Is the United Nations still relevant and effective?
In the context of global destabilisation exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the 78th UN General Assembly is rethinking the relevance and effectiveness of the international institution.
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00:00 World leaders gather in New York this week for the 78th United Nations General Assembly
00:06 to hold high-level talks on key global issues.
00:10 Now we are rapidly moving towards a multipolar world.
00:14 Russia's war in Ukraine and its far-reaching consequences are high on the agenda once again.
00:19 But as geopolitical tensions mount and answers to the climate emergency remain elusive, experts
00:24 say faith in the power of the UN is waning.
00:29 Where we see a lot of people lose faith are when they see those moments of hypocrisy or
00:34 a lack of understanding of the way that the UN is able to continue to operate on one track
00:41 while kind of the global community seems to be heading towards a crash on the other.
00:47 While the UN is committed to maintaining its neutrality in the face of differences between
00:51 member states, some analysts say that shouldn't rule out urgent institutional reform.
00:58 The United Nations probably should be more cooperative to regional partners in order
01:04 to be successful.
01:06 How the UN can make this visible, that's obviously a question.
01:11 But the UN is an old organization.
01:15 It's going through large changes.
01:16 The world is going through large changes.
01:18 So that's evident that organizations, international organizations, should change as well.
01:26 And their priorities might not change.
01:31 Kim Jong-un's recent visit to Russia stoked Western fears about possible North Korean
01:36 military support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and with it, skepticism of what the
01:41 UN could do to stop it.
01:43 The United Nations will use a lot of rhetoric, but effectively it won't be able to carry
01:52 out any kind of instrument to stop this agreement between Russia and Korea.
02:00 So, is it effective?
02:02 It's not effective.
02:03 It's true that it has been reformed.
02:05 Well, there is a reform process that the UN has been trying for many years.
02:11 It also knows its weaknesses in that sense, but obviously it is unable to reform itself
02:17 since these members with veto rights constantly prevent it.
02:22 (whooshing)