– the Rwandan Genocide has been attributed to failure within the Secretariat as well as the Security Council 29 – it certainly acts as evidence that the UN as an
organization cannot be solely blamed for many of its failures.
The United Nations has witnessed a period of mixed success since the end
of the cold war. The collapse of the USSR allowed an increased level of action
from the organization, although this has allowed a greater number of both
successes and failures. Recent approaches to judging the UN have centred on its success in peacekeeping and humanitarian intervention. 30 This is a fair
assessment, as its actions have encouraged democracy and peace worldwide.
However, its overwhelming failures in the face of genocide and war have to be
considered. The work of the UN and its specialised agencies to promote human
rights and global equality have also turned up a range of successes, but there
remains much work to be done, and many member states still have abysmal
human rights records. This controversial record can easily be attributed to the
structure of the UN which persisted even after the fall of communism –
conservative western states have a disproportionate level of power in the
organization, allowing greater action to be taken but often only when it benefits
those states. It would be unfair to call the UN a failure in the post-Cold War
world. However, it would be inappropriate to call it a successful organization,
with its mixed record on human rights and peacekeeping. It seems clear then
that the UN can be called a partially successful organization after the end of the
Cold War.
29 LeBor, pp. 172-173 30 Bennis, p. 76
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