Evaluations, awards, and criticism United Nations

2001 nobel peace prize un – diploma in lobby of un headquarters in new york city

a number of agencies , individuals associated un have won nobel peace prize in recognition of work. 2 secretaries-general, dag hammarskjöld , kofi annan, each awarded prize (in 1961 , 2001, respectively), ralph bunche (1950), un negotiator, rené cassin (1968), contributor universal declaration of human rights, , secretary of state cordell hull (1945), latter role in organization s founding. lester b. pearson, canadian secretary of state external affairs, awarded prize in 1957 role in organizing un s first peacekeeping force resolve suez crisis. unicef won prize in 1965, international labour organization in 1969, un peace-keeping forces in 1988, international atomic energy agency (which reports un) in 2005, , un-supported organization prohibition of chemical weapons in 2013. un high commissioner refugees awarded in 1954 , 1981, becoming 1 of 2 recipients win prize twice. un whole awarded prize in 2001, sharing annan.

to mark un s 70th anniversary – budapest, 2015

since founding, there have been many calls reform of un little consensus on how so. want un play greater or more effective role in world affairs, while others want role reduced humanitarian work. there have been numerous calls un security council s membership increased, different ways of electing un s secretary-general, , un parliamentary assembly. jacques fomerand states enduring divide in views of un north–south split between richer northern nations , developing southern nations. southern nations tend favour more empowered un stronger general assembly, allowing them greater voice in world affairs, while northern nations prefer economically laissez-faire un focuses on transnational threats such terrorism.

after world war ii, french committee of national liberation late recognized government of france, , country excluded conferences created new organization. future french president charles de gaulle criticized un, famously calling machin ( contraption ), , not convinced global security alliance maintain world peace, preferring direct defence treaties between countries. throughout cold war, both , ussr repeatedly accused un of favouring other. in 1953, ussr forced resignation of trygve lie, secretary-general, through refusal deal him, while in 1950s , 1960s, popular bumper sticker read, can t spell communism without u.n. in sometimes-misquoted statement, president george w. bush stated in february 2003 (referring un uncertainty towards iraqi provocations under saddam hussein regime) free nations not allow un fade history ineffective, irrelevant debating society. in contrast, french president, françois hollande, stated in 2012 france trusts united nations. knows no state, no matter how powerful, can solve urgent problems, fight development , bring end crises... france wants un centre of global governance. critics such dore gold, israeli diplomat, robert s. wistrich, british scholar, alan dershowitz, american legal scholar, mark dreyfus, australian politician, , anti-defamation league consider un attention israel s treatment of palestinians excessive. in september 2015, saudi arabia s faisal bin hassan trad has been elected chair of un human rights council panel appoints independent experts, move criticized human rights groups.

since 1971, republic of china (taiwan) has been excluded un , since has been rejected in new applications. citizens of country not allowed enter buildings of united nations passport of taiwan. in way, critics agree un failing own development goals , guidelines. criticism brought pressure people s republic of china, regards territories administered taiwan own territory.

critics have accused un of bureaucratic inefficiency, waste, , corruption. in 1976, general assembly established joint inspection unit seek out inefficiencies within un system. during 1990s, withheld dues citing inefficiency , started repayment on condition major reforms initiative introduced. in 1994, office of internal oversight services (oios) established general assembly serve efficiency watchdog. in 1994, former special representative of secretary-general of un somalia mohamed sahnoun published somalia: missed opportunities , book in analyses reasons failure of 1992 un intervention in somalia, showing that, between start of somali civil war in 1988 , fall of siad barre regime in january 1991, un missed @ least 3 opportunities prevent major human tragedies; when un tried provide humanitarian assistance, totally outperformed ngos, competence , dedication sharply contrasted un s excessive caution , bureaucratic inefficiencies. if radical reform not undertaken, warned mohamed sahnoun, un continue respond such crisis inept improvisation. in 2004, un faced accusations ended oil-for-food programme—in iraq had been allowed trade oil basic needs relieve pressure of sanctions—had suffered widespread corruption, including billions of dollars of kickbacks. independent inquiry created un found many of officials had been involved, raising significant questions role of kojo annan, son of kofi annan.

in evaluating un whole, jacques fomerand writes accomplishments of united nations in last 60 years impressive in own terms. progress in human development during 20th century has been dramatic , un , agencies have helped world become more hospitable , livable place millions. evaluating first 50 years of un s history, author stanley meisler writes united nations never fulfilled hopes of founders, accomplished great deal nevertheless , citing role in decolonization , many successful peacekeeping efforts. british historian paul kennedy states while organization has suffered major setbacks, when aspects considered, un has brought great benefits our generation , ... bring benefits our children s , grandchildren s generations well.