NEW YORK — In recent years the United Nations has become a target of criticism, particularly in the United States, even as the failure of the U.S. to pay its dues to the organization has considerably hindered its work and reduced its effectiveness. The election of a new American president provides a unique chance to improve the U.N. and to make it even more responsive to the needs of people around the world.
Having worked as an independent consultant for several agencies of the U.N. for almost three decades, I have been able to assess its shortcomings as well as see its achievements. It has been particularly useful to compare the work of the U.N. with that of other international organizations for which I also work.
It is true that the U.N. is inefficient. Inefficiency, however, is not a prerogative of the U.N. Because of its failure to act more forcefully in several conflicts, the U.N. has been called irrelevant. As the one organization in which all countries can freely voice their opinions, it is now as relevant as ever. Or, to put it more clearly, the world body will be as relevant as the member states want it to be.