WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.080 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today, we're tackling, 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:08.000 well, a true giant of a topic, one of these massive, 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:11.019 sprawling subjects that we try to make sense 00:00:11.019 --> 00:00:13.539 of. We're talking about the United Nations. It 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:17.980 really is the foundational effort of modern international 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:20.559 governance. You have this organization that's 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:23.000 tasked with, I mean, nothing less than keeping 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:26.410 global peace. Right. Global peace. security, 00:00:26.469 --> 00:00:29.489 human rights. And it has to do that across 193 00:00:29.489 --> 00:00:31.969 member states. So for most people, it's just 00:00:31.969 --> 00:00:34.469 this vast, complex thing that's kind of operating 00:00:34.469 --> 00:00:36.570 in the shadows. Yeah. And it's hard to get a 00:00:36.570 --> 00:00:39.380 clear view. Is it this brilliant success story 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:42.719 or is it just this inevitable bureaucracy that's 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.340 always on the verge of paralysis? So that's really 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:46.799 the heart of our mission for this deep dive. 00:00:46.939 --> 00:00:48.920 We're going to unpack that origin story. We'll 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:51.619 dissect the inner machinery of it all. Because 00:00:51.619 --> 00:00:53.560 the names of the different organs really do matter. 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:55.600 They really do. And then we have to critically 00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:58.539 assess where it succeeded, where it has failed, 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:02.659 sometimes catastrophically, and crucially, the 00:01:02.659 --> 00:01:04.540 immediate existential challenges it's facing 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:07.060 right now. And when we talk about that mission, 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:09.159 we're really talking about the UN Charter. It 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:13.879 was signed back on June 26, 1945, and it came 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:16.340 into force that October. And the mission statement 00:01:16.340 --> 00:01:19.019 itself is just so comprehensive. Oh, it is. It's 00:01:19.019 --> 00:01:21.680 maintaining international peace and security, 00:01:22.019 --> 00:01:25.040 developing friendly relations, promoting cooperation 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:28.120 on global problems. And sort of being the center 00:01:28.120 --> 00:01:30.079 for harmonizing what all these different countries 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:32.739 are doing. Exactly. And the scale is just, it's 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:36.239 immense. You said it, 193. member states. That's 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:38.959 basically every sovereign state on Earth. Plus 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:41.519 two observer states, the Holy See and Palestine, 00:01:41.739 --> 00:01:43.700 who, you know, they participate in the global 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:45.739 conversation. Right. And what's fascinating to 00:01:45.739 --> 00:01:48.239 me is the physical presence. The headquarters 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:50.299 is in New York City, but it's in this international 00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:53.079 zone. Which is such a key detail. That little 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:55.620 patch of land is technically international territory, 00:01:55.859 --> 00:01:58.000 which is absolutely essential for diplomatic 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.519 neutrality. But it's not all in New York. The 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:03.099 organization is really decentralized. It is, 00:02:03.180 --> 00:02:06.140 yeah. You've got major offices in Geneva, Nairobi, 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:08.300 Vienna, and The Hague. That's where the World 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:09.919 Court is, right? The International Court of Justice. 00:02:10.180 --> 00:02:13.000 It's the only main organ not in New York. That's 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:15.099 the one. And, you know, for anyone who works 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:17.099 in this field, it's worth noting the six official 00:02:17.099 --> 00:02:19.680 languages. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:23.379 Russian. And those languages, I mean, they're 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:26.740 a direct reflection of the organization's original 00:02:26.740 --> 00:02:29.680 power structure and its global reach. You mentioned 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:32.740 neutrality. And that's guarded by a really crucial 00:02:32.740 --> 00:02:36.159 diplomatic tool. It is. The U .N. and all its 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:39.259 agencies, they're granted immunity from the laws 00:02:39.259 --> 00:02:42.319 of the host countries where they operate. It's 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:44.500 all based on this convention on privileges and 00:02:44.500 --> 00:02:47.039 immunities. Without it, they couldn't operate 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:49.539 freely in politically sensitive areas. They just 00:02:49.539 --> 00:02:53.560 risk local interference constantly. So our goal 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:56.180 today. is to give you clarity on this entire 00:02:56.180 --> 00:02:58.460 system. We're going to trace it all the way back 00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:00.500 to the failure of its predecessor. The League 00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:03.280 of Nations. Exactly. Then walk through the power 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:05.199 mechanics of the Security Council versus the 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:08.659 General Assembly, highlight its monumental life 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:11.419 -saving achievements. And there are many. But 00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:15.400 then we have to zero in on the really scathing 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:18.860 criticisms and this profound financial crisis 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:21.159 that, I mean, it threatens its very survival 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:23.740 today. Let's do it. OK, so let's unpack this 00:03:23.740 --> 00:03:25.639 journey because the U .N. didn't just appear 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:28.400 out of nowhere. It was, like you said, built 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:31.379 from the ashes of a colossal failure. The League 00:03:31.379 --> 00:03:33.900 of Nations. That is the critical starting point. 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:37.219 The League was, you know, the first. serious, 00:03:37.219 --> 00:03:40.439 large scale attempt at a global body for collective 00:03:40.439 --> 00:03:42.520 security. And this is right after World War One. 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:45.199 Exactly. Formerly set up on January 10th, 1920. 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:48.580 And it was championed really passionately by 00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:51.120 U .S. President Woodrow Wilson. He saw it as 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:53.180 the ultimate way to prevent another world war. 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:55.259 But the deep irony, of course, is that the U 00:03:55.259 --> 00:03:57.560 .S. never even joined. Never joined. The U .S. 00:03:57.580 --> 00:03:59.780 Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. 00:03:59.860 --> 00:04:02.020 So the very country that helped create it was 00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:04.319 never a member. And that, combined with its other 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:06.860 weaknesses, just created these fatal flaws that 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:09.240 became so obvious in the 1930s. Right, when the 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:12.120 world needed it most. Yeah. Absolutely. The League 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:14.960 just lacked any real enforcement power. It relied 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:18.360 completely on... voluntary collective security 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:21.379 and moral persuasion. Which doesn't work so well 00:04:21.379 --> 00:04:23.740 against aggressive totalitarian states. Proved 00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:26.939 totally useless. I mean, take the 1933 Japanese 00:04:26.939 --> 00:04:29.939 invasion of Manchuria. The League did what it 00:04:29.939 --> 00:04:33.860 could do procedurally. 40 nations voted for Japan 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:36.279 to withdraw. And Japan's response? Their response 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:38.879 was to just veto the action and walk out of the 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:41.879 League. That was it. The organization had no 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:44.240 way to compel them to do anything. And the failure 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:47.779 with Italy's invasion of Ethiopia was, I mean, 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.120 arguably even more humiliating. It was devastating. 00:04:50.139 --> 00:04:54.120 This was 1936. Italy, under Mussolini, invades 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:56.459 Ethiopia. And Emperor Haile Selassie personally 00:04:56.459 --> 00:04:59.459 travels to Geneva. He appeals to the League for 00:04:59.459 --> 00:05:01.540 help. And he gave that famous speech. That famous 00:05:01.540 --> 00:05:03.519 speech where he told the delegates, it is us 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:05.379 today, it will be you tomorrow, and the League. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:08.120 They passed some minor ineffective sanctions. 00:05:08.339 --> 00:05:09.720 But didn't enforce them. They didn't enforce 00:05:09.720 --> 00:05:11.800 them seriously. They were afraid of a wider war. 00:05:11.939 --> 00:05:14.279 So Italy, sensing that, just walked out of the 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:17.019 League, too. So by 1939, when World War II breaks 00:05:17.019 --> 00:05:20.899 out, the League is effectively dead. And the 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:23.459 architects of the UN, they knew that this new 00:05:23.459 --> 00:05:26.000 organization, it had to have real teeth. It couldn't 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.449 just rely on goodwill. And they started planning 00:05:28.449 --> 00:05:31.050 fast, even before the U .S. was officially in 00:05:31.050 --> 00:05:33.889 World War II. Early concepts pop up in 1941. 00:05:33.970 --> 00:05:36.009 Right. The Declaration of St. James's Palace, 00:05:36.149 --> 00:05:38.110 the Atlantic Charter. Yes, with Roosevelt and 00:05:38.110 --> 00:05:40.889 Churchill. These documents were setting the moral 00:05:40.889 --> 00:05:43.370 goals for the post -war world. You know, free 00:05:43.370 --> 00:05:46.350 trade, self -determination, a better security 00:05:46.350 --> 00:05:49.420 system. And here's a fun detail. The actual name, 00:05:49.620 --> 00:05:52.139 United Nations, was coined by Franklin Roosevelt. 00:05:52.339 --> 00:05:55.240 It was. He used it to describe the allied countries 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:58.019 fighting the Axis. Churchill accepted it, but 00:05:58.019 --> 00:06:00.540 he pointed out that Lord Byron had actually used 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:03.240 the term in poetry centuries earlier. That's 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:05.240 fascinating. And that name, it quickly became 00:06:05.240 --> 00:06:07.360 a political concept centered on the big four. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:10.220 The US, the UK, the Soviet Union, and China. 00:06:10.699 --> 00:06:12.600 They were going to be the central pillars of 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:15.220 this new system. And they formalized that with 00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:17.339 the Declaration by United Nations in January 00:06:17.339 --> 00:06:20.199 1942. And that set a condition for joining, right? 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:22.699 It did. To join the alliance, you had to sign 00:06:22.699 --> 00:06:25.639 this declaration and declare war on the Axis. 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:28.379 It was a wartime coalition, first and foremost. 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:30.639 So they were building the structure of the post 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.620 -war world during the war. The great powers were 00:06:33.620 --> 00:06:36.040 already divvying up their future roles. Exactly 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:38.480 right. The formal structuring happened over a 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:41.519 few key conferences. First was the Moscow Conference 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:44.319 in 43. That was the first public announcement 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:46.920 that a new organization would replace the League. 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:49.720 And then Dumbarton Oaks. Dumbarton Oaks in 1944. 00:06:50.259 --> 00:06:52.699 That's where the big four basically mapped out 00:06:52.699 --> 00:06:54.899 the whole thing. They agreed on the structure, 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:57.720 the function, the Security Council, the General 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:00.300 Assembly. Which all culminated in the big conference 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:03.720 in San Francisco in April 1945. Yeah, the UN 00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:06.120 Conference on International Organization. You 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:08.699 had representatives from 50 nations show up. 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:11.120 And this was complex. Because the big four had 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:13.079 the blueprint, but they needed everyone else 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:15.300 to buy in. They needed buy in from all the smaller 00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:17.399 nations. So that's where the U .N. charter was 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:20.439 drafted and finally signed on June 26, 1945. 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:23.480 And Poland was added later, bringing the original 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:27.579 total to 51 founding members. The U .N. officially 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:32.199 came into existence on October 24, 1945. Once 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:34.740 the charter was ratified by the five permanent 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:36.899 members, and a majority of the other nations. 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:38.800 And they didn't ease into it. They hit the ground 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:41.800 running. They had to. The first General Assembly 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:44.000 and Security Council meetings were in London 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:47.779 in January 1946. And right away, they're tackling 00:07:47.779 --> 00:07:50.600 these incredibly tense pre -Cold War issues. 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:53.100 Like Russian troops in Iran and British forces 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:55.579 in Greece. Exactly. The very first moments of 00:07:55.579 --> 00:07:57.839 the UN were spent trying to mediate the exact 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:00.740 conflicts it was designed to prevent. Okay, so 00:08:00.740 --> 00:08:02.620 now we get to the structure. This is where the 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:04.399 complexity starts, but it's also... where you 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:07.279 can see the political reality of the world order 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:10.060 just baked right into the system. It's a huge, 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:12.620 sprawling system. The Charter established five 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:14.819 main active organs. You've got the General Assembly, 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:18.779 the Security Council, ECOSUS, the ICJ, and the 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:20.980 Secretariat. Plus the Trusteeship Council, which 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:24.019 is now inactive. Right. It did its job on decolonization 00:08:24.019 --> 00:08:27.560 and suspended operations in 1994. So let's start 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:29.120 with the first one, the most democratic -sounding 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:32.090 one. The General Assembly, the GA. You can think 00:08:32.090 --> 00:08:34.289 of it as the global town hall. It's the main 00:08:34.289 --> 00:08:38.509 deliberative body. All 193 member states are 00:08:38.509 --> 00:08:43.190 in it. And here's the key democratic idea. Each 00:08:43.190 --> 00:08:46.909 state gets one vote. One single vote. So on paper, 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:50.549 a tiny island nation has the same voting power 00:08:50.549 --> 00:08:53.850 as the United States. On paper, yes. It's pure 00:08:53.850 --> 00:08:56.149 democracy in that sense. On paper, yes. It's 00:08:56.149 --> 00:08:59.009 pure democracy in that sense. But... How powerful 00:08:59.009 --> 00:09:00.990 are those votes, really, if they're just recommendations? 00:09:01.470 --> 00:09:03.990 And that's the absolute crux of the GA's power 00:09:03.990 --> 00:09:06.129 dilemma. Now, decisions on really big questions, 00:09:06.350 --> 00:09:08.809 peace and security, new members, and most critically, 00:09:08.889 --> 00:09:11.129 the budget, those require a two -thirds majority. 00:09:11.509 --> 00:09:14.509 And this is the vital caveat. Outside of its 00:09:14.509 --> 00:09:16.970 own budget and internal operations, the resolutions 00:09:16.970 --> 00:09:19.429 passed by the General Assembly are non -binding. 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:21.730 They are recommendations. So they represent the 00:09:21.730 --> 00:09:23.809 moral weight of the world, but they don't carry 00:09:23.809 --> 00:09:25.889 any legal obligation. Precisely. They represent 00:09:25.889 --> 00:09:28.059 a global consensus. So if they aren't, legally 00:09:28.059 --> 00:09:30.580 binding, why do the great powers still care so 00:09:30.580 --> 00:09:32.620 much about what happens in the G .A.? Because 00:09:32.620 --> 00:09:35.940 of that moral weight and the legitimacy it confers, 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:39.299 a resolution that passes with, you know, 180 00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:43.559 votes that sends a powerful signal. It forces 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:46.059 powerful states to explain themselves on the 00:09:46.059 --> 00:09:48.600 world stage. And you mentioned the budget. The 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:51.779 G .A. holds the purse strings. The ultimate power. 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:55.000 That's right. OK, so. How does the actual work 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:57.559 get done in this massive body? It can't just 00:09:57.559 --> 00:10:00.620 be 193 countries shouting in a room. No, it's 00:10:00.620 --> 00:10:02.940 all done through a very specific committee structure. 00:10:03.299 --> 00:10:05.480 Draft resolutions get sent through one of six 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:08.080 main committees. For example? Well, the first 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:09.940 committee deals with disarmament and international 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:12.759 security. The fourth committee is on decolonization. 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:16.220 The sixth handles legal matters. You said the 00:10:16.220 --> 00:10:18.539 real institutional power is in the budget. Yes. 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:20.879 So you have to look at the fifth committee. administrative 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:23.559 and budgetary issues. This is where the power 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:26.179 dynamic really shifts. Because while the GA's 00:10:26.179 --> 00:10:28.320 political resolutions might be non -binding, 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:30.519 the decisions made by the Fifth Committee on 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:33.399 the budget, on the staffing, on how much each 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:36.000 country pays, those are absolutely binding on 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:39.279 all member states. Ah, so the smaller and developing 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:42.240 nations who have a majority in the GA can use 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:44.779 the budget to exert real control. That's exactly 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:47.220 it. They can control the UN's physical capacity 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:49.759 and its priorities through the administrative 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:52.799 minutia. Okay, so if the General Assembly is 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:55.259 the town hall, we have to talk about the enforcement 00:10:55.259 --> 00:10:59.039 room, the body with the actual teeth, the Security 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:01.549 Council. This is a completely different animal. 00:11:01.710 --> 00:11:05.110 It reflects the military power of 1945, not the 00:11:05.110 --> 00:11:07.730 demographics of today. The Security Council is 00:11:07.730 --> 00:11:10.389 the UN's enforcer. The only body that can make 00:11:10.389 --> 00:11:13.789 legally binding decisions. The only one. Its 00:11:13.789 --> 00:11:16.129 resolutions on international peace and security 00:11:16.129 --> 00:11:19.629 are legally binding on all member states. That's 00:11:19.629 --> 00:11:22.409 under Article 25 of the Charter. And that mandatory 00:11:22.409 --> 00:11:25.590 power is what separates the UN from the old League 00:11:25.590 --> 00:11:28.149 of Nations. And its composition is just the clearest 00:11:28.149 --> 00:11:30.450 possible snapshot of who won World War II. It 00:11:30.450 --> 00:11:33.029 is. It has 15 members. Five of them are the permanent 00:11:33.029 --> 00:11:36.570 members, the P5. China, France, Russia, the UK, 00:11:36.730 --> 00:11:38.909 and the United States. And they hold the famous 00:11:38.909 --> 00:11:41.659 veto power, meaning... Any single one of them 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:43.740 can block any substantive resolution no matter 00:11:43.740 --> 00:11:46.259 what the other 14 members want. And that veto 00:11:46.259 --> 00:11:49.299 is the single most criticized part of the entire 00:11:49.299 --> 00:11:52.019 structure. How can the U .N. claim to promote 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:56.019 stability when five nations can just unilaterally 00:11:56.019 --> 00:12:00.500 block action on, say, a humanitarian crisis? 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:02.460 This is where you have to switch from thinking 00:12:02.460 --> 00:12:04.779 about idealism to thinking about real politic. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:08.580 The veto isn't designed to be democratic. It's 00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:11.299 designed to ensure the U .N.'s survival. How 00:12:11.299 --> 00:12:13.120 does it do that? The people who wrote the charter, 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:15.799 they remembered the league collapsing when major 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:18.519 powers just walked out. They knew this new system 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:20.799 had to keep all the great powers inside the tent. 00:12:21.019 --> 00:12:22.779 The veto is the price of their participation. 00:12:22.860 --> 00:12:25.659 It's the guarantee that says we will allow the 00:12:25.659 --> 00:12:28.200 U .N. to function, but never against our own 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:31.139 vital national interests. So it prevents the 00:12:31.139 --> 00:12:33.419 U .N. from becoming a tool of one power block 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:36.279 against another. But the cost is often paralysis. 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:38.379 That is the tradeoff. Exactly. What about the 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:40.639 other 10 members? The other 10 are non -permanent 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.139 members. They serve two year terms and they're 00:12:43.139 --> 00:12:45.360 elected by the General Assembly on a regional 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.919 basis to provide, you know, some geographic representation. 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:50.600 But their influence is always limited by that 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:53.480 veto threat. Always. OK, moving from the decision 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:57.039 makers to the organizational backbone. Let's 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.840 talk about the engine room. The Secretariat. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.799 The Secretariat is the civil service of the UN. 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.779 It does all the essential day -to -day work needed 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:10.919 to run this massive global system. Tens of thousands 00:13:10.919 --> 00:13:13.279 of international staff. The people organizing 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:16.320 conferences, translating documents, writing reports 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:19.039 from the field. All of that. And the global face 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:21.460 of this entire system is the Secretary General, 00:13:21.620 --> 00:13:24.779 the SG. Currently, Antonio Guterres. And what 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:27.500 defines that role today? Is it just being the 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:29.750 chief administrator? Well, the charter defines 00:13:29.750 --> 00:13:33.110 the SG as the chief administrative officer, but 00:13:33.110 --> 00:13:35.350 the job has evolved dramatically. It's really 00:13:35.350 --> 00:13:38.269 a dual role now. Administrator, yes, but also 00:13:38.269 --> 00:13:41.389 a top tier diplomat and mediator in international 00:13:41.389 --> 00:13:43.950 disputes. And that comes from Article 99 of the 00:13:43.950 --> 00:13:45.549 charter, right? Yeah. The part that lets the 00:13:45.549 --> 00:13:47.669 SG bring threats to the Security Council's attention. 00:13:47.809 --> 00:13:49.549 That's the source of their independent political 00:13:49.549 --> 00:13:52.629 power. But it's an incredibly precarious position 00:13:52.629 --> 00:13:54.629 to be in. We've seen some historical examples 00:13:54.629 --> 00:13:57.860 of that pressure. We have. Trygve Lie of Norway, 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:00.600 the very first SG, was essentially forced out. 00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:02.960 The Soviet Union just refused to acknowledge 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:05.440 him anymore because he supported the U .N. action 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:07.559 in the Korean War. The Cold War pressure was 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:09.720 just too much. But on the other hand, you have 00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:12.039 figures who dramatically expanded the role. Oh, 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:15.080 yes. Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden, who served from 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:18.320 1953 until he tragically died in a plane crash 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:22.320 in 1961. He is the one who is often seen as defining 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:25.879 the modern proactive secretary general. The secular 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:29.899 monk. Yes. He pursued this quiet, intense diplomacy, 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:32.019 especially during the Suez Crisis and the Congo 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:35.100 Crisis. He was willing to personally insert himself 00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:37.700 into these disputes, and that elevated the role 00:14:37.700 --> 00:14:41.019 from just administration to high -stakes mediation. 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:42.759 Okay, from the administrative to the judicial. 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:45.000 Let's go to The Hague and talk about the International 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:48.019 Court of Justice, the World Court. The ICJ. It's 00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:50.460 the U .N.'s principal judicial organ. And as 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:52.379 you said, it's the only one of the six main organs 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:54.059 that's not in New York. It's in the Peace Palace 00:14:54.059 --> 00:14:56.659 in The Hague. And what kind of cases does it 00:14:56.659 --> 00:14:59.179 hear? What's its jurisdiction? Its main job is 00:14:59.179 --> 00:15:02.500 to adjudicate disputes between nations, not individuals, 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:05.700 not corporations. This can be anything from border 00:15:05.700 --> 00:15:08.539 disputes and treaty interpretations to allegations 00:15:08.539 --> 00:15:11.440 of state sponsored war crimes or genocide. And 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:14.779 are its rulings binding? They are, but, and it's 00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:16.919 a big but, only on the parties that have specifically 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:19.740 agreed to accept the court's jurisdiction on 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:22.200 that particular case. The court is made up of 00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:24.759 15 judges from different nations. Okay, we've 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:26.860 covered the political, administrative, and judicial 00:15:26.860 --> 00:15:29.179 branches. Now we have to look at this immense 00:15:29.179 --> 00:15:31.700 network that deals with global economic and social 00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:34.879 issues. And that starts with ECOSOC. The Economic 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:37.840 and Social Council, yes. This is the UN's largest 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:41.759 and... probably most complex body. Its job is 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:43.940 to promote international economic and social 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:46.639 cooperation. Think of it as the central nervous 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:49.399 system for all the UN's development work. It 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:51.960 gathers data, it makes recommendations, and critically, 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:55.080 it coordinates all those other agencies. It coordinates 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:58.080 that vast alphabet soup of global organizations. 00:15:58.539 --> 00:16:00.600 Let's try to clarify that alphabet soup because 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:02.870 it's confusing. There's a difference between 00:16:02.870 --> 00:16:06.389 the independent specialized agencies and the 00:16:06.389 --> 00:16:09.309 UN's own funds and programs. This is a really 00:16:09.309 --> 00:16:11.590 crucial distinction to understand how the UN 00:16:11.590 --> 00:16:15.009 actually works and spends money. ECOSOX is like 00:16:15.009 --> 00:16:17.610 the traffic controller. The specialized agencies 00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:19.990 like the World Bank, the IMF, the World Health 00:16:19.990 --> 00:16:23.649 Organization, the WHO, they are autonomous. So 00:16:23.649 --> 00:16:25.909 they existed separately. Many of them did, yes. 00:16:26.090 --> 00:16:28.149 They were set up by separate treaties. They have 00:16:28.149 --> 00:16:30.070 their own budgets, their own rules. But they 00:16:30.070 --> 00:16:32.610 agreed to coordinate their work with the UN through 00:16:32.610 --> 00:16:35.370 ECOSOC. And the funds and programs. Those are 00:16:35.370 --> 00:16:37.730 different. They were created by and are governed 00:16:37.730 --> 00:16:39.909 by the General Assembly. So you're talking about 00:16:39.909 --> 00:16:42.970 the UNDP, the Development Program, UNICEF, the 00:16:42.970 --> 00:16:45.789 Children's Fund, the WFP, the World Food Program. 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:49.120 UNHCR for refugees. And they are directly accountable 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:51.460 to the GA. Yes, but here's the critical part. 00:16:51.940 --> 00:16:55.059 They're funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions 00:16:55.059 --> 00:16:58.500 from member states, not the main UN budget. Which 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:00.440 makes them incredibly vital for humanitarian 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:03.539 work, but also really vulnerable to political 00:17:03.539 --> 00:17:06.579 pressure and funding shortfalls. Extremely vulnerable. 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:09.119 It must be a huge challenge to staff this entire 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:11.559 global system to make sure you're getting top 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:14.059 talent from everywhere without just hiring from 00:17:14.059 --> 00:17:16.480 the richest countries. That's managed by a governance 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:18.680 mechanism called the Nobel Mayor Principle. All 00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:21.500 the UN system organizations follow it. And what's 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:24.819 the goal of that principle? The goal is equal 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:28.259 pay for work of equal value, no matter your nationality. 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:30.700 It's essential for creating a truly international 00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:34.460 civil service. So how does it actually work for 00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:37.180 setting salaries? The principle basically says 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:39.380 that salaries have to be competitive enough to 00:17:39.380 --> 00:17:41.599 attract and retain citizens from the countries 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:44.660 where civil service pay is highest. Historically, 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:47.079 that's been the United States federal civil service. 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:50.160 So it ensures a professional workforce. But I 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:52.460 can see how critics would point to that as creating 00:17:52.460 --> 00:17:55.460 a kind of isolated, well -paid international 00:17:55.460 --> 00:17:58.079 elite. That is one of the complex implications. 00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:00.440 Yes. OK, let's move on to what the U .N. actually 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:02.980 does. The core work. We can break it down into 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:06.609 three big areas. Peace. rights and development. 00:18:06.950 --> 00:18:09.190 Let's start with peacekeeping. The blue helmets. 00:18:09.589 --> 00:18:11.630 Peacekeeping is one of the UN's most visible 00:18:11.630 --> 00:18:15.809 and most controversial security tools. It's important 00:18:15.809 --> 00:18:17.829 to remember the UN does not have a standing army. 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:21.940 These forces are voluntary contributions, troops, 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:24.279 police, military observers that member states 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:26.180 offer up, and they're deployed by the Security 00:18:26.180 --> 00:18:29.059 Council to enforce peace agreements or protect 00:18:29.059 --> 00:18:31.779 civilians in post -conflict zones. There's a 00:18:31.779 --> 00:18:34.579 Rand Corporation study that said UN peacekeeping 00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:36.960 is successful in two -thirds of its efforts, 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:40.519 which sounds good. But how do we square that 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:43.160 with the catastrophic failures, like in Rwanda, 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:46.190 that led to worldwide ridicule? That's the central 00:18:46.190 --> 00:18:48.730 paradox of peacekeeping. The massive failures 00:18:48.730 --> 00:18:50.690 are often political failures of the Security 00:18:50.690 --> 00:18:53.289 Council, a failure to grant the right mandate 00:18:53.289 --> 00:18:55.950 or provide the resources or just a lack of political 00:18:55.950 --> 00:18:58.230 will for the troops to actually intervene. So 00:18:58.230 --> 00:19:00.309 where the mandate is clear and the resources 00:19:00.309 --> 00:19:02.789 are there, it tends to work. The study suggests 00:19:02.789 --> 00:19:05.410 that, yes, U .N.-led nation building efforts 00:19:05.410 --> 00:19:08.130 generally result in a more durable peace than 00:19:08.130 --> 00:19:10.410 when a single country goes in alone. What makes 00:19:10.410 --> 00:19:12.029 it different? What makes it more effective in 00:19:12.029 --> 00:19:14.849 those cases? It comes down to legitimacy and 00:19:14.849 --> 00:19:18.569 soft power. A Georgetown professor, Lise Howard, 00:19:18.809 --> 00:19:21.009 she notes that the UN's approach is fundamentally 00:19:21.009 --> 00:19:24.049 non -offensive. The blue helmets are there to 00:19:24.049 --> 00:19:27.450 deter, not to wage war. So they're using things 00:19:27.450 --> 00:19:31.079 other than force. Mostly, yes. Verbal persuasion, 00:19:31.220 --> 00:19:33.819 financial inducements, and coercion short of 00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:37.059 offensive military force. And because the forces 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:40.160 are multinational, mandated by this global body, 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.740 they just carry a higher degree of international 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:45.960 legitimacy. It's easier for them to gain the 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:48.579 trust of local factions. And beyond putting boots 00:19:48.579 --> 00:19:51.880 on the ground, the UN is also a huge player in 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:54.259 preventing conflict through arms limitation treaties. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:56.519 Oh, an indispensable player. That was written 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:58.609 into the charter from day one. And then when 00:19:58.609 --> 00:20:00.430 nuclear weapons were developed just weeks later, 00:20:00.549 --> 00:20:02.630 it became an overwhelming priority. The very 00:20:02.630 --> 00:20:04.630 first resolution of the first General Assembly 00:20:04.630 --> 00:20:07.170 called for eliminating atomic weapons. What are 00:20:07.170 --> 00:20:09.029 some of the biggest treaty milestones that just 00:20:09.029 --> 00:20:10.730 wouldn't have happened without the U .N. providing 00:20:10.730 --> 00:20:14.089 that forum? Well, the entire global nuclear architecture, 00:20:14.269 --> 00:20:16.009 really. The Treaty on the Non -Proliferation 00:20:16.009 --> 00:20:18.390 of Nuclear Weapons, the MPT, is the big one. 00:20:18.509 --> 00:20:20.269 Then you have the Biological Weapons Convention, 00:20:20.710 --> 00:20:23.829 the Chemical Weapons Convention, the treaty banning 00:20:23.829 --> 00:20:26.490 landmines. And U .N. associated bodies like the 00:20:26.490 --> 00:20:30.170 IAEA? Oversee all of this? Yes, the IAEA, the 00:20:30.170 --> 00:20:32.849 OPCW, they oversee the practical application 00:20:32.849 --> 00:20:35.589 of these incredibly complex agreements. Okay, 00:20:35.670 --> 00:20:37.569 let's shift to human rights. This feels like 00:20:37.569 --> 00:20:39.670 the more foundation of the whole post -war mission. 00:20:39.950 --> 00:20:43.130 It is. And the cornerstone document is the Universal 00:20:43.130 --> 00:20:45.890 Declaration of Human Rights, the UDHR, adopted 00:20:45.890 --> 00:20:49.150 in 1948. It was drafted by a committee chaired 00:20:49.150 --> 00:20:51.210 by Eleanor Roosevelt. Now, it's important to 00:20:51.210 --> 00:20:53.690 understand the hierarchy here. The UDHR itself 00:20:53.690 --> 00:20:57.029 isn't legally binding, is it? No, it's not. It's 00:20:57.029 --> 00:20:59.549 a common standard of achievement. It's a philosophical 00:20:59.549 --> 00:21:02.190 blueprint. But that philosophy was then turned 00:21:02.190 --> 00:21:06.519 into actual binding law. Correct. The UDHR is 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:08.920 the foundation for two legally binding treaties 00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:11.960 or covenants, the International Covenant on Civil 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:14.359 and Political Rights and the International Covenant 00:21:14.359 --> 00:21:17.180 on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These 00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:19.359 are what turn the moral principles into legal 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:21.559 obligations for the states that ratify them. 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:24.019 And that mandate has kept evolving over time. 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:27.119 reflecting how global awareness changes. Absolutely. 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:29.839 We've seen key conventions targeting specific 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:33.779 groups. CEDAW in 1979, the Convention on the 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:35.880 Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:38.140 Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child 00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:41.059 in 1989. And more recently? More recently, in 00:21:41.059 --> 00:21:43.900 2011, the General Assembly passed a landmark 00:21:43.900 --> 00:21:46.440 resolution recognizing the rights of members 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:49.920 of the LGBTQ plus community. So the UN is constantly 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:51.579 trying to push the boundaries of what counts 00:21:51.579 --> 00:21:53.779 as a globally accepted human right. Moving to... 00:21:53.799 --> 00:21:56.339 economic development and crisis response. This 00:21:56.339 --> 00:21:58.480 is often the most visible work the UN does on 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:01.220 the ground, literally saving lives. And the operational 00:22:01.220 --> 00:22:04.180 scale here is just staggering. The UN sets these 00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:06.680 global benchmarks for progress. They started 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:08.539 with the Millennium Development Goals, the MDGs, 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:12.500 from 2000 to 2015. And now we have the Sustainable 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:15.859 Development Goals, the SDGs. Exactly. The SDGs 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:18.180 are much broader. They cover poverty, education, 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:21.880 climate action, equality. It's a huge agenda. 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:24.740 And in terms of specific diseases, they have 00:22:24.740 --> 00:22:26.920 a track record that proves international cooperation 00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:30.500 can work. It really can. I mean, the WHO announced 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:34.099 the global eradication of smallpox in 1980. That 00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:36.740 is arguably the single greatest public health 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:38.759 achievement in human history. And they've worked 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:41.960 on polio, leprosy. And UNAIDS coordinates the 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:44.819 global response to the HIV AIDS epidemic. The 00:22:44.819 --> 00:22:47.319 UN Population Fund is the largest source of funding 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:49.400 for reproductive health and family planning in 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:51.859 the world. And when a conflict or a natural disaster 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:55.359 hits, the UN's humanitarian logistics capacity 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:59.460 is just unmatched. The intensity is hard to overstate. 00:22:59.579 --> 00:23:02.519 Just take the World Food Program, the WFP. They 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:04.920 feed, on average, 90 million people a year in 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:07.779 80 countries. That requires these massive, complex 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:10.420 logistical chains that often have to operate 00:23:10.420 --> 00:23:13.279 in war zones. And at the same time, the UNHCR 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:15.740 is protecting refugees globally. Providing aid 00:23:15.740 --> 00:23:17.720 and legal frameworks for millions of people who 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:20.079 have lost everything. And finally, we've seen 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:22.779 the UN push new issues onto the global agenda, 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:25.640 like the environment and technology. That focus 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:28.220 really took hold with the UN Environmental Program, 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:32.059 UNP, back in 1972. And a key outcome of that 00:23:32.059 --> 00:23:34.160 was the establishment of the Intergovernmental 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:38.339 Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, in 1988. And 00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:41.039 the IPCC is crucial because it doesn't make policy 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:44.109 itself. No, it synthesizes and assesses the science. 00:23:44.210 --> 00:23:46.890 It creates this unified consensus -based voice 00:23:46.890 --> 00:23:49.490 on climate change that governments all over the 00:23:49.490 --> 00:23:52.309 world rely on. And now a very modern focus is 00:23:52.309 --> 00:23:54.650 emerging in the digital space, looking at things 00:23:54.650 --> 00:23:57.690 like AI governance. Yes. The UN has started organizing 00:23:57.690 --> 00:24:00.509 an annual open source week. It's an attempt to 00:24:00.509 --> 00:24:02.470 foster collaboration on everything from tech 00:24:02.470 --> 00:24:05.089 projects to creating global policies for artificial 00:24:05.089 --> 00:24:07.349 intelligence before the tech just completely 00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:09.900 outpaces regulation. Okay. Here's where we have 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:11.880 to balance the ledger, because for every success 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:14.680 story, every life saved by the WFP, there is 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:16.779 a litany of intense criticism and historical 00:24:16.779 --> 00:24:19.039 failure. And this takes us right to the existential 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:21.559 challenges the U .N. faces. The organization 00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:23.819 was I mean, it was essentially paralyzed for 00:24:23.819 --> 00:24:26.839 its first 40 years by the Cold War. The U .S. 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:29.119 and the Soviets just vetoed each other constantly. 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:32.210 But even after the Cold War ended. The UN faced 00:24:32.210 --> 00:24:34.990 these defining crises that showed its limits 00:24:34.990 --> 00:24:37.630 when the P5 just couldn't agree to act. And we 00:24:37.630 --> 00:24:39.430 have spent some time on these mission failures 00:24:39.430 --> 00:24:41.970 because they define so much the criticism today. 00:24:42.250 --> 00:24:44.789 They absolutely do. The UN mission in Somalia, 00:24:44.809 --> 00:24:47.700 for instance. It ended in what was widely seen 00:24:47.700 --> 00:24:50.279 as a failure, especially after the U .S. pulled 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:52.880 out after the Battle of Mogadishu in 93. And 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:55.539 the mission in Bosnia faced worldwide ridicule. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:58.960 Complete ridicule. The UN declared these safe 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:01.779 zones, but it had no capacity and no authorization 00:25:01.779 --> 00:25:04.099 to actually defend them. So you had horrific 00:25:04.099 --> 00:25:06.160 events like the Srebrenica massacre happening 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:09.079 right under the UN's nose. But the most enduring 00:25:09.079 --> 00:25:12.359 stain on the UN's moral authority has to be the 00:25:12.359 --> 00:25:15.619 failure to intervene in the 1994 Rwandan. genocide. 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:19.119 That is the ultimate tragic example of paralysis 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:21.819 by the Security Council. The commander of the 00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:23.920 U .N. mission there, General Romeo Dallaire, 00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:27.500 he repeatedly sent cables to New York. He was 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:29.680 begging for permission and reinforcements to 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:32.160 seize arms caches and stop the violence he knew 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:34.720 was coming. And the Security Council just refused. 00:25:34.980 --> 00:25:37.220 They refused. They lacked the political consensus. 00:25:37.660 --> 00:25:40.319 They were unwilling to authorize a robust mandate. 00:25:40.539 --> 00:25:43.140 And the result was the slaughter of up to a million 00:25:43.140 --> 00:25:46.690 people in 100 days. It proved that the UN's protective 00:25:46.690 --> 00:25:49.690 power is only as strong as the political will 00:25:49.690 --> 00:25:52.990 of the P5. And these failures, they feed directly 00:25:52.990 --> 00:25:55.410 into the deep -seated structural critiques. And 00:25:55.410 --> 00:25:58.190 the biggest one is that veto power. Critics argue 00:25:58.190 --> 00:26:00.269 correctly that the veto is just fundamentally 00:26:00.269 --> 00:26:03.390 undemocratic. Even former President Obama noted 00:26:03.390 --> 00:26:05.569 that divisions in the Security Council continue 00:26:05.569 --> 00:26:08.670 to hamstring the U .N.'s ability to act. It allows 00:26:08.670 --> 00:26:11.150 national interest to just trump collective security 00:26:11.150 --> 00:26:13.890 every time. And that fuels a broader geopolitical 00:26:13.890 --> 00:26:16.069 divide, what people call the North -South split. 00:26:16.589 --> 00:26:18.990 Which is really a philosophical conflict. It's 00:26:18.990 --> 00:26:22.009 the richer northern nations, the G7 bloc, versus 00:26:22.009 --> 00:26:24.549 the developing southern nations organized in 00:26:24.549 --> 00:26:27.329 the group of 77, which is now 133 countries. 00:26:27.609 --> 00:26:30.170 And the G77 wants a more empowered General Assembly. 00:26:30.349 --> 00:26:33.210 They do. They argue that if the GA represents 00:26:33.210 --> 00:26:36.230 the world's population one nation, one vote. 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:39.380 Why should the Security Council, which represents 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:42.500 historical power, hold all the legally binding 00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:44.640 authority? While the North wants to keep the 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:47.160 UN's role limited to just transnational threats 00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:49.519 like terrorism, things they can't handle alone. 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:52.640 That's the core tension. The South wants democratization. 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:55.240 The North defends the existing power structure. 00:26:55.539 --> 00:26:57.819 We also see critiques about exclusion and bias. 00:26:58.079 --> 00:27:00.559 The exclusion of Taiwan is a longstanding issue. 00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:03.480 It is. It goes back to a 1971 General Assembly 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:05.799 resolution that recognized the People's Republic 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:08.460 of China, the PRC over the Republic of China, 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:10.700 Taiwan, as the only legitimate representatives 00:27:10.700 --> 00:27:14.140 of China. And that resolution still blocks Taiwan's 00:27:14.140 --> 00:27:16.880 inclusion in agencies like the WHO. It does. 00:27:17.059 --> 00:27:19.680 Critics say this hurts global health, which became 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:22.799 really obvious during the pandemic. But the political 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:25.579 pressure from the PRC ensures that support for 00:27:25.579 --> 00:27:28.000 Taiwan's inclusion is always blocked. And on 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:30.799 the topic of bias, there is constant, highly 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:33.940 charged criticism about the UN's focus on the 00:27:33.940 --> 00:27:36.259 Middle East. This is a very sensitive issue. 00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:39.680 Critics, especially pro -Israeli groups and some 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:42.920 diplomats, allege a pro -Palestinian bias, particularly 00:27:42.920 --> 00:27:45.680 in bodies like the UN Human Rights Council. Which 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:48.019 has singled out Israel far more than other countries. 00:27:48.279 --> 00:27:51.299 Yes. And that critique is often used by politicians, 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:54.019 particularly in the U .S., to question the organization's 00:27:54.019 --> 00:27:56.759 overall impartiality. And beyond bias, there 00:27:56.759 --> 00:27:58.440 are these fundamental arguments about whether 00:27:58.440 --> 00:28:01.420 the UN is a threat to national sovereignty. This 00:28:01.420 --> 00:28:03.579 has been a recurring theme in conservative politics 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:06.009 in the U .S. since the very beginning. The argument 00:28:06.009 --> 00:28:08.529 is that these multilateral agreements on things 00:28:08.529 --> 00:28:11.309 like the environment or human rights, they erode 00:28:11.309 --> 00:28:13.750 a nation's ability to govern itself. And it's 00:28:13.750 --> 00:28:16.369 not just talk. We see actual legislation being 00:28:16.369 --> 00:28:19.170 introduced. All the time. The American Sovereignty 00:28:19.170 --> 00:28:21.650 Restoration Act, which would pull the US out 00:28:21.650 --> 00:28:24.470 of the UN entirely, has been introduced in Congress 00:28:24.470 --> 00:28:27.609 multiple times as recently as 2022. And it's 00:28:27.609 --> 00:28:29.950 trickled down to the state level. It has. In 00:28:29.950 --> 00:28:32.670 2023, Tennessee passed a law that explicitly 00:28:32.670 --> 00:28:35.910 blocks the implementation of any programs originating 00:28:35.910 --> 00:28:39.190 in or traceable to the United Nations, specifically 00:28:39.190 --> 00:28:42.289 citing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:45.140 So these external challenges are then compounded 00:28:45.140 --> 00:28:49.069 by systemic internal problems. Inefficiency, 00:28:49.069 --> 00:28:51.089 mismanagement. Bureaucratic waste has been a 00:28:51.089 --> 00:28:53.549 consistent complaint from the major donor countries. 00:28:53.750 --> 00:28:56.549 And in response, they've created internal watchdogs 00:28:56.549 --> 00:28:58.769 like the Office of Internal Oversight Services, 00:28:58.990 --> 00:29:01.069 OIOS. But those are created because of pressure, 00:29:01.190 --> 00:29:03.769 right? Yes. The U .S. Congress repeatedly withheld 00:29:03.769 --> 00:29:06.490 its dues in the 1990s, specifically to force 00:29:06.490 --> 00:29:09.009 the U .N. to reform itself internally. And we 00:29:09.009 --> 00:29:11.150 can't talk about internal failure without mentioning 00:29:11.150 --> 00:29:13.470 the massive corruption scandal of the oil for 00:29:13.470 --> 00:29:16.140 food program. That was a devastating blow to 00:29:16.140 --> 00:29:18.059 the U .N.'s reputation. The program was supposed 00:29:18.059 --> 00:29:20.480 to let Iraq, which was under sanctions, sell 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:25.200 oil in exchange for humanitarian supplies. It 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:28.700 found widespread systemic fraud, billions of 00:29:28.700 --> 00:29:31.720 dollars in kickbacks. UN officials, diplomats, 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:34.319 contractors were all implicated. It raised really 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:36.339 serious questions about the integrity of the 00:29:36.339 --> 00:29:38.559 whole organization. And the Blue Helmets, who 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:40.859 are supposed to represent the UN's moral authority, 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:44.140 have themselves been implicated in horrific misconduct. 00:29:44.420 --> 00:29:47.220 Tragically, yes. Peacekeepers have faced widespread 00:29:47.220 --> 00:29:49.779 accusations of sexual exploitation and abuse, 00:29:50.099 --> 00:29:53.559 even child rape in missions in the Congo, Liberia, 00:29:53.640 --> 00:29:55.980 Sudan. And there was the cholera outbreak in 00:29:55.980 --> 00:29:58.700 Haiti. A devastating public health failure. Scientists 00:29:58.700 --> 00:30:01.460 traced the 2010s Haiti cholera outbreak, which 00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:04.859 killed over 8 ,000 people, back to UN peacekeepers 00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:07.799 from Nepal. So on top of all the structural flaws, 00:30:08.059 --> 00:30:10.299 the political paralysis, the internal scandals, 00:30:10.359 --> 00:30:13.359 the UN is now facing a severe, acute financial 00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:16.180 crisis. This is an immediate and critical threat. 00:30:16.509 --> 00:30:18.569 The situation has gotten really severe since 00:30:18.569 --> 00:30:21.490 2020. The U .N. is facing a liquidity crisis 00:30:21.490 --> 00:30:24.029 because member states are delaying or just refusing 00:30:24.029 --> 00:30:26.069 to pay their assessed contributions. And who 00:30:26.069 --> 00:30:27.990 are the main players in this? Well, the United 00:30:27.990 --> 00:30:30.849 States is the single largest contributor. It's 00:30:30.849 --> 00:30:32.869 assessed at 22 percent of the regular budget 00:30:32.869 --> 00:30:36.369 and about 27 percent of peacekeeping costs. But 00:30:36.369 --> 00:30:39.529 a U .S. law from 1994 limits the country to paying 00:30:39.529 --> 00:30:42.049 no more than 25 percent for peacekeeping. Which 00:30:42.049 --> 00:30:44.849 creates an automatic shortfall. But more strategically, 00:30:45.150 --> 00:30:47.859 both US and China, who is the second largest 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:50.099 contributor, they often delay their payments 00:30:50.099 --> 00:30:52.440 as a direct political tactic. You're saying they're 00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:54.519 using the money they owe as leverage? That's 00:30:54.519 --> 00:30:56.380 the assessment from diplomats. They leverage 00:30:56.380 --> 00:30:58.700 payment delays to influence the U .N. on major 00:30:58.700 --> 00:31:01.460 political issues. China on the persecution of 00:31:01.460 --> 00:31:03.700 the Uyghurs or the U .S. on the U .N.'s stance 00:31:03.700 --> 00:31:05.799 on the Gaza war. It's a tool of obstruction. 00:31:06.140 --> 00:31:08.220 And the stakes are incredibly high right now. 00:31:08.359 --> 00:31:10.500 What's the real impact of this shortfall? The 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:13.160 impact is measured in human lives. As of May 00:31:13.160 --> 00:31:16.630 2025, only 60 one countries had paid their dues 00:31:16.630 --> 00:31:19.369 in full. The shortfall is forcing massive budget 00:31:19.369 --> 00:31:21.950 cuts. And the UN has warned that millions of 00:31:21.950 --> 00:31:23.910 lives that rely on programs like the World Food 00:31:23.910 --> 00:31:26.230 Program are being put at risk. Because the political 00:31:26.230 --> 00:31:28.849 maneuvering of a few powerful states is undermining 00:31:28.849 --> 00:31:31.349 the entire humanitarian mandate. It fundamentally 00:31:31.349 --> 00:31:35.369 does. And yet, despite this staggering list of 00:31:35.369 --> 00:31:38.190 failures and criticisms, the organization's achievements 00:31:38.190 --> 00:31:40.960 can't be ignored. Absolutely not. I mean, the 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:43.200 U .N. and its agencies have been recognized with 00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:45.819 numerous Nobel Peace Prizes, which confirms the 00:31:45.819 --> 00:31:48.339 tangible positive impact they've had. Dag Harris 00:31:48.339 --> 00:31:50.539 Gold and Kofi Annan both received the prize, 00:31:50.680 --> 00:31:52.960 and the U .N. as a whole shared it with Annan 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:55.859 in 2001. Right. And individual negotiators like 00:31:55.859 --> 00:31:58.740 Ralph Bunch and Lester B. Pearson for organizing 00:31:58.740 --> 00:32:01.079 the very first peacekeeping force during the 00:32:01.079 --> 00:32:03.559 Suez crisis. And the humanitarian agencies themselves 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:06.869 have a huge honors role. They do. UNICEF for 00:32:06.869 --> 00:32:09.769 its work with children, the UNHCR, which has 00:32:09.769 --> 00:32:13.609 won twice for refugee protection, the IAEA for 00:32:13.609 --> 00:32:16.630 nuclear safeguards, and the World Food Program 00:32:16.630 --> 00:32:19.150 for fighting hunger. They've all been awarded 00:32:19.150 --> 00:32:21.069 the Nobel Peace Prize. So what does this all 00:32:21.069 --> 00:32:23.250 mean? When we look back over these first eight 00:32:23.250 --> 00:32:25.890 decades, how do we sum up this complex, contradictory 00:32:25.890 --> 00:32:28.420 legacy? The historian Paul Kennedy concluded 00:32:28.420 --> 00:32:30.660 that while the organization has had some major 00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:33.579 setbacks, when all its aspects are considered, 00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:36.819 the UN has brought great benefits to our generation 00:32:36.819 --> 00:32:39.079 and will bring benefits to our children's and 00:32:39.079 --> 00:32:41.480 grandchildren's generations as well. And that 00:32:41.480 --> 00:32:44.980 quote from President Eisenhower in 1953, it sort 00:32:44.980 --> 00:32:47.019 of puts the dichotomy perfectly. He acknowledged 00:32:47.019 --> 00:32:50.559 all the flaws, but said that the United Nations 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.859 represents man's best organized hope to substitute 00:32:53.859 --> 00:32:56.490 the conference table for the battlefield. And 00:32:56.490 --> 00:32:58.930 the author Stanley Meisler, I think he summarized 00:32:58.930 --> 00:33:01.069 it perfectly. He said the UN never fulfilled 00:33:01.069 --> 00:33:03.670 the maximalist, idealistic hopes of its founders, 00:33:03.809 --> 00:33:05.609 but it accomplished a great deal nonetheless. 00:33:05.849 --> 00:33:08.130 It's this necessary, flawed institution that 00:33:08.130 --> 00:33:10.150 acts as the world's safety valve and conscience. 00:33:10.509 --> 00:33:12.390 Which brings us to our final thought for you, 00:33:12.490 --> 00:33:15.630 the listener, to mull over. Considering the current 00:33:15.630 --> 00:33:18.670 financial crisis, driven by powerful member states 00:33:18.670 --> 00:33:20.829 withholding their dues for political leverage, 00:33:21.029 --> 00:33:23.410 and these deep debates over sovereignty versus 00:33:23.410 --> 00:33:26.529 global governance, what immediate non -structural 00:33:26.529 --> 00:33:29.170 change could the UN implement to insulate its 00:33:29.170 --> 00:33:31.890 most critical, life -saving humanitarian operations, 00:33:32.089 --> 00:33:35.150 like the World Food Program and UNICEF, from 00:33:35.150 --> 00:33:37.250 the political paralysis and the funding demands 00:33:37.250 --> 00:33:38.910 of the Security Council's permanent members? 00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:41.759 Is there a governance or financial mechanism 00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:44.059 that could allow saving lives to become truly 00:33:44.059 --> 00:33:47.460 apolitical? Welcome to The Debate. Today we are 00:33:47.460 --> 00:33:51.220 wrestling with the enduring paradox of the United 00:33:51.220 --> 00:33:54.880 Nations. It was established back in 1945 with 00:33:54.880 --> 00:33:58.079 this foundational belief that collective action 00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:01.220 could prevent another global catastrophe. And 00:34:01.220 --> 00:34:03.940 its primary mandate, right there on the charter, 00:34:04.160 --> 00:34:06.920 is the maintenance of international peace and 00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:11.440 security. But its legacy is, well, it's profoundly 00:34:11.440 --> 00:34:14.159 contradictory. You have these amazing successes 00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:17.719 in social progress and humanitarian work right 00:34:17.719 --> 00:34:20.519 alongside, you know, trenchant criticisms of 00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:23.619 ineffectiveness and political bias in its security 00:34:23.619 --> 00:34:26.699 role. It really is the ultimate global organization, 00:34:26.980 --> 00:34:30.280 isn't it? I mean, with 193 member states and 00:34:30.280 --> 00:34:32.500 that tension you're talking about between the 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:36.300 aspiration and the political reality. That's 00:34:36.300 --> 00:34:38.500 precisely what defines its effectiveness, or 00:34:38.500 --> 00:34:42.659 in many cases, its lack thereof. And I come at 00:34:42.659 --> 00:34:45.119 it from a different perspective. I'll be arguing 00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:48.480 that the organization's true lasting impact is 00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:51.300 actually found in its secondary goals, social 00:34:51.300 --> 00:34:54.619 and economic cooperation. We have to assess the 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:57.619 UN on the tangible, systemic improvements it 00:34:57.619 --> 00:34:59.619 delivers across the globe, achievements that 00:34:59.619 --> 00:35:02.559 are often secured in spite of the political gridlock 00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:06.019 that paralyzes its main security function. So 00:35:06.019 --> 00:35:08.860 for me, the premise of the UN Charter is just 00:35:08.860 --> 00:35:12.380 non -negotiable. It's collective security. The 00:35:12.380 --> 00:35:15.460 system was explicitly designed so that if a nation 00:35:15.460 --> 00:35:17.980 commits aggression, the international community, 00:35:18.199 --> 00:35:21.719 led by the Security Council, acts decisively. 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:25.320 Now, if that system can't prevent the mass slaughter 00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:28.340 of civilians or stop one nation from invading 00:35:28.340 --> 00:35:31.099 another, then the resulting humanitarian suffering, 00:35:31.239 --> 00:35:33.659 it just negates any of the good works that come 00:35:33.659 --> 00:35:36.719 after. The material shows how the system was 00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:39.579 almost immediately, while hobbled, during the 00:35:39.579 --> 00:35:42.199 Cold War, that division between the US and the 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:45.539 USSR often paralyzed the organization, allowing 00:35:45.539 --> 00:35:48.039 it to intervene only in conflicts distant from 00:35:48.039 --> 00:35:50.900 the Cold War. And the veto power, held by the 00:35:50.900 --> 00:35:53.179 five permanent members, it's a core feature, 00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:55.340 but one that's often described as fundamentally 00:35:55.340 --> 00:35:58.619 undemocratic, and crucially, a main cause of 00:35:58.619 --> 00:36:01.219 inaction on genocides and crimes against humanity. 00:36:01.690 --> 00:36:04.190 When you look at the historical record, the failures 00:36:04.190 --> 00:36:07.070 are just, they're catastrophic. The organization 00:36:07.070 --> 00:36:09.489 was paralyzed during the Bangladeshi genocide 00:36:09.489 --> 00:36:13.710 in 1971, the Cambodian genocide in the 70s, and 00:36:13.710 --> 00:36:16.309 of course, most notoriously, the Rwandan genocide 00:36:16.309 --> 00:36:19.510 in 1994. These aren't, you know, minor policy 00:36:19.510 --> 00:36:22.210 failures. They represent a complete breakdown 00:36:22.210 --> 00:36:25.739 of the UN's core function. If the UN can't prevent 00:36:25.739 --> 00:36:28.440 the worst horrors imaginable, its other important 00:36:28.440 --> 00:36:30.820 work just becomes a very expensive attempt to 00:36:30.820 --> 00:36:33.059 mitigate the consequences of its own political 00:36:33.059 --> 00:36:36.139 impotence. I absolutely acknowledge that the 00:36:36.139 --> 00:36:39.039 Security Council is severely constrained. It's 00:36:39.039 --> 00:36:40.940 constrained by the political interests of its 00:36:40.940 --> 00:36:43.500 member states, especially, of course, those with 00:36:43.500 --> 00:36:46.079 the veto. That's an inherent structural limitation, 00:36:46.579 --> 00:36:49.380 maybe even an intended feature, of a body that 00:36:49.380 --> 00:36:51.739 requires a participation of the great powers 00:36:51.739 --> 00:36:55.230 to even exist. But judging the UN solely on its 00:36:55.230 --> 00:36:58.090 constrained political wing, well, it ignores 00:36:58.090 --> 00:37:00.409 the operational reality of the system for the 00:37:00.409 --> 00:37:04.309 last, what, 70 years? There was a real functional 00:37:04.309 --> 00:37:08.070 shift in focus and resources. By the 1970s, the 00:37:08.070 --> 00:37:10.650 budget for social and economic development was 00:37:10.650 --> 00:37:12.989 already far greater than its peacekeeping budget. 00:37:13.230 --> 00:37:15.829 That right there demonstrates where the most 00:37:15.829 --> 00:37:18.530 consistent effort and cooperation have been directed. 00:37:19.050 --> 00:37:21.269 And the UN system has been repeatedly recognized 00:37:21.269 --> 00:37:24.469 as a leader in human development. This isn't 00:37:24.469 --> 00:37:28.050 just theory. It's evidenced by Nobel Peace Prizes 00:37:28.050 --> 00:37:31.090 given specifically to its agencies like UNICEF 00:37:31.090 --> 00:37:34.730 in 1965 or the International Labor Organization, 00:37:35.050 --> 00:37:39.050 the ILO, in 1969. But more importantly, just 00:37:39.050 --> 00:37:42.269 consider the concrete outcomes. The eradication 00:37:42.269 --> 00:37:44.469 of smallpox by the World Health Organization 00:37:44.469 --> 00:37:47.690 in 1980. That's arguably one of the greatest 00:37:47.690 --> 00:37:49.650 public health achievements in human history. 00:37:49.909 --> 00:37:52.650 The Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals, 00:37:52.650 --> 00:37:56.250 the MDGs and SDGs, have completely shifted the 00:37:56.250 --> 00:37:59.210 global conversation on poverty and health. And 00:37:59.210 --> 00:38:01.530 when conflict does happen, you have organizations 00:38:01.530 --> 00:38:04.710 like the World Food Program feeding on average 00:38:04.710 --> 00:38:07.710 90 million people in 80 nations every single 00:38:07.710 --> 00:38:11.070 year. These are life -saving systemic successes. 00:38:11.639 --> 00:38:15.059 on a massive scale. That, I argue, is where you 00:38:15.059 --> 00:38:18.599 find its true effectiveness. That is a powerful 00:38:18.599 --> 00:38:21.260 list of achievements. And look, no one disputes 00:38:21.260 --> 00:38:24.239 the life -saving work of the WFP or the WHO. 00:38:24.659 --> 00:38:27.539 But the scale of that development aid, however 00:38:27.539 --> 00:38:30.519 vast, it can't fundamentally excuse the failures 00:38:30.519 --> 00:38:33.420 of the Security Council. Those failures directly 00:38:33.420 --> 00:38:35.860 lead to the need for the humanitarian response. 00:38:35.960 --> 00:38:38.980 The two are inextricably linked. If you eliminate 00:38:38.980 --> 00:38:41.619 the primary cause of suffering, which is conflict, 00:38:41.860 --> 00:38:44.500 that secondary aid becomes far less necessary. 00:38:44.820 --> 00:38:47.340 The material points to instances where the security 00:38:47.340 --> 00:38:50.099 mandate wasn't just inactive, it was actively 00:38:50.099 --> 00:38:52.900 tested and found wanting. I mean, take the mission 00:38:52.900 --> 00:38:56.059 in Bosnia. The UN faced worldwide ridicule for 00:38:56.059 --> 00:38:58.099 its indecisive, confused mission in the face 00:38:58.099 --> 00:39:00.480 of ethnic cleansing, specifically the failure 00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:03.739 to protect designated safe areas. Or more recently, 00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:06.619 during this reliant of civil war in 2009, an 00:39:06.619 --> 00:39:08.860 internal review concluded the organization suffered 00:39:08.860 --> 00:39:11.719 a systemic failure. These are failures of the 00:39:11.719 --> 00:39:14.179 highest moral and operational order. The inability 00:39:14.179 --> 00:39:18.619 to prevent aggression creates the very humanitarian 00:39:18.619 --> 00:39:22.719 catastrophes, mass starvation, refugee crises. 00:39:23.280 --> 00:39:26.159 that the development agencies then have to frantically 00:39:26.159 --> 00:39:29.340 try to mitigate. I find it very difficult to 00:39:29.340 --> 00:39:32.119 call the UN effective when it fails at prevention, 00:39:32.460 --> 00:39:35.480 thereby ensuring the need for these incredibly 00:39:35.480 --> 00:39:39.039 expensive and dangerous mitigation efforts. Right. 00:39:39.139 --> 00:39:41.719 I understand the moral argument that prevention 00:39:41.719 --> 00:39:44.699 is better than a cure. But we're arguing about 00:39:44.699 --> 00:39:47.739 how to define success in what is, by design, 00:39:47.800 --> 00:39:51.000 a structurally flawed organization. You're defining 00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:53.960 success purely by prevention, which is a metric 00:39:53.960 --> 00:39:56.780 that requires full consensus among five great 00:39:56.780 --> 00:40:00.460 powers who are often fundamentally opposed. I'm 00:40:00.460 --> 00:40:03.079 defining it by tangible, measured achievement 00:40:03.079 --> 00:40:05.579 and mitigation, which the U .N. manages to do 00:40:05.579 --> 00:40:08.579 continuously. And, you know, the narrative of 00:40:08.579 --> 00:40:11.079 universal political impotence is maybe a bit 00:40:11.079 --> 00:40:14.059 too simplistic. The data complicates that. A 00:40:14.059 --> 00:40:16.880 RAND Corporation study in 2005 actually found 00:40:16.880 --> 00:40:19.539 the U .N. was successful in two thirds of its 00:40:19.539 --> 00:40:22.059 peacekeeping efforts. And political scientists 00:40:22.059 --> 00:40:25.579 later determined that U .N. operations are demonstrably 00:40:25.579 --> 00:40:27.940 more effective at reducing civilian casualties 00:40:27.940 --> 00:40:30.820 than counterterrorism operations by nation states. 00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:33.780 So even in that incredibly difficult domain of 00:40:33.780 --> 00:40:37.039 security, the U .N. prevents bloodshed more effectively 00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:39.820 than many alternatives. But let's go back to 00:40:39.820 --> 00:40:44.000 the sheer scale. The UN apparatus that's dedicated 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:47.639 to human welfare, from the UNDP publishing the 00:40:47.639 --> 00:40:50.920 Human Development Index to UNFPA funding reproductive 00:40:50.920 --> 00:40:54.619 health, it operates on a continuous loop of global 00:40:54.619 --> 00:40:58.619 improvement. This continuous, profound impact 00:40:58.619 --> 00:41:03.329 is the UN's most steady success. And it's achieved 00:41:03.329 --> 00:41:06.030 because these agencies are often designed to 00:41:06.030 --> 00:41:08.369 function outside the political machinery of the 00:41:08.369 --> 00:41:10.949 council. OK, but that brings us to a really fundamental 00:41:10.949 --> 00:41:13.949 tension then. If the development apparatus works 00:41:13.949 --> 00:41:16.050 so well because it's separate from the Security 00:41:16.050 --> 00:41:19.050 Council. Doesn't that fundamentally argue for 00:41:19.050 --> 00:41:22.070 a complete divorce? Because the structural problems 00:41:22.070 --> 00:41:25.010 in the council are not only impeding peace, they're 00:41:25.010 --> 00:41:27.349 now actively threatening the financial stability 00:41:27.349 --> 00:41:30.449 of the very humanitarian agencies you're championing. 00:41:30.469 --> 00:41:33.110 I'm talking specifically about the system's new 00:41:33.110 --> 00:41:36.030 vulnerability. The material discusses this 2025 00:41:36.030 --> 00:41:38.489 financial crisis, which is caused by member states 00:41:38.489 --> 00:41:41.130 delaying their payments. Major contributors like 00:41:41.130 --> 00:41:43.710 the US and China They delay their payments in 00:41:43.710 --> 00:41:45.849 order to influence the UN on topics such as the 00:41:45.849 --> 00:41:48.329 Gaza War and persecution of Uyghurs in China. 00:41:48.469 --> 00:41:50.730 This proves that political interests are consistently 00:41:50.730 --> 00:41:53.630 paralyzing administrative effectiveness and critically 00:41:53.630 --> 00:41:56.610 risking putting millions of lives at risk. Your 00:41:56.610 --> 00:41:59.050 whole argument hinges on the effectiveness of 00:41:59.050 --> 00:42:01.909 these agencies, but their funding, their very 00:42:01.909 --> 00:42:04.769 lifeblood, is perpetually a political hostage 00:42:04.769 --> 00:42:07.730 to great power dysfunction. How can we call that 00:42:07.730 --> 00:42:10.289 branch effective when its operation is constantly 00:42:10.289 --> 00:42:13.309 being leveraged? That is a sharp point, and the 00:42:13.309 --> 00:42:17.690 financial vulnerability of the system is undeniable. 00:42:17.769 --> 00:42:20.710 It really highlights that no international organization 00:42:20.710 --> 00:42:23.269 is immune from the political whims of its most 00:42:23.269 --> 00:42:26.650 powerful members. But consider the alternative. 00:42:27.230 --> 00:42:30.369 The UN was created to replace the failed League 00:42:30.369 --> 00:42:33.429 of Nations, a body that collapsed because great 00:42:33.429 --> 00:42:36.289 powers just refused to participate. The U .S. 00:42:36.289 --> 00:42:38.250 never joined, and the League was useless against 00:42:38.250 --> 00:42:43.340 Japan or Italy. However flawed, and yes, the 00:42:43.340 --> 00:42:46.159 veto is the primary flaw, it at least ensures 00:42:46.159 --> 00:42:48.500 communication and participation among the great 00:42:48.500 --> 00:42:52.179 powers. That's a necessary, if often frustrating, 00:42:52.380 --> 00:42:55.159 prerequisite for global stability. President 00:42:55.159 --> 00:42:58.599 Eisenhower famously said the UN represents man's 00:42:58.599 --> 00:43:01.280 best organized hope to substitute the conference 00:43:01.280 --> 00:43:04.199 table for the battlefield. The structure, while 00:43:04.199 --> 00:43:06.940 imperfect, provides that mechanism for de -escalation 00:43:06.940 --> 00:43:09.619 that the League never had. And beyond that, the 00:43:09.619 --> 00:43:12.579 Charter provides a foundation beyond just state 00:43:12.579 --> 00:43:15.840 sovereignty. It mandates the promotion of respect 00:43:15.840 --> 00:43:18.980 for human rights. Now, the Security Council can't 00:43:18.980 --> 00:43:22.119 always enforce this, but the very existence of 00:43:22.119 --> 00:43:24.719 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a 00:43:24.719 --> 00:43:27.739 foundational norm the UN established, it sets 00:43:27.739 --> 00:43:31.210 the essential common standard. And that standard 00:43:31.210 --> 00:43:34.269 shapes diplomacy, law, and eventually the humanitarian 00:43:34.269 --> 00:43:37.489 work you're worried about. That norm -setting 00:43:37.489 --> 00:43:40.869 power is a crucial, long -term success that operates 00:43:40.869 --> 00:43:44.050 despite all the political wrangling over budgets. 00:43:44.389 --> 00:43:47.829 I agree, the norm -setting is vital. But norms 00:43:47.829 --> 00:43:50.579 are meaningless without integrity. And we have 00:43:50.579 --> 00:43:53.460 to address the severe ethical failures that compromise 00:43:53.460 --> 00:43:56.539 the integrity of the operations themselves. These 00:43:56.539 --> 00:43:58.900 failures directly undermine the reputation of 00:43:58.900 --> 00:44:01.099 the humanitarian work we're trying to assess. 00:44:01.400 --> 00:44:03.860 The organization has faced chronic criticism 00:44:03.860 --> 00:44:06.460 for mismanagement and corruption, which, you 00:44:06.460 --> 00:44:08.820 know, it prompted the U .S. to withdraw UNESCO 00:44:08.820 --> 00:44:12.400 funding way back in 1984. But the issue is far 00:44:12.400 --> 00:44:15.679 more grave than just inefficiency. Peacekeeping 00:44:15.679 --> 00:44:17.739 missions, the very missions meant to stabilize 00:44:17.739 --> 00:44:20.619 conflict zones, have been marred by deeply serious 00:44:20.619 --> 00:44:23.599 accusations. UN peacekeepers accused of child 00:44:23.599 --> 00:44:26.239 rape, of soliciting prostitutes, of widespread 00:44:26.239 --> 00:44:29.679 sexual abuse in places like the DRC, Haiti, and 00:44:29.679 --> 00:44:32.699 Sudan. And beyond that, scientists actually cited 00:44:32.699 --> 00:44:35.239 UN peacekeepers from Nepal as the source of the 00:44:35.239 --> 00:44:38.380 2010's Haiti cholera outbreak, which killed thousands 00:44:38.380 --> 00:44:41.369 of civilians. When the organization tasked with 00:44:41.369 --> 00:44:44.550 saving lives is directly responsible for causing 00:44:44.550 --> 00:44:47.610 mass death and perpetuating ethical horrors, 00:44:47.750 --> 00:44:50.630 that shifts the failure from a policy limitation 00:44:50.630 --> 00:44:55.110 to a profound moral crisis. That level of operational 00:44:55.110 --> 00:44:58.489 failure just poisons the trust you need for any 00:44:58.489 --> 00:45:01.250 humanitarian work to succeed. And those ethical 00:45:01.250 --> 00:45:04.510 and operational disasters, the corruption, the 00:45:04.510 --> 00:45:07.710 oil for food program, the horrific misconduct 00:45:07.710 --> 00:45:11.550 by peacekeepers, They are absolute steens on 00:45:11.550 --> 00:45:13.969 the organization's reputation. They have to be 00:45:13.969 --> 00:45:16.150 addressed with the gravest seriousness. I agree. 00:45:16.429 --> 00:45:19.309 However, I think we have to view them as failures 00:45:19.309 --> 00:45:22.710 of accountability and implementation within specific 00:45:22.710 --> 00:45:25.750 missions, rather than as a failure of the entire 00:45:25.750 --> 00:45:28.670 system's effectiveness. The UN isn't immune to 00:45:28.670 --> 00:45:31.530 reform. These failures are what drive necessary 00:45:31.530 --> 00:45:34.730 institutional changes, like the significant management 00:45:34.730 --> 00:45:37.230 reforms started by Bouchos Bouchos Ghali and 00:45:37.230 --> 00:45:40.239 Kofi Annan. And when we look at the entire system, 00:45:40.420 --> 00:45:44.119 the specialized agencies offer a vital counterpoint. 00:45:44.280 --> 00:45:46.880 The material notes that these agencies, like 00:45:46.880 --> 00:45:49.320 the Food and Agricultural Organization and the 00:45:49.320 --> 00:45:52.980 UNHCR, they operate with almost complete independence. 00:45:53.039 --> 00:45:56.239 They succeed in their essential functions, promoting 00:45:56.239 --> 00:45:59.340 agricultural stability, protecting refugees, 00:45:59.619 --> 00:46:02.780 precisely because their effectiveness is measured 00:46:02.780 --> 00:46:05.539 by tangible outcomes, by technical expertise. 00:46:06.429 --> 00:46:09.230 It insulates them from those political constraints. 00:46:09.590 --> 00:46:12.610 This operational independence ensures that the 00:46:12.610 --> 00:46:15.989 life -saving work continues, even amidst the 00:46:15.989 --> 00:46:19.289 dysfunction of the Security Council. If we judge 00:46:19.289 --> 00:46:21.949 the organization on where its success is most 00:46:21.949 --> 00:46:24.929 consistent, the balance has to tip toward the 00:46:24.929 --> 00:46:28.110 welfare agencies. I see why you emphasize that 00:46:28.110 --> 00:46:31.690 independence, I do. But I remain unconvinced. 00:46:31.960 --> 00:46:34.800 that the effectiveness of independent parts can 00:46:34.800 --> 00:46:37.400 redeem the failures of the whole, especially 00:46:37.400 --> 00:46:39.960 when that whole is so clearly defined by its 00:46:39.960 --> 00:46:43.940 charter. Conclusion. So, to summarize my position, 00:46:44.340 --> 00:46:46.760 the assassinate of the UN has to remain tethered 00:46:46.760 --> 00:46:49.960 to its primary mandate, peace and security. When 00:46:49.960 --> 00:46:52.900 the organization suffers a systemic failure in 00:46:52.900 --> 00:46:55.599 conflict zones, when the veto ensures paralysis 00:46:55.599 --> 00:46:58.840 and great powers use funding as political leverage, 00:46:59.360 --> 00:47:01.920 The UN is fundamentally unable to address its 00:47:01.920 --> 00:47:04.360 most critical charter function. All the other 00:47:04.360 --> 00:47:06.579 development gains are just made vulnerable when 00:47:06.579 --> 00:47:08.539 the organization cannot prevent mass conflict. 00:47:08.800 --> 00:47:11.300 Its effectiveness ultimately is measured by its 00:47:11.300 --> 00:47:13.920 ability to prevent the worst outcomes, not just 00:47:13.920 --> 00:47:17.119 alleviate them afterwards. Well, I think complexity 00:47:17.119 --> 00:47:21.059 like this often requires multiple perspectives 00:47:21.059 --> 00:47:25.380 to really appreciate the global impact. And while 00:47:25.380 --> 00:47:28.519 the political and ethical failings in the security 00:47:28.519 --> 00:47:33.440 apparatus are undeniable, for me, the UN's enduring 00:47:33.440 --> 00:47:37.119 legacy, its true measure of effectiveness, is 00:47:37.119 --> 00:47:40.219 found in its vast infrastructure for human rights, 00:47:40.420 --> 00:47:43.719 economic development, and global health. These 00:47:43.719 --> 00:47:46.719 secondary objectives, they now represent the 00:47:46.719 --> 00:47:50.079 majority of the system's work. They offer proof 00:47:50.079 --> 00:47:52.960 of tangible, sustained global cooperation that 00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:56.440 saves millions of lives, often succeeding precisely 00:47:56.440 --> 00:47:59.219 where the political organs are designed to fail. 00:47:59.460 --> 00:48:02.900 These results are the stable core of the organization's 00:48:02.900 --> 00:48:05.960 continuous success. The tension between the UN's 00:48:05.960 --> 00:48:08.760 structural political limitations and its societal 00:48:08.760 --> 00:48:10.780 achievements remains central to understanding 00:48:10.780 --> 00:48:13.349 global governance. It certainly suggests there's 00:48:13.349 --> 00:48:15.710 much more to explore in the material about how 00:48:15.710 --> 00:48:17.809 international organizations navigate sovereign 00:48:17.809 --> 00:48:21.130 interests. Indeed. Thank you for joining us for 00:48:21.130 --> 00:48:22.130 The Debate.