the un... t. the un... infact, i it's always easy to find a scapegoat. the un... in fact, i used to say that the letters sg does not stand for secretary general, it stands for skate goat and you can scapegoat the secretary general and the un even when the resources required are not made available. but it was the own un report in 1999 when you were by then secretary general which was scathing in its criticisms of the un, it said had the un troops engaged the attacking serbs directly its possible events would have unfolded differently. serbs directly its possible events would have unfolded differentlym may have. but the un report is critical of the un. you released it. is the un fit for purpose?” critical of the un. you released it. is the un fit for purpose? i think the un... in today's world. i think the un... in today's world. i think the un... in today's world. i think the un can be improved, its not perfect but if it didn't exist you would have had to create it. i think we need to look at how

credibility and influence at the un. we need to be at the table when international consensus is being built so we can advance u.s. values and interests. thus, the president's budget also request the authority and funding to enable u.s. leadership in organizations such as unesco. in the absence of u.s. leadership at unesco, the prc, and others, have been more assertive there, seeking to shake the debate on issues like artificial intelligence in ways hostile to democratic norms. in fact across the un, we see the prc and russia attempting to chip away at human rights, now io, our bureau, is working hard to counter this disturbing trend. we have answered u.s. priorities at our first session back as a un human rights council member in the marked session. we succeeded in passing the u. s. priority resolutions to renew mandates on syria, belarus, iran, and north korea during the most recent unhrc council session, which wrapped up last week. we lead a robust joint statement criticizing the open-ended mandate of an anti-israel cur

the town that's home to the un base where the disease is known to have started. henrietta paul's husband was one of the very first to die. she doesn't know exactly where he's buried - back then the death toll was so high that bodies were being dumped in mass graves. today, she and her daughter lisette are filing a new claim. henrietta's only son, died three weeks ago from cholera. he was 34. back at their headquarters in downtown port-au-prince the fruits of the lawyers' painstaking labor is kept in a dusty store-room, still waiting for the day it will be used in court. >> these are all the case files in here? >> yes, this is the first five thousand filed. not only have we filled the form, they're notarized. they said "we received the complaints, we will give you an answer and respond in due time" - i don't know when the reasonable time will be. >> but it's been more than a year? >> more than a year, yes. >> and you've heard nothing? >> nothing, nothing. >> faced with the un's silence, the lawyers decided to expand the lawsuit, adding more names to the thousands

the un... letters sg does not stand for secretary general, it stands for scape goat, and you can scapegoat the secretary general and the un even when the resources required are not made available. but it's the un's own report in 1999 when you were by then secretary general which was scathing in its criticisms of the un, it said had the un troops engaged the attacking serbs directly its possible events would have unfolded differently. it may have. but the un report is critical of the un. i released that report. you released it. is the un fit for purpose? i think the un... in today's world. i think the un can be improved, it's not perfect but if it didn't exist you would have had to create it. i think we need to look at how the un acts, the un structure, the decision—making processes, whether in the council or the general assembly. of course, i know you worked very hard to try to reform the security council and expand its membership, permanent seats forjapan, africa, india that sort of thing. let

general assembly is the main advisory main directive and representative body of the un. why is it not so easy to make a decision from such an organization, the only thing from gen of the un assembly well, because the un security council can express its vision in strategic matters. it can propose an agenda. it can draw the attention of the entire un to some specific problems that it currently considers to be a priority for solving. can arbitrarily exclude individual countries from the security council, for this , a collective majority of other countries of the united nations organization, which must support these decisions, is needed for this, and of course, the presence of russia is precisely the security council from its with the right of veto, it greatly complicates the procedure for excluding russia and the reports, because if we were talking about the conditional belarus, which we already mentioned today, there would probably be more opportunities and chances to push through this decision if there was no veto from any of the countries which is part of the security cou

now it's time for fault line: the un and the quake in syria. screaming. the earthquake strikes. es in turkey immediately, but take several days to reach northwest syria. bbc news arabic investigates. un teams are supposed to deploy within 48 hours of a request. in northwest syria, that didn't happen. what matters in terms of responding to an earthquake is time and what the sort of, the immediacy of the response. and the un just stood there, like, completely paralysed. in this film, we ask, "what took the united nations so long?" to deliver humanitarian aid across an international border, we need either the consent of the government or in the case that we have in syria, a binding security council resolution. on monday 6th february 00.47am, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 strikes near gaziantep in south—east turkey. across the border in syria, strong tremors are felt. hundreds of buildings collapse. as the hours pass, the scale of the disaster becomes apparent. rescue teams are overwhelmed. in turkey, a major aid effort gets under way. rescue teams from around the world rush to help

it comes as the us “oined the un charter. it comes as the us joined the — the un charter. es as the us joined the uk _ the un charter. it comes as the us joined the uk and _ the un charter. it comes as the us joined the uk and eu - the un charter. it comes as the us joined the uk and eu in - usjoined the uk and eu in sanctions against president putin and his foreign minister and nato beefs up its own defences and condemns the russian invasion of ukraine. welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. the ukrainian president has warned that russian forces may try to storm the capital in the coming hours. in an address to the nation he urge the nation to stand firm, saying the fate of ukraine has been decided. residents are spending another night in metro stations and basements. the government says reinforcements had been brought in to defend the capital. here are the key developments. russian voices are progressing towards kyiv from multiple directions. at the united nations russia has vetoed a draft resolution which would have centred it for attacking ukraine. hundred

the absence of the un and the | the absence of the un and the secretary — the absence of the un and theild a — the secretary—general starts to build a different— the secretary—general starts to build a different momentum i the secretary—general starts to i build a different momentum and narrative — build a different momentum and narrative that— build a different momentum and narrative that benefits _ build a different momentum and narrative that benefits ukraine, i narrative that benefits ukraine, which _ narrative that benefits ukraine, which is — narrative that benefits ukraine, which is a — narrative that benefits ukraine, which is a member— narrative that benefits ukraine, which is a member state - narrative that benefits ukraine, which is a member state of- narrative that benefits ukraine, which is a member state of the| narrative that benefits ukraine, i which is a member state of the un attacked _ which is a member state of the un attacked by— which is a member state of the un attacked by another— which is a member state of the un attacked by another member- which is a member sta

um, there is, the un is not monolistic, there are a series of bodies in the un, there's the the un bureaucracy, the secretary general, all the un technical agencies, and then there are the more. political bodies like the general assembly, and there is a form of international democracy in the general assembly, given that it contains almost 200 members, all with one vote, unlike the security council, where of course the americans have veto. and many other ways of exercising power, so the general assembly is is the the one um pillar of of the un where at least the palestinians can have a say, and countries like iran can have a say defending the palestinians. yes, well, david, i mean netanyahunded incredibly threatened, threatening, didn't he when when he made his contribution saying that you know... 'iran needed to face a credible um nuclear threat, i mean, what do you make of that? well, it was interpreted as being a direct threat against iran, but of course, his office didn't really want it to be seen that way, so they tried to walk it back and say they didn't really mean that, but actually of

creating, says the un, a vast humanitarian crisis. hing. the children, as children do, find comfort in each other. because, when they leave here, there is only the war. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. joining me is ayesha hazarika, political commentator and former adviser to the labour party, and former us federal prosecutor, joe moreno. hello to both of you. such distressing _ hello to both of you. such distressing images - hello to both of you. such distressing images are . hello to both of you. such - distressing images are coming hello to both of you. slc'i distressing images are coming out of gaza today, and perhaps i'll start with you, joe. we'll talk about secretary of state antony blinken who is in israel. to put pressure for these humanitarian pauses that everybody is talking about, but he hasn't gotten anywhere on that front, has he?— hasn't gotten anywhere on that front, has he? ., �* . . front, has he? you can't watch those imaaes front, has he? you can't watch those images and — front, has he? you can't watch those imag

came back to this special session of the un general assembly where the u.s. acting deputy ambassador to the u.n. is speaking let's this nation it is for good reason that those who compose the u.n. charter and frame the u.s. constitution began with a reminder that government and multilateral institutions exists to serve the people it is my great honor today to represent the american people president donald j. trump and u.s. ambassador to the united nations kelly craft as we mark the 75th anniversary of the united nations 75 years ago the united states stepped forward when this bold new venture known as the united nations needed a permanent home and we remain proud to service that home to this day. it is hard to grasp the remarkable evolution of the united nations over the last 75 years from cautious early steps among a few global leaders today's vast networks of organizations agencies and functions the un has grown well beyond the vision of its founders and yet it is that vision that grounds this institution and must continue to guide its every action it is ou

and the un just stood there, like, completely paralysed. in this film, we ask, what took the united nations so long? to deliver humanitarian aid across an international border, we need either the consent of the government or in the case that we have in syria, a binding security council resolution. on monday 6th february 00.47am, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 strikes near gaziantep in south—east turkey. across the border in syria, strong tremors are felt. hundreds of buildings collapse. as the hours pass, the scale of the disaster becomes apparent. rescue teams are overwhelmed. in turkey, a major aid effort gets under way. rescue teams from around the world rush to help. in syria, the earthquake hit several cities controlled by the assad government. it also strikes north—west syria, the last pocket of territory controlled by opposition groups. buildings here have been weakened by years of conflict. this is only one of the buildings... sara kasim is a local journalist who's reported from north—west syria for the past few years. she's been alo

at that bar at the un. and let's let the collective worry about it. and the reality of the collective will not worry about it or in warwick -- ways other damaging test. the u.s. does not understand that it guarantees the system as an actor from the outside. the consequences are going to be a scramble among scared and worried rising great powers who we all should fear would come to blows. >> guest: it -- >> host: assess come if you would, the last two u.s. ambassadors to the un? step p20, my. the last two ambassadors. here's the thing. john bolton was excoriated as someone who despised the un. you could chop off the top seven or ten or however many stories, and no one would notice, the un headquarters. >> guest: -- >> host: do you agree with that statement, by the way? >> guest: i agree about 80%. i sounded quite conciliatory. the message of this book is american liberals need to understand that that is not going anywhere. it is not going to go into this kind of wonderful thing which is going to sort of g

the threat to the safety and security of the un staff and gaza is unprecedented. ave already been killed, many with their families. this is the largest single loss of life in the history of our organisation. some of our staff take their children to work so they know they will live or die together. colleagues have shared after breaking messages from members pleading for help. the secretary general of safety and security has advised me that all possible means of mitigating the risk to staff in gaza shorten magic —— short of evacuation, are falling apart. i cannot stress strongly enough that the committee is committed to the people of gaza. i pay tribute to the humanitarian aid workers who will remain committed to their work despite the enormous dangers to their health and lives. but the situation is becoming untenable. the council called for the resolution for the supply is meeting humanitarian needs of the population especially children. i deeply regret to inform the council that under current conditions on the ground, the fulfilment of these has become impossible.

uh, what's happened to the un, is what the un was designed to be, in other words, it has a mission of war prevention, but it also has an option for the winners of world war ii to exercise veto over any meaningful action that the un might take, and therefore what i call the primacy of geopolitics. written into the charter of the un, which means in case like this, that the strategic priorities of the united states and france and uk prevent the un from doing more than having a voice. its special rapporteurs are denouncing what israel is doing, they are as your guest suggests as ethnic and tridal in its impact, and the secretary general has also voiced his displeasure at the refusal to at least establish a ceasefire in iran, but the but the un is helpless when it's blocked geopolitically, when it's not blocked, as in libya in 2011. and in the first iraq war in 2000 and 1991, the un can be very... effective because it has this the added capabilities of these geopolitical actors and it can really violate sovereign rights if if the political atmosphere uh is condusive to that sort of solutio

the main bodies of the un , including the security council, then it is necessary to make changes to theter, this is a very complicated procedure, because in order to the charter was amended, it is necessary that uh, 2/3 of the general assembly voted for these amendments and another two-thirds of the un member states, including the five permanent security councils, ratified the treaty, which type of amendments are provided since russia is one of the permanent members of the security council, therefore, if russia does not ratify, go. the un charter, in part, for example, the activities of the same security council, which is regulated in it , no changes will be made. to be fair, there were precedents for adjusting the charter, but a long time ago, firstly, the 15 members of the security council that we have today. yes , it was far from always like that. uh, there were 15 of them. actually, it was only in 1965 that amendments came into force on august 31, as a result which have undergone an increase in the number of safety tips. well, uh, accordingly, changes were made as a result, but thes

where is the global solidarity to make un resolutions believable? elsewhere, representatives of several muslim majority african nations warned against any western plans to attack niger following the expulsion of a french-backed regime there. any military intervention in nigeria, any aggression or any invasion of that country would pose a direct threat to the peace and security of mali and of the region, and it would necessarily entail grave consequences, we will not stand idle. this year. theme was to be rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity, but with open discrimination and acts of aggression perpetrated against muslims, is rebuilding trust between nations, genuine possibility. now joining us today in the studio to talk about all these issues is a regular contributor to the show batool sabaiti. sister batul is a political activist and commentator whose incisive analysis helps both layman and professionals a like navigate political developments on. global scale and joining us on skype from tehran is ali salam, he's a convert to islam and

is the un the right body to ta ke that. is the un the right body to take the lead on that?need to be. we spend 70% of our budget on peacekeeping. in most situations there is no peace to keep, as you know. we need to be able to invest much more in prevention. i think we can see the prevention on two aspects. general prevention. and sustainable economy is prevention of conflict, prevention of corruption is prevention of conflict. helping ease tensions is prevention of conflict. then we have the need to do specific easing of conflict in specific situations where there is conflict. that is where we need to boost capacity. if you allow me, i created a form of mediation with nine men and nine women, ex—heads of state and government, people with experience, to help us act in time to prevent conflict. it also needs you, the secretary general of the un, to speak out and challenge governments. this is what a former official said of you. his style is to make general statements on the issue but not directly challenge government on action. it raises concerns on what he would be like as

cannot handle it, and uh, so what about the future of the un, and what about the fact that the un, especially the world health organization, has lot of there's a justification to be critical of it, to wonder if it's a corrupt organization working with big pharma, this surprise intervention. the bill gates approach to solving polio, but in different parts of the world this particular vaccination or it's not really an vaccination, it's you know they changed the language, but it's it's caused people to get polio, and it has very dark history in india and africa, this bill gates operation where depopulation is is being advanced, and of course that is what israel is doing with the... palestinian population, it's a depopulation agenda, and so we need to question what is really going on with the united nations? professor, you're mentioning the united nations, don't you think people should wake up and look for a way to replace the un, even the icc or the icj with fair and unbiased organization? absolutely, and democratic organization, because or a somewhat democratic organization, because

we need the un at its best. . . . . people. eans talking with o americans of cooperation to the international telecommunication union supports u.s. economic growth activity the productivity of fulfilling and efficient network and a worthless race that is open and free. multilateral work reportsan hundreds for food safety to help american farmers sell food around the world so they are not forced to compete with cheaper products because they were cut. it's about how diplomacy supported by international partners can avert and mitigate attention secondly to conflict in human suffering keepers provide stability and create space for reconciliation that reduces the risk broadening conflict it's about promoting international labor standards that allow american companies to compete on a level playing field. international control to deny drug traffickers raw materials needed to repent affectly supply protection of human rights expressed in the universal declaration of human rights and so much more. i like to spend a moment on the last pie

, they are the fundamental basis of the work of the un. this is a big country with great power. it must be said that the problems that exist in the un usually arise from superpowers. this means that it is extremely important to maintain open and honest dialogue and maintain relationships that are always aimed at solving our problems, instead their aggravation. dozens of international organizations in the world today are not members of the un family, for example, brix, sco, african union or the organization of islamic cooperation. their role is becoming more and more important, are they competitors or partners of the un? yes. they must be fundamental partners. and i would like to draw your attention to one of the reforms that we were able to carry out: allowing the security council to entrust the conduct of operations to strengthen peace and combat terrorism to partners, namely african union, but with assessed contributions and financial support, since it is unable to do so. thus , there are a number of situations where regional organizatio

is the un security council fit for purpose? in 2024. what was the thinking back in 1945, but it was decided to have these 5 permanent seats on the council. and to what extent just the one guys are now forcing the security council to run up against it's, it's do political limitations as well. the security council has never truly fulfilled its original purpose. it was meant to be a global policing agency and the us associates and partition the permanent members were meant to be the 5 policeman who would hold crises in check and avoid a return to major power war. ever since the 19 forty's, the council has failed to live up to that vision because of the tensions between the big powers. that was a period of to 1989 when cooperation improved considerably, but the council still fails overland to and over 1000. yeah. and i think what we're seeing today, you credit any of it goes up. but also overall, the cases like my on my is the tensions involving the us involving the russians and involving the chinese really hobbling this organization. which

that is, when the un will adopt this. a political statement, when it adopted by the governments, this will have certain consequences , er, specific consequences of that, that is, sanctions regarding spending ukraine treason, well , first of all, treason, well, such a mechanism does not exist, it simply does not exist, er, it is easier, in principle, to benefit russia from the un than treason of security because the un means that it can automatically leave the security council or not, that is, one needs to be big , then the easiest way to get into it is to kiss it, so here and with the membership of russia in the un, although again it is uh, it's also a long process and the point is that we it's more important to limit russia's ability to use the un platform as a platform for its propaganda, because that's not even propaganda anymore. the russians did not invite the osce to the security forum at the munich conference, when they always invited it precisely because they did not want to give them a platform for propaganda. and

could override the veto of the un security council. ink that zelenskyi is very boring proposal and if we focused our attention on this sum before and now we discussed it on the quantitative composition, then in fact the key reform of the security council is the right of veto and perhaps it should not be about taking away someone's legal right, so to speak , because it is unrealistic, but it is necessary to look for ways to circumvent the law, if they are applied in the general assembly, and the general assembly itself, as president zelenskyi said, is the mechanism and the formula that can do this, and here, by the way, we must remember that such an attempt and not even an attempt a is a decision peculiar to the 50th year, when in response to the abuse of the right of veto by the soviet union, a resolution of the general assembly was adopted, which in such cases assumed the functions of maintaining international peace and security, even the first let's say the hunov peacekeeping operation was launched precisely by the general assembly, t