5 problems facing UN as it nears 70th

anniversary
Edited for clarity and brevity by Scott Panek
AP DEC 5, 2014

UNITED NATIONS – ​The world has changed dramatically since the United Nations was
established after World War II, but the organization has not adapted to the 21st century.

As it approaches its 70th anniversary next year, here are five problems facing the United
Nations:

Outdated structure

The same five countries — the victors of World War II — have been the powerful ones in
the U.N. since 1945: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. So, critics say
the council simply doesn’t represent the world today. When it was founded, the U.N.
had 51 member states. It now has 193, many of them fighting to have more power within
the U.N. All countries are represented in the General Assembly, but that assembly can
only pass nonbinding resolutions.

****VOCABULARY****

Outdated: ​no longer useful or acceptable : not modern or current

Nonbinding resolutions: ​Not officially requiring that you do something : not able to
be enforced by law​. Nonbinding resolutions are basically suggestions.
Unmanageable organization

The U.N. has become a huge system with 15 ​self-governing​ agencies, 11 semi-self
governing funds and programs, and numerous other ​bodies.​ There is no central
organization to govern over all of them.

The confusing structure was recently blamed for the World Health Organization’s
(WHO) delay in recognizing the Ebola epidemic. The WHO’s country directors in Africa
report to the Africa regional director, not WHO headquarters in Geneva. And the WHO’s
director in Geneva does not report to the secretary-general in New York.

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Unmanageable: ​Difficult to deal with or control

Self-governing:​ control over one’s own organization; there is not an organization that
directs the organization.

Bodies: ​organizations

Increasing demands

The U.N. is almost constantly asking its member states to provide troops for its
peacekeeping work​. The number of peacekeepers has risen to a record 130,000 —
compared to 11,000 at the end of the Cold War — but ​the system is flawed.​ More
than 100 peacekeepers have died this year and dozens have been taken captive.

Moreover, the world’s refugee population has soared amid a growing list of
humanitarian crises. The U.N. refugee agency is trying to help over 51 million people
forced from their homes and displaced inside or outside their country, the highest figure
since the U.N. began collecting those data in the early 1950s.

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The system is flawed: ​the system has lots of problems.

Peacekeeping work: ​work that tries to make sure that the world remains peaceful.
Unreliable funding

Raising money is a constant problem with so many crises happening throughout the
world. Many U.N. agencies are funded by ​voluntary​ ​donations​, and people are not
donating enough money.

All 193 member states give money to the U.N., but some countries almost always pay
their payments late. In early November, members owed about $3.5 billion to the U.N.

****VOCABULARY****

To fund: ​to provide money for

Donation: ​something (such as money, food, clothes, etc.) that you give in order to help a
person or organization

Unreliable funding: ​uncertain sources of money

Voluntary: ​ ​done or given because you want to and not because you are forced to : done
or given by choice

Source:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/12/05/world/5-problems-facing-un-nears-70
th-anniversary/#.V-EIj5N94cg