Is the United Nations Still Relevant?

The United Nations is unusual in that it consists of 191 nations with 191 differing histories and 191 perspectives that are all bound by the terms of the same Charter. How can this work? According to John Negroponte the answer is, “Promoting policies that support the freedom and well-being of people in their own nation-state, not by pursuing the illusions of world government.” The United Nation’s mission statement states that its purpose is to keep peace throughout the world, to develop friendly relations between nations and to work together to help people live better lives by eliminating poverty, disease and to stop environmental destruction. In spite of these lofty goals, many people feel that the United Nations has not accomplished what they set out to do. They point to the failure of the UN in dealing with the genocide in Rwanda, failure to deliver food to starving people in Somalia, and the recent Oil-for-Food scandal. In spite of these problems, I feel that the United Nations is still a vital organization that gives countries facing difficult situations a world stage to deal with their problems.