United Nations, Dec 29 (IANS) As the Security Council wallowed in veto-induced inertia in 2025, the UN’s peace-making initiatives moved away towards the White House, which brokered an end to the seemingly intractable Gaza conflict and put others like that between Thailand and Cambodia in check.
Yet also, in a symbol of the UN’s enduring global influence, US President Donald Trump, who had constantly denigrated the UN, had to get the Council’s stamp of approval for potential partners to sign on to the Gaza peace deal.
Trump was able to end the Gaza War, douse the simmering Armenia-Azerbaijan, and Democratic Republic of Congo-Rwanda conflicts, and restrain the Thailand-Cambodia clashes by unilaterally using Washington’s economic might.
That shows the weakness of the UN, where the standoffs between the veto-wielding West on one side and Russia and China prevent the Council from using the powerful tools given it by the UN Charter to enforce peace.
The UN has been powerless to end the Ukraine War, the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, where a permanent member of the Council is the aggressor.
But neither has Trump who lacks the same level of clout with Russia as he has with others.
Elsewhere, hotspots burn with varying intensities.
In the deadliest hotspot in the world where genocide is real, civil war and chaos rage in Sudan and, so far, neither the UN nor the US have been able to end the conflagration.
The US itself is locked in a crisis with Venezuela, entrapping it in a blockade and seizing ships connected to it, while sinking boats accused of transporting drugs.
In the Indo-Pacific, China is intimidating its neighbours.
Against this scenario what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “fears is this continuing fragmentation of the world, the continuing disregard for the Charter which too many member states are using as an a la carte menu, and this continuing disregard for international law.”, his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, conveying his disappointments this year.
The fragmentation of the world Guterres fears was stark not only in the Council, but also in the trade wars, the fraying of bonds and the search for new groupings.
Trump also looms darkly over the UN’s other crisis, the financial crunch.
Till late this month, the Trump administration hadn't paid up the mandated US contribution to the UN budgets -- $820 million or 22 per cent of the budget for running the organisation, and for peacekeeping operations, $1.2 billion or about 26 per cent of the total – which Congress has approved.
Guterres has warned that the UN’s finances are “fragile”.
Forced into a financial crisis, the UN has been reducing the number of employees, moving operations to low-cost areas, scaling back security, dropping simultaneous translation, and, even, looking for small ways that could amount to a lot to cut expenses. (One of them was removing paper towels from bathrooms at the headquarters that it estimated could save $100, 000 every year)
While at least this year’s US funds may eventually flow because of Congress approval, Trump has proposed cutting next year’s contribution to the UN’s regular budget by $610 million, which could put the world body’s finances in a tailspin.
Preparing for this, Guterres’ budget proposal for 2026 slashes $577 million from this year’s level -- a 15 per cent reduction – and the elimination of about 12, 700 posts, or about 18 per cent of the current level.
The General Assembly launched the UN80 programme – named for the 80th anniversary of the organisation’s founding this year – to streamline the UN and to make it more efficient an effective.
Terrorism is another area of weakness for the UN, continuing the trend of decades into this year.
When Pakistan-based terrorists attacked tourists in Pahalgam killing 26 in a religiously targetted massacre, all that the Council could do was issue a press statement condemning it.
Sanctioning The Resistance Front, an outgrowth of the Islamabad-sponsored Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, which claimed the attack, has not happened so far.
Neither has the UN made progress on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism proposed by India because of bickering over defining terrorists and terrorism.
For the 16th year, Security Council reforms are also in the grip of inertia wrought by the procedural machinations of a small group to prevent even the adoption of a text to conduct negotiations.
Yet, the UN also has its successes in some areas against all odds.
Looking back at the year, Dujarric said, "The Secretary-General is extremely proud to have constantly, day in and day out, defended the ideals of this organisation, defended the Charter, defended international law, defended multilateralism, which is his job”.
"He has, I think, squeezed every penny, every ounce of effort out of this organization to try to keep people alive on the humanitarian front, to try to make sure that people don't forget about development and to work on peace and security with determination”, Dujarric said.
Peacekeeping, in which over 5, 000 Indian personnel are among the about 60, 000 serving in 20 missions, have worked against odds to keep the peace even when they are under attack.
The humanitarian arms of the UN provided aid to the victims of natural and man-made disasters, even when they are under attack and face a diminution of resources.