Kofi Annan visit - Ineffective UN needs makeover
As founder and chief executive of GOAL, John O’Shea knows what he is talking about when it comes to helping the people of the developing world.
He is a man who has put his money where his mouth is, a man who has not been slow to criticise the Irish Government for giving aid to corrupt regimes instead of channelling it directly to the people who need it.
An outspoken critic of the ineffectual nature of the UN in the face of military crises, he has today issued a direct challenge to the outgoing Secretary General to wind up the organisation.
Mr O’Shea makes it patently clear that his criticisms are informed by years of humanitarian work, often picking up the pieces after the UN had failed in its duty of care to civilians caught up in armed conflict.
In one sense, he is preaching to the converted as Mr Annan is known to favour making the UN more effective. He is especially keen to see it command greater respect among developing nations.
But given its horrendous failure to prevent the massacre of innocent people in Rwanda and Bosnia, the task of winning that respect has become increasingly difficult.
Having been trampled underfoot by America and Britain in their rush to wage war on Iraq, the UN has a lot of ground to make up if it is to regain its former status.
Mr O’Shea makes the valid point that since the foundation of the UN in the wake of World War II, with the aim of preventing major wars ever happening again, the world has never been without war.
Today more than 20 conflicts are raging.
Indeed, Mr Annan begins his five-day visit amid widespread confusion over the UN’s role in Iraq and with the crisis of Darfur in Western Sudan still unresolved.
Illustrating Mr O’Shea’s argument, four members of the Security Council abstained on the motion to bring oil sanctions against the Sudanese government if it failed to protect the people of Darfur against ongoing attacks.
As he succinctly put it, “the current crisis in Darfur is a telling example of how the UN’s ineptitude costs lives”.
Meanwhile, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the economic dominance of powerful western nations, inequality is more deeply rooted than ever in human society.
The spectres of famine, genocide and globalisation haunt millions of people in developing countries.
One positive step which the UN should take is the inclusion of Africa as a permanent member of the Security Council.
At least that would give the struggling continent an immediate sense of responsibility for crucial decisions affecting nations beset by the scourge of AIDS and riven by wars waged by ruthless dictators.
While much of the criticism voiced by Mr O’Shea hits the nail squarely on the head, winding up the UN is not the answer.
But if the global organisation is to reflect the realities of the international community in the 21st century, and if it is rediscover its moral prerogative, the UN must re-invent itself because it is simply not working.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
