What's everyone's thoughts on the UN and what they do?
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I believe it was created with the purpose of ending the Korean War, that war is still going on...
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I don't have the time to write a lenghty overview right now, but I am all in favor of the UN. It's a forum for international diplomacy and relations to allow states and organizations to coexist, deal with issues and seek to improve themselves. It plays a vital role in peacekeeping, providing humanitarian aid when needed and observing the state of human rights. And, perhaps most importantly, they are the most prominent organisation in the field of international treaties which obviously are of great importance. That being said, they are not without flaws. The vetos in the UNSC, issues with funding, corruption and the incompentence of some organs are all major issues that could be dealt with a lot better.
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Edited by Mags: 3/18/2014 2:48:23 AMThey are an effective entity to allow state-actors a space in which to openly discuss matters relevant to them or between them and another state or states. They are also good at monitoring crises, allocating funds and aid to areas in need, as well as providing financial aid to those states who need it. What people seem to get tripped up on is their security enforcement. The UN, alone, is not and was never meant to enforce their resolutions via force. This comes from the state actors within the UN who so choose to enforce these laws and norms. This is why the UNSC passes resolutions authorizing the use of force; those states who do choose to use force to punish a state are doing so legally and not breaking any international law by doing so. The ineffectiveness emanating from the UN (or rather, the UNSC) is the veto power that the five permanent members have. As seen with Syria or Crimea, these states can veto resolutions that they feel undermine their interests. However, that being said, they are not a pointless organization. In an anarchic (no central government not chaos) system like how the world operates, the world needs an international institution to provide some sort of obligations, rules, and norms that states should abide by.
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I don't care
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A global entity with no real power that likes to guilt-trip the U.S. (and sometimes the EU) into supporting its efforts.
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The UN is completely pointless
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One of the most corrupt organizations on this planet. If not the most.