The UN at 80: a toothless tiger in the face of global crises

THE United Nations (UN) is now 80 years old. The impotency of the United Nations in halting the level of violence is a shocking indictment of this organisation.

- FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni

What is needed is an international judicial structure that is independent of the power constellation prevailing in the UN Security Council. The UN, both in principle and in practice, was the closest thing we would have had to a world government, coming together to tackle the challenges faced by all humanity.

The UN is an utterly useless organisation when it comes to protecting human rights and enforcing security. It failed to stop the invasion of Iraq and the Syrian crisis, which has resulted in the death of 2 million civilians and made Iraq worse than it was under Saddam Hussein. It has proven itself a failure for its entire history and will continue to do so.