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Kathmandu Tuesday October 24, 2000 Kartik 08, 2057.
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Strengthening the UN
The UN marks
its 55th anniversary this year. Founded in Oct 21, 1945 in the wake of the catastrophic
horrors of World War II, it was established to promote world peace. Through the General
Assembly, Security Council, and the Secretariat of the UN, it has consistently pursued
this end- passing resolutions, mobilising international consensus and overseeing
peacekeeping operations. UN development organisations have also supported development
efforts worldwide. Being a UN member since 1955, Nepal has contributed in the UN endeavour
by sending soldiers in peacekeeping operations on one hand, while on the other it has
benefitted from the various UN sponsored aid projects.
In line with its non-aligned foreign
policy, Nepal has always advocated disarmament, spoken for global consensus and peaceful
resolution of international disputes. Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) personnel have been
involved in overseeing peace in Lebanon (1958 and 1978 onwards), Indo-Pak border (1965),
Sinai (1974), Afghanistan (1988), former Yugoslavia (1992) and other places. Nepal Police
have also joined the Army in sending peacekeepers to Sierra Leone, East Timor and Kosovo.
Nepal’s contribution in UN peacekeeping has been well appreciated by the
international community. This is evident from the appointment of an RNA general to head
the UN mission to Cyprus. UN development agencies like the ILO, UNICEF, WHO, FAO and
others have long been established in Nepal to assist in fields such as agriculture,
health, education and other sectors. Nepal has not only played a constructive role in
international affairs through the UN forum, the country has also reaped the benefits of UN
sponsored assistance in its development efforts. UN’s expertise in the Third World
development has come in handy for Nepalese policymakers.
Despite the UN effort to bring about human
solidarity and end conflicts, there have been countless wars and armed struggle between
nations and within nations themselves around the world since 1945. In 1950, a US led UN
force took on the task of resisting North Korea’s invasion of South Korea. The war
dragged on to involve China. In the Middle East, the UN was unable to prevent the
Arab-Israeli wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973. The long war in Indochina, involving mainly
France and US against communist Vietnamese, was also beyond UN control. The Indo-Pak wars
of 1965 and 1971, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1978), the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988)
and the invasion of Kuwait (1990) are testimony of failure of UN to keep world peace.
These failures have raised questions about the credibility and efficacy of the UN itself.
UN’s influence in world affairs was at
its lowest ebb in the Cold War, when the two Super Powers supported opposing sides in
civil wars in many Third World nations. The flare up of civil war in former Yugoslavia
(1991-1999) exposed the horrible weakness of the UN. The UN failed to protect countless
civilian lives, UN peacekeepers themselves were humiliated by being taken as hostages. The
UN has also had to consistently face the problem of budget deficit due to deferment in
payment of operations cost by member states. This has led to staff reductions as well told
on its effectiveness in the light of growing demand of UN presence worldwide.
Now, into the 21st century, there is no disputing the
significant role the UN can play to ensure peace throughout the world. It is no doubt
vital that the UN needs to be strengthened and rendered more dynamic and more democratic
if its effort to maintain peace and help in development activities, especially in the
impoverished region of the world is to succeed.
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