UNITED NATIONS (AP) 鈥� The United Nations, a collaborative global dream built into reality out of the ashes of World War II, marks its 80th anniversary this month. There鈥檚 little to celebrate.
Its clout on the world stage is diminished. Facing major funding cuts from the United States and others, it has been forced to shed jobs and start tackling long-delayed reforms. Its longtime credo of 鈥渕ultilateralism" is under siege. Its most powerful body, the Security Council, has been blocked from taking action to end the two major wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
And as conflict between Israel, Iran and now the United States flares, it watched from the sidelines.
Four generations after its founding, as it tries to chart a new path for its future, a question hangs over the institution and the nearly 150,000 people it employs and oversees: Can the United Nations remain relevant in an increasingly contentious and fragmented world? With its dream of collaboration drifting, can it even survive?
When the United Nations was born in San Francisco on June 26, 1945, the overriding goal of the 50 participants who signed the U.N. Charter was stated in its first words: 鈥渢o save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.鈥�
Earlier this year, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded that same theme: 鈥淓ight decades later, one can draw a direct line between the creation of the United Nations and the prevention of a third world war.鈥�
There has been no such war 鈥� thus far. But conflicts still rage.
They continue not only in and but , eastern , and 鈥� to name a few 鈥� and, most recently, . The needs of tens of millions of people caught up in fighting and trapped in poverty have increased even as rich donor nations, not just the United States, are reducing their aid budgets.
The U.N. General Assembly is planning a commemoration on the 80th anniversary on June 26, but the mood in the halls of U.N. headquarters in New York is grim.
Diplomats are anxious about the immediate future, especially the outcome expected in August of a U.S. ordered by President . And U.N. staff here and in more than 60 offices, agencies and operations that get money from its regular operating budget are facing 20% job cuts, part of Guterres鈥� reform effort and reaction to .
鈥淚t鈥檚 not something to celebrate,鈥� Kazakhstan鈥檚 U.N. Ambassador Kairat Umarov said of the upcoming anniversary.
In a different world of land-line telephones, radios and propeller planes, the U.N. Charter was signed by just 50 nations 鈥� mainly from Latin America and Europe. Over the decades, its membership has nearly quadrupled to 193 member nations, with 54 African countries now the largest bloc. The U.N. system has also expanded enormously from its origins.
Today, the map of the U.N. system looks like a multi-headed octopus with many tentacles. In 2023, its secretariat and numerous funds, agencies and entities dealing with everything from children and refugees to peacekeeping and human rights had over 133,000 staff worldwide.
Kishore Mahbubani, who served twice as Singapore鈥檚 U.N. ambassador, credited the United Nations with thus far preventing World War III. While there are still wars, deaths have continued a long-term decline 鈥渁nd the world is still, overall, a much more peaceful place,鈥� he said.
Mahbubani and others also point to successes in the 71 U.N. peacekeeping operations since 1948, including in Angola, Cambodia, Sierra Leone (which is currently a member of the Security Council) and Liberia (which will join in January).
There is also wide praise for specialized U.N. agencies, especially those dealing with hunger, refugees and children as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the U.N鈥檚 nuclear watchdog, and the International Telecommunications Union. It allocates the global radio spectrum and satellite orbits and brings digital connectivity to millions.
Every September, world leaders get a . And every day their ambassadors and diplomats meet to debate issues from conflicts to climate change to the fight for gender equality and quality education. Sometimes, such talks produce little or no results. Others, achievements go overlooked or ignored by the broader world community, far from the hubs of diplomacy.
And the Security Council is the only place where Russia and Ukraine regularly face off over the ongoing war following Russia鈥檚 2022 invasion 鈥� and where the Palestinian and Israeli ambassadors frequently confront each other.
Despite its successes and achievements over past decades. Singapore鈥檚 Mahbubani called the U.N. today 鈥渁 very sad place,鈥� lamenting that Guterres had failed 鈥渢o inspire humanity鈥� as the late Pope Francis did. 鈥淏ut,鈥� Mahbubani said, 鈥渋t should celebrate the fact it is alive and not dead.鈥�
Guterres has launched getting approval from U.N. member nations last September for a 鈥淧act for the Future鈥� 鈥� a blueprint to bring the world together to tackle 21st-century challenges. Gowan said Guterres鈥� successor, who will be elected next year and take over in 2027, will have to shrink the organization. But many cuts, consolidations and changes will require approval of the divided U.N. membership. Possible radical reforms include merging U.N. aid agencies to avoid duplication.
Don鈥檛 forget, says Gowan, that a huge amount of diplomatic business 鈥� much of it having nothing to do with the United Nations 鈥� gets done because it is in New York, a place to have those conversations.
Ian Bremmer, who heads the Eurasia Group, a political risk and consulting firm, said the Trump administration鈥檚 attempts to undermine the United Nations 鈥� which the United States conceived in 1945 鈥� will make China more important. With Trump exiting from the , the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA and cutting humanitarian funding, he said, China will become 鈥渢he most influential and the most deep-pocketed鈥� in those agencies.
Expansion of the U.N. Security Council is probably the most fertile area for potential change. Decades of discussions have failed to agree on how to enlarge the 15-member council to reflect the global realities of the 21st century, though there is wide agreement that Africa and Latin America deserve permanent seats.
Singapore鈥檚 Mahbubani said he believes the United Nations 鈥渨ill definitely survive.鈥� The 鈥済enius鈥� of its founders, he said, was to give the big powers after World War II a veto in the Security Council, preventing the global body from dying as its predecessor, the League of Nations, did. That survival, Mahbubani believes, will continue: 鈥淚t will," he said, "outlast us all."
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Edith M. Lederer, chief correspondent at the United Nations, has been covering international affairs for more than half a century.
Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press
