Reply #5: The UN is so weak because it was intentionally designed that way

[Eternal_Vigilance]

In the 1948 Charter, the United Nations was deliberately made to be weak. Individual member states feared that such a supranational organization might threaten their sovereignty. The issue of national sovereignty is at the crux of why the UN is so ineffective. Individual countries seek to retain their own autonomy and not be subject to a larger organization.

Indeed, the United States has proven to be a damper on UN operations. Senate Republicans have constantly fought to withold paying American dues to the organization unless it makes immediate reforms. The US provides well over two-thirds of the UN operating budget. When Washinton decides to withold its funding, UN operations worldwide take a severe hit.

As a result, the United Nations remains an underfunded, an underpowered, unrespected lifeless debating society, where smaller (usually poorer Third World ) nations have little say in anything except for parliamentary procedure, while the Big Five (i.e. America, Russian Federation, China, France, and the United Kingdom)control the UN agenda to suit their own national interests.

At the heart of the issue is how to make the UN stronger and more relevant without dissolving the individual sovereignty of its member-states. A simple solution is not easy, however it starts by making the Security Council more inclusive to other nations, abolishing any veto power for any nation, and allowing the UN the necessary resources to follow up on its humanitarian and peacekeeping initiatives.