The Annapurna Express, November 29, 2019
The UN was set up after WWII with good
intentions. Fifty-one countries got together and entered a network whose aim
was “maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly
relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards
and human rights” (UN website.) Nobody could disagree with such a mandate.
But then cracks began to show in this ideal
utopian vision. While the rhetoric assured the world that the unique
international character of the UN meant it was open to all 193 member nations,
it also stated:
“The Organization can take action on a wide
range of issues, and provide a forum for its 193 Member States to express their
views, through the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social
Council and other bodies and committees.”
The Security Council is made up of 15
wealthy countries which have used their muscle power to dominate and invade
small countries. They also apply sanctions to nations who they deem
rogue—although the criteria for rogue nation appears subjective, at best. At
worst, an objective observer may argue that the wealthiest nations have ganged
up on regional powers because they don’t want them to dominate some
capitalistic sector (energy, military, or otherwise) in which they themselves
have an interest to monopolize.
The workings of the UN is neo-colonial. A
monied bureaucratic class dominated by Europeans, North Americans, Australians
and Japanese are posted to various outposts in the world. Through these postings,
they tell the governments of various nations how to conduct themselves on all
sorts of internal issues like governance, finance, justice, and security.
Interference of this sort which would never be accepted by Western nations is
meted out to Third World nations on a daily basis. These nations are seen to be
intransigent if they refuse these favors.
No questions are accepted on why a skewed
economic system which allows Western nations to dominate financially continues
to operate in the 21st century.
If we are to truly follow the spirit of the
UN, we need to dismantle the current system and set up an alternate system of
global governance. This new UN—let’s call it the United Planet --would
prioritize environmental health of the planet over military, economic or
demographic superiority of nation-states. It would not see military might as
the arbiter of authority, but would follow the spirit of liberalism, in which
the equality of all human beings would be the touchstone to creating a just and
ethical economic policy.
The patchwork of work done by the UN has
been exemplary in many regards. But in no way has it brought social change fast
enough for the 7 billion who are suffering from lack of basic needs (food,
housing, education, health, and a living, sustainable environment.) Urban
poverty besets Western nations, despite talks of great wealth. Financial and
monetary policy continue to favor the rich, with certain layers of society
getting the crème de la crème access to credit and cash, while those at the
bottom do all the work and get very little.
None of this is working, for either rich or
poor. It was working well for the rich till the environment started to collapse
and excessive exploitation of resources led to a planetary crisis. Even the
very wealthy become subject to climate change, air pollution and water
shortages. There are expensive bunkers to retreat into, but in the end there is
no escape as the collapse of biodiversity may wipe all humans out of existence.
Our world is more unequal than ever,
despite glowing optimism. Technology, including AI, rears its ugly head as a
means of surveillance and state control. One war, one natural disaster, and
millions of people can be displaced, starving, bonded to labor, trafficked,
enslaved, with no oversight or system in place to stop such an event. We’ve
seen such events in our lifetime—the Rohingya genocide, migrants drowning to
reach Europe, the slavery of African immigrants in Libya, detention of children
of Latin American families in America’s borders, the cultural erasure of
Uighurs in China.
Technology has gotten a free pass for too
long. It needs to be regulated with great oversight (although we have already
opened Pandora’s Box.) Covert military programs will continue to misuse
technology, on a scale we cannot imagine now. Any international organization
that replaces the UN must be alert to this possibility. It must constantly seek
to find and delete these fascist impulses.
What we need now is a radical new system to
replace the old and outdated. The new union of governments will govern in a
just and ethical manner, treating all nationals of Planet Earth with equal
dignity. The new union will ensure fair distribution of money and resources,
prioritize environmental protection over capitalistic gain, and reward simple
living over excessive consumption. All of this will happen through a system of
global governance which will replace entrenched systems of racial and gender
inequality, nation-state dominance, and exploitation of capital and labor.
The MeToo Movement from women, Extinction
Rebellion, Greta Thunberg and all the children of the world who call for an
ethical deal on sustainability—all these movements point to a time in history
when change is inevitable. Governance can no longer be left to the hands of a
group of elderly men. We need to ask for, and get, a radical rehaul in the way
governance is imagined, and conducted, on this planet.
Comments