Revitalising UN for the 21st Century

• 11 Jun 2025

For Prelims: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), United Nations, P5 veto power, 2015 Paris Agreement, World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Peacekeeping Missions, UN Security Council, UNFCCC, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), International Court of Justice (ICJ).         

For Mains: Need for reforms in United Nations (UN), Challenges related to the UN and measures needed to reform the UN. 

Source: IE  

Why in News? 

Global conflict levels have reached their highest since World War II, with over 233,000 lives lost and 120 million people displaced in 2024. This escalating violence and instability is revealing the limitations of the United Nations (UN), highlighting the need for essential reforms to strengthen its ability to address such global challenges. 

What are Key Achievements of the United Nations in the Contemporary World? 

• Climate Leadership: The UN played a key role in the 2015 Paris Agreement and continues to mobilise global cooperation on climate goals, sustainability, and green transitions through its global convening power. 
• Food Security: The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest global food aid initiative, providing life-saving assistance in emergencies and making a transformational impact on hunger reduction, nutrition, and disaster response. 
• Post-Conflict Reconstruction: The UN and its agencies, particularly the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have supported post-conflict states by rebuilding governance, promoting entrepreneurship, and investing in infrastructure—as seen in Liberia, where UNDP aided economic recovery and stability. 
  • UNDP’s microfinance programmes have been vital in restoring local trade, revitalising conflict-affected economies, and enhancing household resilience and livelihoods. 
• Peacekeeping and Security Enhancement: UN Peacekeeping Missions have helped restore peace in volatile regions like South Sudan, enhancing security perceptions and improving local economic and household well-being. 
• Promotion of Human Rights: The UN has played a key role in advancing global human rights through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the UN Human Rights Council, tackling discrimination, oppression, and violence against minorities.

What are the Limitations of the United Nations in the Contemporary World? 

• Inability to Prevent or Resolve Conflicts: Global conflict is at its highest since World War II, with 56 ongoing wars involving 92 countries, highlighting the UN’s declining role in conflict prevention and resolution—as seen in its limited impact on the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts. 
  • Conflicts are undermining progress in poverty reduction, education, health, and infrastructure, with 40% of the world's poor (455 million) living in war-torn countries. This threatens the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030. 
• Weak Enforcement of Peace and Security: Over 233,000 deaths and 120 million displaced in 2024 due to war and persecution reflect the UN’s limited effectiveness in ensuring peace and human rights, and undermining the UN Charter’s core goals. 
  • Reliance on voluntary troops causes delays (e.g., Rwanda genocide), and sanctions often hurt civilians more than regimes (e.g., Iraq in the 1990s). 
  • Massive humanitarian breakdowns in Yemen (only 54% health facilities functional), Sudan (15 million lacking water and sanitation), and Nigeria (economic loss of USD 91.2–USD 112.8 billion) highlight the UN’s limited influence in securing human rights and basic services in fragile and war-torn states. 
• Insufficient Response to Economic and Environmental Fallout: Violence cost the global economy USD 19.3 trillion in 2023 (13.5% of GDP), yet the UN lacks tools to address economic fallout like trade disruption and investment losses. 
  • Climate impacts of war, including 5.5% of global emissions from military activity and ecosystem destruction, remain largely excluded from global climate frameworks, exposing a major policy gap. 
• Eroding Influence and Outdated Structure: Formed in 1945, the UN’s structure, particularly the P5 veto power, often blocks timely and impartial action. 
  • For instance, the veto power of the UN Security Council's P5 has often blocked resolutions in conflicts like Israel-Hamas favoring national interests over global justice. 
    • India and Brazil's exclusion from permanent membership in the UN Security Council reflects a power imbalance within the UN system. 
  • Its failure to adapt to modern challenges—like climate-conflict links, asymmetric warfare, and transnational extremism—makes it seem outdated and rigid. 
• Rise of Minilateral Forums: The rise of minilateral forums like Quad, BRICS, G7, and G20, EU, African Union, undermines the UN by bypassing its inclusive framework, weakening its legitimacy and consensus-building role.  
  • These groups often divert focus and resources, operate with less transparency, and exclude smaller nations, sidelining the UN’s “one country, one vote” principle and reinforcing power hierarchies in global decision-making. 
• Chronic Underfunding: The UN has repeatedly highlighted underfunding, which hampers peacekeeping, climate resilience, and humanitarian aid, as major economies often delay or cut contributions—e.g., US funding cuts to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). 

What Institutional Reforms are Crucial to Enhance the UN's Effectiveness in the Modern World? 

• Reforming Veto Power: Limit unilateral veto use by introducing a nonpartisan review panel to assess its motives and impacts, ensuring transparency and accountability.  
  • A super-majority (2/3rd) in the General Assembly should be empowered to override a vetoed resolution.  
  • The France-Mexico proposal, which seeks to ban the use of veto in cases of genocide and mass atrocities, deserves serious consideration. 
• Expand Permanent & Non-Permanent Membership: There is a need to add India, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, and Japan as permanent members, and create rotating seats for climate-vulnerable states like Pacific Islands and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). 
  • These steps would enhance equity, representation, and legitimacy in global decision-making. 
• Accountability for Conflict Pollution: Mandate military emissions reporting under UNFCCC, set binding decarbonization targets for the defence sector (e.g., green fuels, renewables), and recognise its role in climate accountability. 
  • Create a UN-administered fund for post-conflict reforestation and clean energy reconstruction. 
• Funding & Financial Reforms: Establish an automatic funding mechanism with penalties for defaults, and explore global taxes—such as a billionaires tax, carbon tax on aviation/shipping, and digital tax on Big Tech—to fund UN aid, climate adaptation, and SDGs. 
  • Ensure timely contributions from member states, especially large economies, while encouraging voluntary funding for conflict, climate, and poverty-affected regions. 
• Fair and Ethical Decision-Making: Establish universal jurisdiction for war crimes and support decision-making under a “veil of ignorance” (blind voting system) to minimize bias and national self-interest. 
  • Create an independent ethics panel to address conflicts of interest, with automatic sanctions for non-compliance with International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings. 
• Strengthening Regional Partnerships: The UN should strengthen its partnerships with regional organizations, such as the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to address regional conflicts and crises more effectively. This could involve joint peacekeeping missions, disaster relief efforts, and policy coordination. 
  • It will also balance multilateralism with minilateralism.

Conclusion 

Reforming the United Nations is essential to ensure it remains a relevant and effective actor in the contemporary global order. These reforms, including changes to its decision-making processes, peacekeeping mandates, budget structure, and governance, would allow the UN to better address the complex and interconnected challenges of the 21st century, ensuring a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world. 

Drishti Mains Question:

The United Nations’ inability to prevent modern conflicts highlights its structural weaknesses. Suggest reforms to make it more effective in maintaining global peace and security.

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ) 

Prelims 

Q. With reference to the “United Nations Credentials Committee”, consider the following statements: (2022)

1. It is a committee set up by the UN Security Council and works under its supervision.  
2. It traditionally meets in March, June and September every year  
3. It assesses the credentials of all UN members before submitting a report to the General Assembly for approval.  

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (2022)

(a) 3 only  

(b) 1 and 3  

(c) 2 and 3  

(d) 1 and 2  

Ans: (a) 

Q. With reference to the United Nations, consider the following statements: (2009) 

1. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN consists of 24 member States. 
2. It is elected by a 2/3rd majority of the General  Assembly for a 3-year term. 

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?  

(a) 1 only   

(b) 2 only  

(c) Both 1 and 2   

(d) Neither 1 nor 2  

Ans: (b)  

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Mains: 

Q. What are the main functions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)? Explain different functional commissions attached to it. (2017) 

Q. Discuss the impediments India is facing in its pursuit of a permanent seat in the UN Security Council (2015)