Not all countries are our friends…

By: Hayden Cunningham

The United Nations was established after the end of World War II. Until then, the League of Nations was the only other attempt of a worldwide international organization, but the league was ineffective and eventually failed.

The original goal of the U.N. was essentially world peace. 51 original members formed the United Nations to seek peace, the protection of human rights, and enforcement of international law. Today, there are 193 members.

While its intentions may be admirable, the United Nation has many characteristics worthy of criticism. The larger a global organization becomes, the more susceptible it is to corruption. The U.N. has had it’s fair share of scandals. Because of this, isolationists in the United States have growing resentment for the United Nations. They argue that our country must hold an “American first” mindset for any foreign diplomacy. Many policies and laws implemented by the U.N. does not serve America’s immediate interest.

The United Nations Charter gives the United Nations four purposes:

• To maintain international peace and security
• To develop friendly relations among nations
• To cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights
• To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nation

The U.N. Charter established six councils, or “organs,” to legislate and enforce law. The most important of these is the Security Council. This group of countries is given the task of maintaining international peace.

The U.N. Security Council has five permanent members, two of which are China and Russia. These countries have veto privileges on the Council. Here is where the United Nations’ leadership is criticized the most; how can you possibly expect China and Russia to “promote respect for human rights?”

China is one of the biggest security threats in the world. They have a long history of genocide, forced abortions, religious discrimination, and other forms of human rights violations. Currently, they have over one million Uighur Muslims in internment camps. These camps are called “re-education camps” by China, but the people there are forced to study Marxism and renounce their religion.

This goes unchecked by the United Nations. Instead, countries like America and Israel are condemned. Last year, nearly 30 “independent experts” from the U.N. Humans Rights Council called on the United States to reform its police system to “address systemic racism and racial bias.” They claimed that the origin of policing in America started with slave patrols (ignoring the fact that the concept of policing has been around for thousands of years with many duties other than slave enforcement).

Israel was condemned 17 times in 2020, the the most of any other country. The U.N. continues to condemn Israel for defending itself. At the same time, Iran’s sanctions from the United Nations expired and the country is now allowed to import military weapons.

The United States currently pays for 22% of the entire U.N. budget (more than any other country). And what exactly are we getting out of it? Our country is funding a group of hyprocticial countries that violate human rights and then condemn us. International laws are terrible. While it may sound like a good idea to have universal laws on our planet, it has become corrupted by the countries that write them.

Some other major criticism of the United Nations:

• It’s failure at stopping the Rwanda genocide in the 1990’s
• Banning the country of Taiwan from becoming a recognized member
• Characterizing Israel as an aggressor against Palestine
• Placing countries like China, Iraq, Saudi Arabi, and Afghanistan on the Human Rights Council

Globalism is a serious threat to our country. While there are many who recite conspiracy theories about “worldwide government attempts,” the concept of one international group having authority over every country is incredibly dangerous and a valid reason for fear. Borders can be a very good thing.

Governments are different. More often than not, America’s interests will contradict those of other nations. This should not prevent us from pursuing what is necessary for our people. It also may be necessary to help and liberate those in oppressive regimes. If an international law prevents us from doing so, that law should be broken. If the U.N. is condemning us for doing something right, they should be ignored.

America needs to drastically re-evaluate the amount of time, money, and effort we spend on the failing organization that is the United Nations.