More than a year has passed and the United Nations has failed to stop the Palestinian genocide by Israel. Tel Aviv launched war on Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, breaking all its previous records of war crimes. Israel has extended its military operations across the region by launching strikes in Yemen, Syria, and Iran, and now focusing on a ground invasion of southern Lebanon which has created concerns about the possibility of a broader conflict engulfing the Middle East, raising fears of a widespread war.
In the process, new-born babies, children, women and men are being slaughtered. Israel has killed over 43,000 people and over 101,000 people wounded by in Gaza so far. However, the world, especially the UN which was created to safeguard human rights, has been ineffective in taking action against the Israeli brutalities. In fact, the UN has failed to fulfill the promise of preventing military conflicts in the world following the footsteps of its predecessor, the League of Nations.
The dream of Woodrow Wilson to preserve global peace through the League of Nations failed with the outbreak of World War II.
The League of Nations, established in 1919 after the end of World War I, was meant to stop the bloodbath caused by the wars in the world to save precious human lives. But its failure led to World War II which resulted in unprecedented destruction in every sphere of life.
After the end of World War I, the League of Nations was heralded as a beacon of hope for the peace and security. However, its structural limitations did not help preventing future armed conflicts for which it was created. The dream of Woodrow Wilson to preserve global peace through the League of Nations failed with the outbreak of World War II. Millions of people were killed and countless cities were destroyed.
Due to its utter failure, the League of Nations was finally dissolved after the war and the United Nations, its successor came into being, taking the responsibility of protecting the world from wars. The UN vowed to resolve the international disputes peacefully to prevent the globe from another world war. It was heralded as ‘an instrument for keeping the future world free of war’. But even after 79 years of its formation, World War III is practically knocking on the doorstep after the unceasing conflicts of Palestine, Ukraine, South China Sea, Kashmir and others, in which major powers of the world are involved directly or indirectly.
It has been 79 years since the creation of the United Nations but its role has been indistinguishable from its predecessor. Shortly after its creation, the UN failed to settle various disputes like Palestine and Kashmir. It also couldn’t prevent armed conflicts including Korean war, Arab-Israeli wars, Vietnam, USSR and US invasions of Afghanistan, Gulf wars, Indo-Pak wars and Iran-Iraq war as well as the civil wars in Yemen, Syria, Libya and other places. The UN didn’t do anything to punish the US for invading Iraq which it termed an illegal attack, showing how powerless the world body is.
The United Nations was not even successful in preventing the deadliest episode of bloodshed on European soil till then after WWII when Bosnian Muslims were slaughtered leading to the Srebrenica genocide in the Bosnian War (1992-1995). The UN failed to safeguard Srebrenica, a declared safe zone area. Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council assisted Serbs in the massacre of Bosnians. It would not have happened if the UN hadn’t ignored the requests for help from the Bosnians. The notion of collective security was torn apart by the permanent members of the Security Council as they did nothing meaningful to stop the genocide.
The veto power has made the UN powerless, as only the Security Council can authorize intervention to halt a conflict.
As far as the reasons behind the UN failure are concerned, these similar to that of its predecessor. Major powers were involved directly or indirectly in these wars and they prevented the UN from taking any action by using veto power, a special power possessed by the Security Council permanent members in the decision-making, also known as P5. As the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France pursue their own political, ideological, and economic interests, obstacles are created in the UN to working. Consequently, the UN faces a deadlock on how to take any concrete action for ending hostilities.
The veto power has made the UN powerless, as only the Security Council can authorize intervention to halt a conflict by putting sanctions or by sending a force comprising the UN members states. For instance, the US has been using its veto power to cover the Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The US has vetoed several UN resolutions calling to end the war in Gaza, but a single P5 member can decide if the UN should act against war crimes or not. The US even hosted and applauded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against whom the International Criminal Court is mulling over issuing arrest warrant.
Meanwhile, the UN also faces a dilemma similar to that of its predecessor – lacking a standing military force of its own that can be used to hold back the aggressor. As a result, it is helpless and cannot intervene in military conflicts. Hence, the hostile parties backed by the major powers easily undermine UN efforts to create peace. In the presence of the UN, Israel would not have continued to slaughter the Palestinians even after more than 12 months of the war.
The UN has become so ineffective that even the words of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have fallen on deaf ears. He repeatedly condemned Israel’s actions for killing Palestinian civilians on a ‘scale unprecedented’, but instead Israel declared Guterres as “persona non grata” and barred him from entering the country. It is because of the unconditional support extended by Washington as the Israeli lobby in the US is helping Israel to do whatever it wants.
The veto power has made the UN powerless, as only the Security Council can authorize intervention to halt a conflict.
In short, the UN cannot become an effective organization without addressing its structural flaws, otherwise, its fate might not be different from its predecessor. To address these issues, the UN needs a military force of its own and the Security Council reforms. The fact of the matter is that the P5 states will continue exploiting their veto power to pursue their interests. As neorealism prevails in international relations, there is no way the UN with its present structure can succeed in preventing military conflicts. This is the reason why the League of Nations failed in the previous century and the UN is failing presently to prevent military conflicts.
Israel is now expanding the ongoing war to the entire region after turning Gaza into ruins. Netanyahu has warned Lebanon could face destruction like Gaza. Meanwhile, Iran, a key regional player, has taken an active stance, signaling that it will not remain silent as its allies come under attack. The retaliation of Iran on October 1 by launching nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel resulted with counter-retaliatory attacks on October 26 by Israel on Iran, showing that a broader war awaits the Middle East region.
The UN must take urgent, preemptive action to halt this escalating crisis, as the conflict threatens to spread beyond the Middle East, potentially also affecting South Asia. The Security Council permanent members, especially the US, must show responsibility and act accordingly to cease this escalation. The Security Council should work together to reach a decision that can stop the Israeli war in the region. On the other hand, the international community must work collectively for an immediate ceasefire and initiate a decisive approach towards the two-state solution by which the root cause of the Israeli-Palestine conflict can be tackled.
The writer has a degree in International Relations and is a digital investigative journalist by profession. He can be reached at @BINYAMEEN666 on X.