What Is the Point of the UN’s Existence?

Russia is unable to agree with the United States and its allies about almost anything at the United Nations Security Council. Each side persists in vetoing resolutions proposed by the other. Does this mean that the U.N. has outlived its usefulness and that there’s no longer any point in its existence?

Last week, four draft resolutions on Syria were relegated promptly to the garbage can. Earlier, in March, Russia was carted before the U.N. Security Council over a statement about the “Skripal case.”

Sergei Ordzhonikidze, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, former deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation, and deputy secretary general of the United Nations from 2002 to 2011, comments.

It might seem that proposing draft resolutions which everyone knows will be rejected by the other side is pointless. But is that actually true? No. First, this is a way to announce your position loudly to the entire world. Second, this is a tactical move: If one side persistently proposes drafts while the other side constantly rejects them, then that other side will find itself in a losing position, having revealed itself as unconstructive.

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the ineffectiveness of the United Nations. But we must remember that the United Nations is not some third-party arbiter from Mars, but rather, it is simply an aggregation of member states. And if they are unable to agree about anything among themselves, that’s not the U.N.’s fault. It’s naive to think that, just like the League of Nations in 1946, the U.N. could be dissolved and replaced by a new, more effective organization. There’s no such thing as magic.

I should note that even during the Cold War, the major powers were repeatedly able to find a common language through the U.N. This was how the USSR was able to reach agreements with the U.S. on issues of space exploration, maritime law, and various issues related to disarmament. A whole slew of resolutions was passed regarding the Middle East (U.N. Security Council resolutions 242, 338), which laid the foundation for peaceful settlement. And even today, there is a handful of issues (for example, North Korea’s nuclear program) where Russia and the U.S. are managing to find common ground.

So how does every session of the U.N. General Assembly begin? Heads of state and foreign ministers greet one another. It is a convenient platform for discussing global politics. And it is important to note that Russia has a special privilege in the U.N.: the right to veto. That’s a guarantee that no decisions will be made about us that can harm our political interests. The preservation of this mechanism is in the interest not only of the Russian Federation but of all permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

The opinion of the author does not necessarily reflect the positions of the editor.