assignment.
The UN could have stopped many of these present conflict from reaching catastrophic levels but it was either to slow to react or initially underestimated or overlooked the conflict in favour of supposed ‘more pressing ones’ or approached the conflict initially with a faulty strategy.
Another important factor that is killing the efficiency of the United Nations is the Veto Power which 5 member states of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) enjoy. The five permanent UNSC members- Britain, China,
France, Russia and the US – have consistently abused their veto right to promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above the interest of protecting civilians and humanity.
An example is seen in China’s continued blockage of sanctions against North Korea whose citizens are suffering under extreme repression and autocratic rule and where the human rights situation is highly despicable.
I can go on citing examples of how these ‘untouchable’ super powers on the Security Council keep manipulating decisions to suit them in cases where they are involved, and the result?
Injustice prevails, the so-called big countries even bully smaller ones, the countries with the Veto Powers or other big spending countries direct attention and resources to where they want and not necessarily where they are actually needed, the big countries support their allies even if they are guilty of human rights abuse, repression and even genocide. This is gradually killing humanity, and all these just to serve a country’s self interest? This is highly despicable.
The Veto-powers should be largely dropped in order to allow effective and non biased actions and decisions at the UN, especially in cases involving human rights abuses, repression and genocide. No country, no matter how big should have the power to obstruct justice!!!
Written by Olisa Lotenna
Photos: Nigerian Refugees await registration in Chad
It is saddening to see innocent people, particularly young women and children suffer from the evil acts of some devilish group.
Nigeria is actually not in a state of war but the steady actions of the radical Boko Haram, most recently the Baga Attack, has continued to produce thousands of refugees and internally displaced people. The fact that ‘Nigeria is not Syria’ is actually causing a kind of neglect to the plight of these displaced people go through.
The hardship of loosing their homes, livelihood and possessions is too much too bear and they are really suffering, depending solely on charity for their daily meals.
I fear that if the Nigerian situation goes unchecked, a refugee crises might be on the way. It is time for the UN and Nigerian Government to act in synchronization to save lives.
#ActNow #ActFast
Written By Olisa Lotenna
The United Nations has failed severally to prevent crises around the world
Sometimes, when I read about all the crises and conflicts happening around the world, from ISIS brutality in Iraq to Syria’s deadly civil war which has now gone on for 3 years, from the crises in Ukraine to the deaths of many civilians in the Israel-Palestine conflict and the killings and unrest in D.R.C, I wonder, “Where is the United Nations? What are they doing about this and What is their role in these various crises? Why does it look like they’re insignificant or powerless? Why do they watch and allow all these deadly crises develop and spin out of control before responding?”
I know I’m asking a lot of questions but fortunately for me, Navi Pillay, the outgoing United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner provided some answers to them when she criticized the UN General security council during her last speech. She sharply criticized the Council for allowing many conflicts to degenerate because members constantly put National interests ahead of stopping these crimes and preventing mass atrocities. She further added that the UN Security Council lacks the resolve for saving lives and stopping crimes. I strongly support her and I can site a very good example of China using their veto power on the council to block sanctions against their close ally, North Korea after reports of severe human rights violation were investigated in North Korea. That’s just one of many examples of countries preventing the right things from being done just because of their selfish gains, just as sharp divisions between veto holders, U.S and Russia has thwarted actions on Syria and Ukraine. I find it very sad that short term geopolitical gains and national interests are allowed to overshadow important issues like human rights violations, mass atrocities and killings during decision making in the UN. This unfortunate trend has done so much to paralyze the effectiveness of the organizations. So, things keep going wrong which leave us wondering where the UN is.
Navi Pillay also criticized the UN General Council for its ineffectiveness in Syria and cited other examples of crises in Afghanistan, the Central African
Republic, Congo, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza. Obviously, none of these crises erupted without warning but how come none of them where prevented by the UN? The answer is obvious; each country is too busy fighting for its own interests rather than joining to prevent mass atrocities and ensure international peace.
If the United Nations continues like this, then sooner or later, we will all realize that the main objective for the existence of the UN which is to ensure international peace and cooperation among nations has been defeated.
Syria: It’s time for UN to take action!
Many observers of the civil war in Syria have lost faith in the UN or international community to put an end to ths fighting and blood shed. However, when we consider the humanitarian catastrophe that the war has generated, we see that there is something the United Nations (UN) can and should do.
The major problem that aid and humanitarian organizations face in Syria is the inability to get aid to the civilians who are in dire need of it.
United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has demanded the Security Council
respond to “flagrant violations of international law”, claiming that warring parties in Syria were breaching a resolution to provide aid access to help millions of people.
He said: “None of the parties to the conflict have adhered to the demands of the Council. The Security Council must take action to deal with these flagrant violations of the basic principles of international law, ”
The resolution which was unanimously passed in February, stated that, “all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities should promptly allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for UN humanitarian
agencies and their implementing partners, including across conflict lines and across borders” .
Obviously, this resolution has not been implemented, as many aid organizations still decry the inability to reach and help victims.
Thousands of people, including children, the sick and injured and the elderly are not getting the medical care, including life-saving medicines, that they so desperately need.
International diplomacy may have failed to put an end to the war and sending troops into Syria or any other form of military aggression is presently not being considered, no one can tell when the war will be over. Especially, since Assad’s government has maintained that there will be presidential elections in June; elections which he is most likely to win. The least that can be done is to ensure at all cost that the innocent people displaced inside Syria get all the humanitarian assistance that they require.
South Sudan: Massacre of civilians, Rebels deny the killings.
People fleeing violence in Bentiu, the capital of Unity state, South Sudan, arriving at UNMISS base on 15 April 2014 to seek shelter. © UNMISS
It seems like the grim situation in South Sudan isnt getting better anytime soon. Coming few days after the killing of Internally displaced persons at the UN compound in Bor, South Sudan, the former vice president and leader of the rebels, Reik Machar has denied that his side took any part in the massacre of hundreds of people in the contested town of Bentiu.
The United Nations has accused them of killing more than 200 people in one mosque alone when they re-captured the town last week after a battle with government forces. Toby Lanzer, the UN’s top humanitarian official in South Sudan, said in Twitter posts late on Sunday that there were shocking scenes of atrocities, with “bodies of people executed” lying in the streets of Bentiu.
Former Vice President Machar, who was dismissed from office by President Salva Kiir in July 2013, told the new organization, Al Jazeera on Tuesday that his rebels would not kill their own people.
Thousands of people in South Sudan have been killed in violence and more than 1 million people have been forced to leave their homes since December when troops loyal to President Kiir and those loyal to Machar began to fight along ethnic lines.
Since the rebels have denied the gruesome massacre, the pertinent question therefore is; who perpetrated this atrocity? The international community should really look into these matters because they actually constitute war crimes. If the UN maintains that the rebels actually committed the massacre, immediate steps should be taken to prevent these repeated deaths of innocent civilians. It is never enough to just speak against or condemn these attacks. The level of violence and human rights violation in South Sudan is actually alarming and I fear a humanitarian condition if the violence further escalates.
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