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Originally posted by Darth_Erebus
Why does this organization exist? It was supposedly created to end war and help development in less developed nations.
It was created to prevent war
between countries, however the manner in which it was designed has always been a hindrance on the body's ability to intervene in affairs that can be deemed as "domestic". The veto rights and permanent security council membership granted to of the five victorious powers of WWII aren't exactly helpful to its authority either.
Originally posted by Darth_Erebus
In these it has failed miserably. In the sixty years it has existed there is still almost constant war somewhere on earth. Nuclear weapons, not the UN, is the reason we haven't had WWIII.
It's a forum not an army. Nuclear non-proliferation is just one of the areas where member nations flout the restrictions they themselves impose, and the idea that everyone having nuclear weapons provides international and regional stability is ludicrous.
Originally posted by Darth_Erebus
Poor countries are still poor, the UN has done very little to help modernize them.
Continuing agricultural subsidies in developed nations and unfair trade restrictions that impede economic growth in developing nations and a failure by member states to meet the foreign aid goals set by the United Nations are probably just a few of the causative factors here.
Originally posted by Darth_Erebus
I say it is time to shut this useless body down. All it does is tax the resources of wealthier nations while producing no real benefit for the world.
The U.N. does need to be reformed. However it and it's agencies, UNICEF, WFP, UNAIDS, WHO, currently does and has done a lot of good work in the world e.g. smallpox, polio eradication programmes. Its ability to function is only as effective as its member nations allow it to be.