On January 31, 1933, a twisted political ideology, which firmly believed in the cultural and genetic supremacy of the Aryan race (Nordic peoples whom the Nazi considered the purest of the white race) gained power in Germany and set in motion a mass hysteria that resulted in the most horrific conflict the world has experienced to date (1939-45). The magnitude of the carnage led many to conclude that unless humans repudiate these fallacies, they could be on a collision course with their demise. This reasoning naturally led to the creation of the United Nations, an organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of peace in the world.
As the last 67 years have shown, this utopian dream or rather calculated deception has become a nightmare for much of the world. Every concept emanated from the organization has a double meaning. Ironically, the nations, which today use subterfuges and other means to further their interests or engage in alleged illicit activities, may have learned these behaviors from the master, namely the United Nations Security Council. Throughout the existence of the Council (1945-present), its permanent members have used deceit, lies and intimidations to further their hegemonic designs while promoting their role as keepers of peace and security in the world.
In retrospect the concept of a community of nations working together for the well-being of humanity, as the preambles of the United Nations Charter manifestly suggest, may be the greatest fraud ever perpetuated on humans. It legitimizes the long-established tradition of domination, which characterizes inter-human relationships since the dawn of civilization, by bestowing on a few powerful nations sole authority to define what is right and, of course, correct perceived wrongs by force. As you would expect, it also creates an unstable world where the line that separates righteousness from wickedness is constantly shifting, and the contrast between the two is a matter of perspectives.
Though it was obvious, from its inception, that the United Nations could not be counted on to solve or mitigate the myriad of problems facing humanity because of the fundamental differences between its then two most powerful members, the US and USSR, its stated purposed represented the only hope for a better future, nevertheless. But over the years, the organization’s actual purpose could no longer be concealed and its ugly mask was unveiled. From its purported role of global peacemaker, the organization evolved into a totalitarian and militaristic entity that has been undermining peace and security in the world. Superagencies such as the IMF and World Bank, whose tentacles reach every nation on the planet, act as promoters of the organization’s nefarious designs. Recalcitrant nations that questioned these agencies’ methods or refused to comply with their directives are ostracized and made to suffer for their impertinence.
With the changes that are taking place outside the traditional centers of power likely to alter the current geopolitical reality, a restructuring of the organization has become a necessity that must be addressed in earnest. Besides the need to reform the all-powerful and autocratic Security Council, amending the UN Charter might be needed to face the challenges and realities of the 21st century. Under its actual structure, which reflects the political reality that existed in 1945, the UN is ill-prepared to tackle the challenges that are propping up in every corner of the planet. The ramifications of not reforming the UN are too scary to contemplate seeing that the decaying organization is likely to remain the heartbeat of the world for the foreseeable future.
To make matters worse, the all-powerful Security Council, the UN governing body, has become more dysfunctional with the apparent political and economic decline of the West and the rise of other centers of power. As a result, militarism and disdain for established conventions have become the primary tools in international relations. In the aftermath of the twin vetoes by China and Russia of a resolution condemning the ongoing violence in Syria, which Damascus sees as foreign-instigated, there is a widespread sentiment among member-nations and ordinary folks that the system is irretrievably broken, hence must be reformed.
The strongly-held belief by Britain, France and the US that western values are universal is undoubtedly the crux of the matter. The recent assertion by the French interior minister that “Some civilizations, notably France’s, are worth more than others” epitomizes the narcissistic view of the western powers which holds that the Western civilization is superior to all the others, past and present, and must therefore dominate. Given that all civilizations are extensions or progressive versions of earlier ones, Mr. Claude Guéant’s comment is senseless; it discredits the French’s reputation as a nation that expects first-rate intellect from its leaders. Not surprisingly, such flawed doctrine is anathema to many countries, notably Iran (formerly Persia) and China, whose civilizations existed millennia before the West’s own.
The western powers need to reassess their self-belief in the supremacy of their values and perceived shortcomings of other countries, seeing that misconceptions, more often than not, are the perfect recipe for miscalculations. The notion that all nations must conform to the values of western civilization, as decreed by its keepers, is anachronistic and a threat to the concept of “community of nations” enumerated in the preambles of the UN Charter. In the thermonuclear age, such nonsense could well bring the demise of humanity, insofar as this planet is the only place suitable for humans.
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