Dr. Md. Anwar Hossain
United Nations Day is celebrated every year on October 24. On this day in 1945, the United Nations officially came into being with the entry into force of the United Nations Charter. Since 1948, the United Nations General Assembly has declared this day as United Nations Day. The leading countries of the world took the initiative to form an international organization to save the world from the horrors of World War II and establish peace. The United Nations officially started its journey on October 24, 1945 with 51 member states. On this day, the United Nations Charter came into effect, which is the main foundation of this international organization. Earlier, when the 'League of Nations' formed after World War I failed, the United Nations was created in the context of World War II. The United Nations Security Council has five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. If any of these countries veto it, no proposal can be passed.
The main significance of United Nations Day is to reaffirm the commitment of the world to the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security. This day provides an opportunity to inform the world about the goals, objectives and global achievements of the United Nations. This day provides an opportunity for member states to come together on a platform where they can discuss war, peace and other important international issues.
The theme of UN Day 2025 is "The future we want, the United Nations we need: Reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism." The United Nations has also declared 2025 as a number of international years, including on glacier conservation, peace and trust, quantum science and technology, and cooperation.
Bangladesh became the 136th member of the United Nations on September 17, 1974. Since then, Bangladesh has also celebrated United Nations Day every year through various programs. The United Nations has been working as a partner of Bangladesh in various development activities.
While the UN has been able to achieve the goals of Western states and their allies, it has not been able to meet most of the goals of ordinary member states. The organization has achieved some success in some areas, such as maintaining peace, protecting human rights, and eradicating poverty. However, complex problems such as conflict, inequality, and climate change still remain 100% of the time, which affect the organization's activities.
Some of the UN's achievements at this stage are: Since 1948, the UN has conducted largely successful peacekeeping operations in countries such as Cambodia, Mozambique and Tajikistan, which have helped with conflict resolution and reconciliation. Human rights and development: In 2000, the UN set the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which included reducing poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality and expanding education. The organization has been able to meet some of the goals, although most have failed to meet them, with the rest being pursued as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
This step highlights the limitations and challenges of the United Nations: Issues such as global conflict, inequality, and climate change still pose challenges to the work of the United Nations. At times, political and economic divisions among member states hinder the decision-making process of the United Nations. The failure to achieve many goals and, in some cases, the slow pace of achieving goals is also a major challenge. Although the United Nations has succeeded in achieving some goals, it has not yet been able to fulfill most of the dreams of ordinary member states. The United Nations mostly implements the "Western agenda" in terms of war, political and human rights protection, although it is a multinational organization that is supposed to work in the collective interests of member states.
The main limitations of the UN are: The five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) have veto power. This means that a resolution cannot be passed if any of them vetoes it, which often prevents important decisions from being made. The UN does not have its own strong military or police force. Therefore, the organization does not have the power to force any member state, which creates problems in implementing its decisions. The UN cannot act impartially at times due to political conflicts or interests among member states. In particular, the political influence of the permanent member states affects important decisions. The UN has some structural limitations, such as the secret process of electing the Secretary-General and only the five permanent states make decisions in it. Although the General Assembly is a representative body of the UN, its power is much more limited than that of the Security Council. The resolutions adopted by the General Assembly are not binding, and the decisions of the Security Council take precedence.
In addition, some general limitations contribute to the UN's failure — countries are not obligated to comply with UN resolutions. If a country refuses to comply, the UN cannot take strong action. While economic sanctions can be imposed, they are often ineffective and have a negative impact on innocent people. The UN has also failed to play an effective role during major crises such as the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides, raising long-standing questions about its effectiveness.
The UN has failed to stop the wars in Gaza and Ukraine for two main reasons: the veto power of the permanent members of the Security Council and the conflicting geopolitical interests of the member states. The United States has vetoed several Palestinian ceasefire proposals in Gaza. The United States, a close ally of Israel and protecting its geopolitical interests, has blocked the proposal to stop the war in Gaza. On the other hand, in the Russia-Ukraine war, Russia itself vetoed any proposal for action against Russia, which has rendered the UN's action ineffective.
Geopolitical interests of member states The structure of the UN is such that powerful states prioritize their own interests. It often prioritizes political considerations over humanitarian crises. The US veto on the Gaza issue has been criticized around the world. As a result, many countries have questioned the effectiveness of the UN and are considering finding an alternative international forum.
I think that the UN can be called "an organization loyal and obedient to America and the West", especially because of the veto power of the United States in the Security Council, the fact that the headquarters is located in the United States, and the influence of Western countries on the organization's policies and activities is very clear. These allegations indicate that the UN protects the interests of Western countries, especially America, in most cases of ensuring global peace and justice, which is natural for many countries to not seem neutral. The United States and its allies have been providing economic and military support to the UN at various times, which in many cases is used to fulfill their political objectives.
Finally, I conclude this article by including some suggestions below to make the United Nations dynamic and for the benefit of ordinary member states: I believe that the number of permanent members should be increased to increase the power and representation of the Security Council. This can ensure representation of different regions and different types. The veto power of the permanent members of the Security Council should be abolished or its limits should be set, so that no one country can block important decisions alone. The recommendations of the General Assembly should be made more effective and its decisions should be given the power to be binding, because many recommendations are not implemented in the current system. More transparency and accountability should be brought in the adoption and implementation of resolutions, so that member states can be better informed about their roles and decisions. I think these are important to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of the United Nations.
The writer is a Essayist, Writer and President of the International Anti-Drug Organization - Freedom International Anti-Alcohol. He can be reached at E-Mail Address: eddanwar@gmail.com