A Leauki's Writings

There is so much that is wrong with the United Nations in the practical sense. The corruption, the support and protection the organisation grants to dictators, the deflection of criticism of genocide are only a few of these problems.

But there is a more fundemantal problem with the UN which is probably the cause for all the practical problems, and that problem is with how the UN completely ignore their own purpose.

When the United Nations were founded during World War II by the later victors of the same conflict, the ideals were noble and the concept was sound. But within ten years the United Nations started ignoring those principles.

Here are some procedural issues with the "United Nations" of the last few decades:

 

1. Not all nations are represented.

And neither is there a mechanism to allow non-represented nations to gain representation.

In fact the UN provide many mechanisms to member states specifically to deny representation of nations ruled by member states.

 

2. The United Nations do not define "nation" according to any useful definition.

Instead of the usual definitions based on common history, language, religion or ethnic origin, the UN simply accepts whomever manages to gain power in a certain region (defined by the UN) as the representative for a "nation" made up on the spot by that individual.

 

3. Of the represented nations some have one vote and some have more than one vote.

This appears to have nothing to do with the size of the nations.

 

4. All nations are really represented by states.

This is in effect a mechanism to ensure that not all nations can gain representation since many states rule over many nations.

The Welsh nation is in the UN represented by the United Kingdom, as are the English nation, the Scottish nation, and one third of the Irish nation. (The other two thirds of the Irish nation are represented by the Republic of Ireland.)

 

5. Member states are not all of the same type.

Some UN members are democracies, others are responsible absolute monarchies, many are simply dictatorships with no respect for human rights. All of those are treated as "equals" by the UN. But those that have more support among other dictatorships are even more equal.

UN member states neither always represent nations nor do they even have a mechanism for representing anyone except their own governments.

The Vatican has observer status in the UN. Which nation does the Vatican represent? The Pope? Doesn't a nation at least require one male and one female member to function?

 

How can this be reformed? I have no idea. There is perhaps no better mechanism. But on the other hand, which problem is the UN solving anyway?

What could be done is the United "Nations" could give up their claim to represent "nations" and make it clear that they merely represent governments. Where a government is actually elected, the government could claim to represent a state, and where that state is defined as a nation state, the state could claim to represent that nation.

But the dictatorial ruler of a random African country covering areas inhabited by several nations cannot claim to represent a "nation" made up of the population he controls for the same reason that a raving mad man taking control of an apartment building cannot claim to be the father of a "family" made up of the people in that apartment building.

A family association made up not of families but of unmarried weirdos elected to represent apartment buildings (or keeping people of such a building as hostages) would very likely not be respected as an organisation representing "families", at least not if more than half of its single male members control their blocks using guns only.

 

 

 

 


Comments (Page 2)
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on Dec 10, 2009

France was officially among the five main allies, Poland was not. Everything about France is strange. Even you.

That is why I am overly qualified to address the issue. 

I understand why China and France are there, I just meant to say I dont necessarily agree with the reasoning.  But then I dont agree with pickled eggs either.  Too much heart burn!

on Dec 10, 2009

Interesting question. According to that statement, the german reunification and breakdown of the iron curtain would have had been something the UN would have tried to stop at all costs - including and foremost the top members of the security council.

They probably would have if it hadn't happened so quickly...and a US president the caliber of Ronald Reagan had not been in office (I'll give some credit to Gorby too). If you doubt what I'm saying here's a different example:

Tens of thousands of Iranians take to the streets after an obvious rigged election. An unprecedented opportunity to repair relations, ruined under Carter, is at hand. What is the response from the US "wonder kid" and the rest of the world (the UN)....silence, if not outright support for the pretender to the Iranian government. Thousands are killed, beaten, and jailed.

Need more?

A leftist president, of a small Latin American nation, decides to change his countries constitution to allow him to stay in office. He is removed from office. What does the world do? Cut off financial dealings with this country, and pressure it to take back the "El Presidente for life". Nothing funny about Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and other supporting the ousted presidents claims. The UN loves dictators.

IMO the security counsel is probably the only part of the UN worth having (and lately not even them). What an enormous waste of money. I wonder how much was thrown away on fraud?

on Dec 10, 2009

Put like that.. I know that Maggie Thatcher was vehemently against the whole idea of one united german state for one.

But then, I didn't know that the UN is a body that had its own political agenda - or it shouldn't be in any case. Because it begs the question of whose agenda they are actually following. Admittedly, I don't really follow what the UN does that closely so I am probably misinformed on a lot of the processes.

on Dec 14, 2009



Put like that.. I know that Maggie Thatcher was vehemently against the whole idea of one united german state for one.



I love Maggie. But she was against everything.




But then, I didn't know that the UN is a body that had its own political agenda - or it shouldn't be in any case. Because it begs the question of whose agenda they are actually following. Admittedly, I don't really follow what the UN does that closely so I am probably misinformed on a lot of the processes.



The UN definitely have an agenda and it's not peace. (If it were peace, the UN would not worry so much about the Middle-East's smallest conflict but would take the occasional look at some of the many much bigger conflicts.)

on Dec 14, 2009

If the UN have an agenda, I would really like to know who is invovled in forming it. Because I believe in the democratic principles - out of everything, it is the best alternative. And in that, theoretically at least, the elected body of governance is at least supposedly able to be held  accountable for their actions. The people have an power in a democracy - the US constitution has that as its very first sentence, and it's not without a reason. (We, the people of the United States...) Where are the people in the UNO?It is undemocratic that a organization has that much power and nobody to whom it is  accountable to.

It is all a bit fishy if you ask me - much like the Lissabon treaty that is in effect for the EU since December 1st. Now Europe has much resemblance to a constitutional monarchy where the EU comission is royalty and the people have no influence whatsoever on what is going on. Some unseen bureaucrats in Brussels and the elected leaders of the member states can basically do what they want without opposition. It is doubtful that this is intereseting for americans, but I know that Ireland had been more or less bullied into ratifying.

on Dec 14, 2009



If the UN have an agenda, I would really like to know who is involved in forming it.



My guess it that those governments that get replaced the least often are those that have the most influence in the UN bureaucracy. (And France for some reason.)

The UN's agenda is certainly imperialism-friendly (as long as the imperialists are Arab) and very hostile towards Israel (less so towards the US) and the African population (as opposed to the African regimes).

The entire thing appears to be a power protection mechanism designed to keep dictators in power and people down.




Because I believe in the democratic principles - out of everything, it is the best alternative. And in that, theoretically at least, the elected body of governance is at least supposedly able to be held  accountable for their actions.



Most countries do not have an elected government.

Some countries that don't do still have a government that is perfectly capable (Jordan, Morocco).

And one quasi-country, the Palestinian Authority, is neither elected nor non-elected but elected by the UN and the west who forced Israel and the Arab population of the territories to accept terrorist rule over those territories. The UN (and the EU for some reason) are currently trying to force terrorist rule over the Jewish holy sites and East-Jerusalem as well, despite the fact that the people of Jerusalem, Jews and Arabs alike, haven't been asked but plainly appear not to want to submit to PLO rule.

In fact I have heard from Jewish and Arab groups that there will be an "Intifada" in Jerusalem should any Israeli government hand over any part of the city to PLO rule.

See this article of mine about the people of Jerusalem, where the UN ignores nations and people (even Arabs) and territorial integrity for the sake of an anti-Israel position.





The people have an power in a democracy - the US constitution has that as its very first sentence, and it's not without a reason. (We, the people of the United States...) Where are the people in the UNO?It is undemocratic that a organization has that much power and nobody to whom it is  accountable to.



The people of the UNO are the dictators and few elected heads of governments that form the "General Assembly".

You won't find a Kurdish representative at the "United Nations", unless the president of Iraq speaks. But he represents neither the Kurdish nor the Arab people but the state of Iraq and he is elected by all Iraqis but not all Kurds and thus cannot speak for the Kurdish nation.

Israel represents the Jewish nation at the UN, by definition.

The US represent American Indians, since they can vote there. Australia represents the Aboriginals, officially. I guess it is fair to say that New-Zealand represents not only English New-Zealanders but also the natives since the state of New-Zealand really is based on a treaty between native New-Zealanders and the British Crown. And perhaps Egypt represents native Egyptians (or just Arab Egyptians, hard to tell).

Germany represents the Sorbish nation as well as part of the German nation.

But there are no representatives at the United "Nations" of the Imazighen (Berbers), of the Nilo-Saharan tribes, of the Kurds, or of the Assyrian nation.

The entire concept of the United "Nations" is nonsense.

It wasn't like that, originally.

In the 1940s the United Nations were actually supposed to represent nations and it did, for some time.

Hence the Soviet Union had three votes in the General Assembly (since it represented, among others, the three nations of Russians, Belarussians, and Ukrainians) and hence the United Nations recognised the right of self-determination of the Jewish people.

But the Cold War replaced the nation right of self-determination with a regime right of territorial integrity. And this is what the UN know defend fiercely.

This is why we don't see the UN trying to form a country for the Kurds, despite the fact that only a few years ago the world had an occupied territory overlapping with the Kurdish population centre.

Independence for Kosovo was a step towards self-determination (this time for Albanians) and was fiercely opposed by the territorial integrity crowd. The invasion of Iraq did more for the self-determination of a nation (the Kurds) than anything the UN had done since East-Timor in 1975. But nobody in the UN even took that little detail into account when discussing the Iraq war, so forgotten has the actual principle behind the UN become.

Also note that "territorial integrity" is a principle not applied to Israel. There is no doubt in the UN that land can and should be taken away from Israel and given to never-existing countries.




It is all a bit fishy if you ask me - much like the Lissabon treaty that is in effect for the EU since December 1st. Now Europe has much resemblance to a constitutional monarchy where the EU comission is royalty and the people have no influence whatsoever on what is going on. Some unseen bureaucrats in Brussels and the elected leaders of the member states can basically do what they want without opposition. It is doubtful that this is interesting for americans, but I know that Ireland had been more or less bullied into ratifying.



It is fishy, of course. But I have noticed that the left-wing and right-wing fanatics were against Lisbon. If Sinn Fein and the British National Party are against it, I am certainly for it.

I'd rather be ruled by unelected Stalinist bureaucrats in Bruseels than by some of the idiots that can be freely elected in individual European states.

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