I
t has become obvious that the tasks attributed to the UN by Article 1 of its Charter have not been carried out. During the fifty years of its existence, the UN has not been able either to maintain international peace and security, or ‘to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character.
The number of people who still believe that some day the organization will become more efficient is diminishing with time. Public opinion finds no answer to its anxiety and frustrations about catastrophic humanitarian situations, about the failure of peace-keeping operations or the spread of unemployment at world level. Everyone feels that the UN and the UN system are unable to propose any solution. Criticisms are growing and scepticism about any possibility of ‘revitalization’ is widespread. Some people already speak of the UN’s death.
