THE UNITED Nations is bedevilled by its division into a minority of powerful nations, and a powerless majority whose voices have less global impact. Therefore, the theme for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly: Better Together: 80 Years And More For Peace And Development couldn’t be more apt for a global body at a crossroads.
The 80th session of the General Assembly attended by 193 member states and two observers: Palestine and the Holy See, wasn’t only an affirmation of faith in multilateralism, justice for all nations, reforms of the United Nations, concerns for human rights and concerted action against climate change, and the primacy of international law in foreign relations.
As the United Nation’s failed to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Armenia-Azerbaijan conflicts, etc, and is threatened by a powerful fascist wave, the League of Nations couldn’t prevent Japanese aggression against Manchuria in 1931, Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1935, and above all couldn’t contain the emergence of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and General Francisco Franco – full blooded fascists.
The Assembly underscored a frontal global attack against unilateralism and hegemonism which have arisen after the end of the Cold War, becoming more pronounced after President Trump’s re-election as the United States President last year.
ALSO READ: Lagos NURTW Consciously Digging Democracy’s Grave; By Abadom Lawrence Amechi
The addresses of global leaders at the Assembly revealed the state of the United Nations, the contemptuous attitude of the United States to it, and exposed a fundamental disconnect between the United States, the global unipolar power, and most members on multilateralism, global justice, climate change, Palestinian statehood, and the right to acquire nuclear devices for peaceful and defensive purposes among others.
Over the decades, the United Nations has had its low ebbs and tribulations – impairing its capacity to decisively confront the global challenges of the 21st century, nearly placing it on the near trajectory of its predecessor.
Despite disturbing parallels between the tribulations of the League and the challenges of the United Nations, the latter hasn’t learnt any lessons from the failure of the former.
The United States hegemonic foreign policy thrust under President Trump – obstructing the United Nations to effectively discharge the duties enshrined in its charter, its probable Waterloo is somehow parallel to how it weakened the League by its refusal to join the organisation, which paved way for the refusal of other nations not to join and for others to pull out from it.
ALSO READ: Rescuing Nigerians From The Talons Of Leaders Like Adams Oshiomhole; By Owei Lakemfa
As the veto powers of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are inimical to the effective functions of the United Nations, the unanimity of views requirement of members of the League was similarly obstructive of the performance of the functions outlined in the League’s covenants.
As the United Nation’s failed to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Armenia-Azerbaijan conflicts, etc, and is threatened by a powerful fascist wave, the League of Nations couldn’t prevent Japanese aggression against Manchuria in 1931, Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1935, and above all couldn’t contain the emergence of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and General Francisco Franco – full blooded fascists.
Vice Premier Kim Son Gyong, the head of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the Assembly aptly captured the state of the global hegemonic order. “The modern history has witnessed many incidents and events but has never seen a period like today when the international norms and order established and consolidated along with the foundation of the United Nations are disregarded and the sovereignty of states violated.”
The rift of the two largest global economies on climate change was exposed at the Assembly. After pulling out from the Paris Accords, reinforcing President Trump’s claim that climate change is a hoax, he declared to the Assembly: “We are getting rid of the falsely named renewables. By the way, they are a joke. They don’t work, they are too expensive”, but Chinese Premier Li Qiang countered that they are “Committed to green and low carbon development, China has established the World’s largest and fastest growing renewable energy”.
In a unilateralist diktat disdainful of the Assembly’s theme, President Trump declared to the 80th Assembly: “I ended seven wars, and in all cases, they were raging with countless thousands of people killed”. Referring to the inaction of the United Nations in stopping them, he stated that “All they seem to do is write a strongly worded letter and then never follow it up”.
ALSO READ: I, Too, Must Get American In-Laws, The Efficacy Of Prayers And Other Matters; By Hassan Gimba (2)
Further denigrating the United Nations, he went on to say that “Not only does the United Nations not solve the problems it should, it creates new problems for us to solve”. If all that President Trump pointed about the United Nations is true even if embellished with a MAGA hyperbole, then the clamour for its reforms by the Global South nations isn’t misplaced.
So concerned was Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the prevailing global order he pointed out: “How could we when confronted with unscrupulous acts of hegemonism and bullying remain silent and submissive for fear of might”.
On justice for all nations and multilateralism, he further stated: “Only when countries, big or small, are treated as equals and true multilateralism is practiced, can the rights and interests of all parties be better protected”.
ALSO READ: Peace In Pieces May Be Better Than No Peace At All; By Owei Lakemfa
The rift of the two largest global economies on climate change was exposed at the Assembly. After pulling out from the Paris Accords, reinforcing President Trump’s claim that climate change is a hoax, he declared to the Assembly: “We are getting rid of the falsely named renewables. By the way, they are a joke. They don’t work, they are too expensive”, but Chinese Premier Li Qiang countered that they are “Committed to green and low carbon development, China has established the World’s largest and fastest growing renewable energy”.
With 157 votes in favour, 8 votes against and seven abstentions, the Assembly, nay the world, reaffirmed its commitment to Palestinian statehood, but President Trump differed thundering: “Now as if to encourage conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great to Hamas”.
If the views of only 19% of the member states of the United Nations – those who voted against and the abstentions – should carry more weight than those of 81% of them, reinforced the stance of Vice Premier Li Son Gyong of the DPRK about the prevailing hegemonic world order, and the mockery of the theme of the 80th Assembly: better together.
On the clamour for global justice, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr Pezeshkian, pointed the double standards in the Middle East conflicts. According to him, “One party disrupts the region while others are being sanctioned”.
President Trump confirmed that “Three months ago in Operation Midnight Hammer, seven American B-2 bombers dropped fourteen 30,000_pound bombs on Iran’s key nuclear facilities, totally obliterating everything”. Iran was punished for its effrontery to bravely defend itself against the aggressor Israel, the sacred cow of the Middle East.
From the fullness of the mind the mouth speaketh, President Trump let the cat out of the bag: Israel’s aggression was a decoy for Iran to retaliate and pave the way for Operation Midnight Hammer.
ALSO READ: Nigeria At 65; By Jibrin Ibrahim
Commenting on American military capabilities on the bombings, President Trump pointed out: “We hate to use them, but we did something that, for 22 years, people wanted to do: Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity demolished”. Therefore, since the United States’ hegemonic rule is: Israel should be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, what was in the pipeline since 2003, was accomplished in 2025: Iran has been denuclearised.
Whilst the Islamic Republic of Iran vowed to the Assembly that it haboured no intentions to acquire nuclear weapons, succumbing to its forceful denuclearization, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), a non-signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty(NPT) like Israel, could hardly stomach the nuclear tyranny meted to Iran.
Unless the global anti-fascist nations and forces forge a strong front to reform the United Nations, contain the global hegemonic order and the fascistic threat, the world would revert to its inglorious pre-1945 days. And almost everybody, besides the fascists and their sidekicks, would be worse off.
Vice Premier Kim Son Gyong, the head of its delegation to the Assembly unapologetically stated “Requesting us to denuclearize is equivalent to asking us to give the sovereignty, abandon the right to existence and violate the constitution”. Reinforcing the stance he further stated ” Under any circumstances, we will not withdraw from this position”. The global hegemonic order hasn’t been as frontally opposed by any nation than the DPRK at the 80th Assembly. Such blunt challenge echoed late Fidel Castro’s gallant confrontation with imperialism in its different phases.
ALSO READ: 65 Years After Independence, Corruption Remains Our Major Achievement; By Abadom Lawrence Amechi
At UNGA 80, majority of nations differed with the hegemonic stance of the United States on climate change, human rights punitive tariffs, multilateral global relations and Palestinian statehood among others.
President Trump’s intolerance of critical thought; emasculation of the universities; negative othering of non-White, non-Christian Americans paving the way for America’s political right’s restrictive nationalism, foisting concentric circles of American citizenship, with the Heritage Americans as grade A citizens; purges of enemies from government departments, and planting die hard loyalists into sensitive public agencies underscore a fascist mindset. Since fascists who came to power through the ballot box couldn’t be democratically removed, who could save American democracy and the world if President Trump becomes fully fascist?
Unless the global anti-fascist nations and forces forge a strong front to reform the United Nations, contain the global hegemonic order and the fascistic threat, the world would revert to its inglorious pre-1945 days. And almost everybody, besides the fascists and their sidekicks, would be worse off.
Jahun, a public affairs analyst, writes from Dutse, Jigawa State capital.
