Seventy-seven years after its founding, the UN Security Council no longer works, Canada’s ambassador to the UN Bob Rae told The National.
The deeply divided council struggles to act on today’s most pressing international crises and when it does, it often fails.
The world, therefore, must come to terms with the reality that the UN’s most powerful organ is “dysfunctional”, he said.
He laid the blame for that ineffectiveness on the existence of the veto power.
From the beginning, the veto has been a steady source of tension between the wider membership of the UN and the five permanent Security Council members — the US, the UK, France, Russia and China. Though five countries are chosen to hold rotating memberships every year, none have the veto power.
“If you’ve got two permanent members with vetoes … there's no way they're going to allow for an effective resolution to come out,” Mr Rae said.
“I don't like any country having a veto. Canada has concluded that the use of the veto is being abused, and that it would be better in a multilateral system if no country had a veto.”
UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine crisis — in pictures
And any expansion of the veto power would be a “terrible thing”, he added.
With alliances clearly drawn on the council — Russia and China against the US, the UK and France — it is naive to expect the body to achieve “great things”.
Russia is not a constructive player on the council, he said: as emigration, war and a plunging birth rate wreak havoc on its demographics, as its economy continues to circle the drain and as its invasion of Ukraine drags on, Moscow is determined to continue playing a disruptive role in the UN system.
“I think President [Vladimir] Putin's ideas are dangerous,” he said. “His inability to recognise the independence of Ukraine and his refusal to accept the fact that Ukraine is a separate country whose sovereignty is as important as his own sovereignty is a real problem.”
With its veto power, Russia has the ability to block any attempt to condemn the invasion of Ukraine.
The inability of the council to successfully address issues such as the invasion of Ukraine has sparked calls for the UN to be reformed and raised questions about whether it can still serve its stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security.
Meanwhile, Canada has concerns over the growing influence of China.
Ottawa has been locked in a diplomatic confrontation with Beijing since the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver's airport in 2018. Chinese authorities subsequently incarcerated two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
Mr Rae said that Beijing is trying to reshape the UN system so that it mirrors China’s values and foreign policy goals.
“It's important for China to know there are certain rules,” he said. “One of the key rules is, if you work for the UN, you don't work for your national government.”
Acting otherwise “poses a real challenge to the integrity of the UN system”.
Due to these and other issues, Mr Rae said that the current Security Council format “treats members unequally”.
“It says you're important, you're not important, you're permanent, you're not permanent.”
But Canada’s UN envoy noted that none of the veto-wielding permanent members would ever agree to give up their veto power.
Canada has held a rotating seat on the council six times since the UN was founded in 1945, with the last time being in 1999-2000, but Mr Rae said his country does not “need to be on the Security Council to have influence”.
“The Security Council is not really a highly functional body, so I don't worry about it,” he said.
One of the most pressing issues facing the UN is the situation in Iran, which is supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine as it violently cracks down on anti-government protests at home.
Mr Rae underscored the importance of maintaining sanctions on Iran.
Canada recently imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, marking the fourth package it has announced over alleged human rights abuses in the country.
“We're continuing to deal directly with the question, how do we continue to put pressure on the [Iranian] regime and to isolate them?” he said.
Following efforts by several countries and activists to immediately expel Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the Canadian Parliament unanimously adopted a motion last month that called for Tehran’s removal from the body.
Iranian women have been at the forefront of protests across the country since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody in September. She was arrested after she allegedly failed to comply with Iran's strict dress code for women.
Canada traditionally serves as a lead sponsor of an annual UN General Assembly resolution condemning human rights abuses in Iran. It will present that resolution again later this year, when it is expected to be widely approved.
But Mr Rae said this is unlikely to be enough.
“There's an extremely widespread, comprehensive set of sanctions by a number of countries, but not by Russia, not by China, not by India, not by a number of countries in the region,” he said. “And that's what's limiting the effectiveness of the global community.”
Ultimately, he adds, it will be up to the Iranian people to make a decision as to how they want to go forward.
In an age of mounting scepticism towards global institutions, Mr Rae underscored the importance of strengthening multilateralism in tackling the immense challenges the world faces.
“There is no Canadian answer to climate change. There is no Russian answer to climate change. There's no Chinese answer to the pandemic. There's no American answer to the growing conflicts and migration and displacement that we see in the world,” he said.
There is instead only a “global answer” and a need for “greater solidarity”.
“I think if we successfully pay attention to this, we would have reinforced the original goals of the UN Charter,” he said.
“And if we don't, then I think we'll begin to see a heavy price.”
Protests in Iran continue — in pictures
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
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Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The%20specs
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The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
More from Armen Sarkissian
Paris%20Agreement
%3Cp%3EArticle%2014%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E1.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20periodically%20take%20stock%20of%20the%20implementation%20of%20this%20Agreement%20to%20assess%20the%20collective%20progress%20towards%20achieving%20the%20purpose%20of%20this%20Agreement%20and%20its%20long-term%20goals%20(referred%20to%20as%20the%20%22global%20stocktake%22)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20undertake%20its%20first%20global%20stocktake%20in%202023%20and%20every%20five%20years%20thereafter%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
FIGHT CARD
Fights start from 6pm Friday, January 31
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) v Ahmed Saeb (IRQ)
Women’s bantamweight
Cornelia Holm (SWE) v Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (JOR) v Vitalii Stoian (UKR)
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) v Ali Dyusenov (UZB)
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) v Delfin Nawen (PHI)
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) v Mohamed El Mokadem (EGY)
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Ramadan Noaman (EGY)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Reydon Romero (PHI)
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Juho Valamaa (FIN)
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) v Austin Arnett (USA)
Super heavyweight
Roman Wehbe (LEB) v Maciej Sosnowski (POL)
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