The thought that global bodies can lead nations to attain equitable development for all is a mind trap designed to make the global majority cede more control to colonial empires behind the UN.
‘Global Peace and Development Architecture’ Mind Trap
The Notion that a centralized and unified global body can achieve peace and development for all continues to falter. As the League of Nations failed to stop World War II, the UN has failed to prevent or stop many wars. The UN, despite shifting its goal from preventing the scourge of war to coordinating development, has attained only 17% of its Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs); total failure. Meanwhile, the Western empires, including the UK, project influence through the UN. During the UNGA-79, the UK Prime Minister declared that his country would return to global leadership, pointing to the pre-UN days of the colonial British Empire.
Therefore, the notion that the UN can bring peace, and development to all while being steered by some powers that miss their colonial empire can only be a mind trap designed to make developing countries surrender control to the hands behind the UN. Developing nations’ only hope is strengthening their sovereignty and steering their development with assistance from like-minded partners, since relying on the UN will only lull them to wait until colonial empires reemerge from the body to drive colonialism. A review of statements made by Kenya’s President William Ruto at The 79th UN General Assembly (UNGA-79) shows that developing countries erroneously think the UN and Western countries can offer a stable international system and global leadership to address various challenges, while the UK Prime Minister’s speech show that the former colonial masters prefer the UN to remain as a steward of their colonialism until their re-emergence.
The World’s Majority vs. Former Colonialists in the UN
UNGA-79 revealed the irreconcilable differences between the interests of developing countries and those of former colonial masters, who have fashioned the UN in their image. Speakers at this event lamented the presence of many conflicts globally in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Sahel, Eastern DRC, and Myanmar, which attested to the UN’s failure as a body that was established to prevent the scourge of war. As UNGA-79 progressed, Israel launched a devastating attack in Lebanon and assassinated Hezbollah’s Secretary General, pushing the entire region to the edge of abyss: The UN will do nothing about it. Surprisingly, the US, a permanent UN Security Council (UNSC) member, only condemned Iran in a meeting convened after the latter launched missiles at Israel for violating Iran’s sovereignty by conducting an assassination in Tehran. The UNSC is another avenue for the US to amplify its supremacist worldview.
United Nations (in) Security Council
Kenya’s president stated that the UNSC has become a hindrance to maintaining international security, as it is dysfunctional, undemocratic, non-inclusive, unaccountable, and opaque. It excludes some regions, for instance Africa, with 54 nations and 1.4 billion people. Readers should note that the UNSC’s permanent members cannot even agree to implement its former resolutions, for instance Israel-Palestinian partitions, or enforce rights guaranteed under the UN charter for Palestinians, Yemenis, and Africans under colonialism, or ethnic Russians in Ukraine. Instead, some UNSC members, especially the US and UK, bomb countries under false pretexts, for instance, accusations that Iraqi soldiers killed Kuwaiti babies in incubators, but also enables Israel to kill Gazan babies in incubators. Such members cannot be objective in defending the interests of all. Kenya’s president would propose reforming the UNSC to prevent instances where one country vetoes the decisions of the rest of the world, while Keir Starmer steered clear of UNSC’s shortfalls, but cast a hypocritical line of thought, giving cursory mention to the wars the UK is fueling in Gaza, and Myanmar, but dwelling on the Russia-Ukraine conflict as if history began when Russia launched its military operation. He ignored the Afghan war and simmering conflicts in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria, which are driven by Washington and London, two UNSC permanent members. Similar hypocrisy was noted in Joe Biden’s speech at the same event, as he lamented wars his country has provoked, fueled, or given political cover.
Ruto’s and Starmer’s speeches also illustrated the divergence between developing and developed countries in socioeconomic priorities. The kenyan president proposed prioritizing socio-economic development and lamented how only 17% of SDGs have been attained, while the UK prime minister suggested curtailing development to reduce risks to the environment, and the threat of AI. Keir Starmer stated that the world was reducing poverty, and underdevelopment before the north-south division shifted the direction to conflicts and wars. He did not mention when this shift happened but suggested it was when Russia launched an operation in Ukraine, meaning he viewed all the wars launched by his country and the US, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Libya, as okay. Starmer is only perturbed by wars that do not benefit the UK. The US-UK wars pushed millions into poverty and underdevelopment, but Starmer and Biden think that their victims should first address the threat of Global warming and AI, views that bring out the arrogance and thoughtlessness of Western colonial countries. The UK and the US have low value for the world’s majority, whom they view solely as a source of materials and labor. As a result, western powers continue to restrict development in the global south by making capital inaccessible, creating instability, and leading the world to complain about it.
Global bodies are biased by Design, Nations-States are the only Hope
Kenya’s president illustrated how the global financial architecture discriminates against Africans, by using biased rating mechanisms that categorize lending to Africa as ‘risky’ to justify high interests. Therefore, Africans get limited capital and are forced to choose whether to buy medical equipment or hire doctors, and whether to purchase textbooks or hire teachers, among others. Mr. Ruto wondered what goes on in Westerners’ minds as they prioritize profits over humanity. For his information, these Westerners have killed, colonized, and enslaved people for material gains. They find their current regime of issuing exploitative loans inadequate to satisfy their gluttony, as can be noted in how Keir Starmer glamorized the atrocities of the British Empire, euphemizing them as ‘returning the UK to the world leadership’. Nowhere else is a need for developing nations to strengthen their sovereignty and defend against the proposed British, and Western colonialism clearer. The UNSC, in which Washington, London, and Paris are permanent members has, and will continue, steering the world to preserve colonial empires’ influence until they reemerge. Therefore, developing countries’ only hope is strengthening themselves, leveraging their resources, and seeking equal partnerships with like-minded countries. Otherwise, expecting the global security and financial architecture to change and drive equitable development for all is naïve and misplaced. The thought that ‘global’ multilateral bodies can drive development for all is a mind trap to mislead the world’s majority to cede more control to imperial powers dominating the UN.
Simon Chege Ndiritu, is a political observer and research analyst from Africa