IE School essay

1. IE Business School
International MBA Application :-
Essay Topic:
“If you had the opportunity, what actions
would you demand of the United Nations
Secretary General and why?”

2. 1. The demand - time to act !
 UNSC Reform
 Veto power reform
2. UNSC: Little background
3. Why do we need this demand, and why now?
 Current situation of world peace
 UNSC’s recent failures and burgeoning threats to world
peace
4. What previous UN leaders say?
5. Probable contenders for a permanent seat in UNSC
6. Demand for “Veto Reform”
The presentation discusses following points:-

3.  Demand:-
 initiate a much-delayed reform of the
United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
 It should happen in a fixed time frame.
 Initiate a reform of United Nations “veto
power” so that the self interests of the
permanent members may not stop
important resolutions from being drafted.
The demand to UN secretary general
-(time to introspect !)

4.  UNSC, formed in 1945, is one of the six principal organs of
the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance
of international peace and security as well as accepting
new members to the United Nations and approving any
changes to its United Nations Charter.
 Powers of UNSC include the establishment of
peacekeeping operations, the establishment
of international sanctions, and the authorization of military
action through Security Council resolutions;
 UNSC is the only UN body with the authority to issue
binding resolutions to member states.
United nations & UNSC-
(little background)

5.  8-inch floppy disks are obsolete today; world is gearing on flash
drives, we need to quickly adapt to changes.
 Even though the geopolitical realities have changed drastically
since 1945, the Security Council has changed very little during
this long period.
 In terms of advancing the interests of humanity in effective
international mediation, the UNSC has become a “mangled relic
of a by-gone era”.
 Even many of the today’s developing countries had not got
sovereign status in 1945, when UNSC was formed.
 Even today, the then great powers that were the victors of
World War II—Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, and
the United States—serve as the UNSC’s only five permanent
members.
Why do we need this demand, and why now?
“mangled relic of a by-gone era”..

6.  Syria crisis: Since 2011, more than 220,000 people have been killed in Syrian
crisis.
 Similarly, the Israel and Palestinian crisis has been immune to UN
engagement.
 UNSC’s failure in “responsibility to protect” innocent Syrian children and
women has not only indicated an immediate transform in the UNSC
governing body but also indicated an unforeseen security threat to the
world peace.
 Growth of ad-hoc negotiating groups: weakening of UNSC role in word
peace and mediation triggers more ad-hoc negotiating groups, imposing the
severe threat to the world peacekeeping process.
 Additionally, there doesn’t seem to be any specific action or mediation from
the UNSC on curbing the growing terrorism threats in Asia.
UNSC’s recent failures and burgeoning
threats to world peace..

7.  UNSC was formed after the failure of “League of Nations”.
 If UNSC fails to act effectively for “responsibility to protect”,
the threat of burgeoning parallel groups will prosper and this
would not be a pleasing sign to world peace !
What previous UN leaders say?
‘we as a global community should learn
the hard-won lessons of the past, and
seek to prevent injustices and inequities
from taking root before they lead to
crisis and conflict’.

8.  it would be a mistake to ignore the economic and political role developing countries are
positioned to play at world forum.
 Many developing countries and developed countries such as India, Japan, Germany,
Brazil, and Africa are the front contenders of the permanent seat in the UNSC governing
body.
 Japan and Germany are the UN's second- and third-largest funders respectively.
 Brazil and India are two of the largest contributors of troops to UN-mandated peace-
keeping missions.
 India is one of the founder-members of the United Nations organization, yet India does
not have a permanent seat in UNSC.
 In such global scenario where most of the economies are in crisis including that of
republic of China, the inclusion of India, Japan, or Germany can boost the strength of
UNSC because the more stable economies can be influential in world peace negotiations
by putting a lot of pressure on trades and global opportunities.
Probable contenders for a permanent seat in
UNSC..

9.  The veto power of the permanent member countries needs a
reform as the Veto power is cited as a main cause for most
international inaction on war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
 As it stands, a ‘veto’ from any of the permanent members can
halt any possible action the Council may take.
 One country's objection, rather than the opinions of a majority
of countries, may cripple any possible UN armed or diplomatic
response to a crisis.
 This de-facto control over the UN Security Council by the five
governments is seen as the most undemocratic character of the
UN.
Demand for “Veto Reform”-
the de-facto control !