As the war in Ukraine drags on into its second month, one thing has become abundantly clear, namely the impotency of the UN and NATO in being able to guarantee peace and stability in this troubled world of ours.
The competency of the UN has long been questioned; however, this war has highlighted its embarrassing inability to deal with a clear case of naked aggression by a predatory nation on its peaceful neighbour. This inability is rooted in the very structure of the UN, with its all-powerful Security Council hobbled completely by the veto power of its constituent members. So, if one of its members, say Russia,- decides without the slightest justification to make brutal war on its neighbour and commit horrific war crimes in the process, the UN can do nothing, since Russia holds veto power over any UN actions. Essentially, any member of the Security Council can wage war on anyone it likes without fear of any consequences.
The only cases where the UN has played a constructive role in mitigating armed conflict is when it involves third world or minor countries that carry little clout on the world stage. However, if any of the major world powers are involved, say Russia, China or even the U.S., they essentially get a free ride. UN involvement is very selective, and smaller less powerful nations who are the most vulnerable, become sacrificial lambs to big power interests. The UN is being justifiably viewed as increasingly irrelevant as an agent of peace in the world.
One can only hope that this latest war on Ukraine may cause the free nations of the world to seriously reconsider the way the UN operates. In its current setup, it clearly doesn’t work, so let’s fix it. No country, and especially the large nuclear powers should have a veto. Secondly, any country that is deemed the aggressor in an armed conflict, should not have any say or vote on any UN deliberation or decision with regards to that conflict. The principle of “conflict of interest” should rule in such situations.
Thirdly, the UN should have the power to declare and enforce no fly zones in cases where innocent civilian populations and infrastructure are being threatened or attacked. They should also have the power to enforce safe evacuation routes and humanitarian supply corridors for civilians in danger. This of course, pre-supposes that the UN establish rapid response forces with sufficient military capability to fulfill these mandates.
Fourthly, in order to ensure consistency, fairness, timeliness and effectiveness, the UN should have the power to impose economic sanctions on behalf of all of its members. Instead of the contentious patchwork of uneven sanctions that we have observed being imposed on Russia, the UN should have been able to quickly put in place an escalating series of comprehensive sanctions as soon as it was declared an aggressor state.
NATO’s response to the Ukrainian war has not been particularly impressive either. Their response has been confused, uneven and inadequate by a long shot. The superficial excuse has been that Ukraine is not a NATO member. That is surely beside the point – what is happening in Ukraine poses a major threat to all of Europe, not only militarily, but economically and politically as well. NATO needs to review its mandate and its policies so that it is better prepared to provide a quick, persuasive and decisive response, anytime any country in Europe is attacked like Ukraine was. Aggressor countries like Russia in this case, need to understand that they cannot threaten or impose their will on neutral or buffer states like Ukraine in the future. The consequences of doing so need to be clear, obvious and effective.
Whether we like it or not, the world has not yet rid itself of unsavoury and predatory evil nations that pose a danger to international peace and security. It is time to get rid of the anemic alliances and political structures that have failed to protect the basic human rights of the world’s citizens, and create something that works, something that would make the Russias, Chinas and the many fundamentalist forces think twice before undertaking to impose their will on others.
The UN needs to be blown up and re-assembled into something that works. NATO needs a more realistic approach towards how it deals with rogue states like Russia. We need to make sure that the sacrifices that Ukraine is making now will not be repeated, and that they lead to a more effective world order.
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