How effective is the United Nations in checking the excesses of sovereign nations?

Question

How effective is the United Nations in checking the excesses of sovereign nations?

Answer 1

Read my question and you'll see how effective it is.

Answer 2

the United Nations doesn't work. It reminds me of a dog with no teeth - loads of bark but no bite. The original concept, a leftover from it's forerunner The League of Nations was to provide a meeting house for all Nations to iron out political differences with the UN as mediator thereby negating the need for war. The UN has little power above being able to censure Nations that do not conform to it's decision. Hence the censure of the USA & UK for the invasion of Iraq contrary to the decision of the UN to wait for proof of WMD prior to a mandate being given for invasion.

Since the break up of the USSR and emergence of the USA as the only major superpower the UN has even less authority especially as it is based in America.

Answer 3

I don't know.  But I think a lot of money and personnel support

of the UN comes from them.  Its primary goals should be keeping the peace and world health over monitoring lifestyles and spending

habits of Nations.  Good question, though.

Answer 4

Only as effective as how important UN values are to the nation in question. The UN isn't a government. Its a membership body. That's it. People get the idea that it is a World Government. They say "Why isn't the UN doing anything about it?". Truth is, the UN is just many nations coming under the 1 name. Simple. Nothing else.

Answer 5

not enough effective

Answer 6

The United Nations is facing a crisis. Strong differences of opinion about the direction of reform and governance at the UN threaten to collide with a rapidly approaching spending cap. Unresolved, these differences could paralyze the UN - paralyze diplomacy, paralyze operations, and paralyze the reform process. Some UN operations could even be curtailed or shutdown.

Ongoing political crisis, including the threat of the shutdown of some UN operations, does not serve the interests of any nation or group of nations and would represent a failure of diplomacy by all leaders and governmental representatives responsible for stewarding the United Nations’ essential functions.

The United Nations has operated uninterrupted as a platform for global peace and progress for more than 60 years. A political stand-off, or shutdown of UN operations now, for the first time in its history, would have significant consequences for the UN’s development, security and humanitarian efforts.

The UN is a work in progress, but remains the world’s hope for international cooperation. All nations and peoples have a shared interest that its important work continues, uninterrupted. We urge world leaders to forge the common ground necessary to allow the United Nations to continue its life-saving work.

Answer 7

About as effective as the League of Nations, in other words, it has accomplished nothing.  The World Body has no power and if you can remember back to the Cold War era, it was used as a forum against the US.  The Security Council, which has most of the power, cannot achieve anything, since there are 5 countries that can veto anything they do not like. Also, the UN is the same organization that put such countries as Libya, Cuba, and other such countries on the Human rights council.

Answer 8

It depends on what definition of 'effective' we accept. Efficiency theories might have it that the UN is efficiently effective in checking ultra vires actions because of its umbrella structure, and the tensions, checks and balances it exercises on countries in its production of reports. However if we acept promissory theories of 'effective', that we measure the UN by reference to their promises, they are absolutely poorly effective.

Much turns on what is meant by effective.