The United Nations was chartered in 1945 after the utter devastation of World War II to prevent future similar calamities from occurring. The stated goals of this organization include cooperation among nations, maintaining peace and security, with peacekeeping being a primary mission, and promoting and encouraging respect for human rights with all member-states pledging to “undertake joint and separate action” to protect these rights. Reading this makes it seem like a very noble organization. We haven’t had a World War III, so I guess it has served a purpose. Except, has it?
To understand the United Nations and its operations, let us first go to Iran, where a theocratic dictatorship has been in power since 1979. Iranian women are being beaten to death in the streets by legal roving gangs known as the “morality police.” These morality police don’t have to give a reason why they are beating you, they can just do it, in broad daylight. But, what are the “crimes” these women are committing? The morality police allege that women are wearing the mandatory Hijab, or headscarf, that the Islamic regime has required all women to wear since taking power, in a way that was provocative. Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman, was taken by the morality police for this “crime” and subsequently beaten to death. Since this occurred, massive daily protests over the unfair and unjust treatment of women in Iran are occurring; what some are now calling a Women’s Revolution has taken over the capital, Tehran, and spread to other cities as well.
And the terror against women is not only within Iranian borders; international rock climber, Elnaz Rekabi, has gone missing after not wearing a hijab in a competition in Seoul, South Korea and is reportedly imprisoned for her actions. It’s not lost on me that most of the protesters, and the estimated 159 young women who’ve been killed since the protests have begun, are teenagers, and if you look at TikTok you can watch hundreds of videos showcasing the anguish they face for trying to live without daily oppression.
And what has become of Iran, the Ayatollah, the Revolutionary Guards, and the rest of the Iranian leadership? Universal condemnation for this flagrant violation of human rights, especially by the United Nations, right? No. Not right. You see, Iran is an elected member of the UN’s top women’s rights body, the Commission on the Status of Women, and also the UN Human Rights Committee. The women of Iran are on their own as far as the UN is concerned.
Next up is China. Merely saying the word “Uyghur” in China almost certainly will mean a knock on the door from their not-so-secret police and a line of questioning that likely will land you in jail. China has been openly committing crimes against humanity to eradicate its largest ethnic minority group (a largely Muslim population) for decades now. Much has been said and written about the Uyghur plight and the concentration camps they have been forced into. The world has pretty much shrugged and continues buying more cheap goods from China that possibly have slave labor origins from within these camps. And yet, China not only holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, the most powerful of the United Nations bodies, but it is also on the UN Human Rights Commission as well. So, if you are an Uyghur, don’t bother hoping for protection from the UN. (Same goes if you are Taiwanese. One China is the official motto of the UN).
There is so much hypocrisy within the UN. Venezuela and Sudan can starve their citizens but be member-states on the UN Human Rights Council. Saudi Arabia can be on the UN Committee for Crime and Criminal Justice after beheading a Washington Post journalist. Afghanistan can hold a seat on the UN Commission on the Status of Women after not allowing girls to go to school. But, rest assured, no matter the issue, the UN is always ready to issue a condemnation of Israel and has a permanent committee dedicated to focusing its criticism solely on the only Jewish nation in the world. In the current 2021-22 session, the UN Human Rights Commission has condemned Israel 14 times so far. To be clear, that’s 14 times more than Russia, for its egregious invasion of Ukraine (which is in direct violation of the UN Charter), China, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, or over 100 other countries for human rights “violations.”
Trying to understand the UN’s actual role on the global stage is very difficult. There are many proclamations and statements by the current Secretary General Antonio Guiterez of Portugal on their website. But due to the structure of the organization, there has been no real condemnation of Russia, for instance, for its obscene war against Ukraine. The most powerful UN body, the Security Council, has not expelled Russia for its actions, nor has it been able to issue any binding resolutions against Putin requiring his withdrawal of troops, because Russia sits on the Security Council.
The role of the United States at the United Nations seems to be both funder and referee. We hold veto power to ensure none of the crazy things proposed by totalitarian dictators in the name of “peace” or “human rights” actually happen, which is good I suppose, but would any of these crazy things be enforceable anyway? Why are we giving this ridiculously ineffective organization more than $11.6 billion annually?
It’s 2022. World peace enforcement and the legitimate protection of human rights are not possible from a centralized, corrupt, waste of money-organization like the UN without major reorganization and reform of the institution itself. We owe this to the courageous women and girls in Iran, to the Uygurs in China, to the Sudanese, Somalian, Venezuelan, Cuban, Afghan, Myanmar, and others whose human rights are being exploited, while the UN does absolutely nothing. The US should withhold all of our monetary support until substantial changes are made and focus is squarely back on what the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights envisioned by Eleanor Roosevelt stated: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
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