UN Security Council needs restructuring for a world without “refugees and poverty”

 This world needs an immediate halt to all armed conflicts right across the planet earth

“World military expenditure rose for the ninth consecutive year to an all-time high of $2,443 billion. For the first time since 2009, military expenditure went up in all five of the geographical regions defined by SIPRI, with particularly large increases recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East” (Media release by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute/22 April 2024)

Though world military expenditure has been increasing continuously during the last nine years, no member country had stopped to ask, “How can this be?” We have endorsed and ratified the UN founding Charter of 1945, with the firm pledge, “We the Peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind…” and the most important of all purposes of the United Nations mentioned as “maintain international peace and security”.

Data from “SIPRI Fact Sheet – 2024” confirms the “five biggest spenders in 2023 were the United States, China, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia, which together accounted for 61 per cent of world military spending”. India has been a non-permanent member in the Security Council (SC) on eight occasions, totalling 16 years. India’s last term in the UN SC so far was from 2021 – 2022. NATO member States that include the UK, France and Germany has spent $ 1,341 billion equivalent to 55% of world spending on military expenses. The UK has increased its military spending by 07.9% and France by 06.5% in year 2023. 

One important question that remains unanswered to date is, “What benefits have Citizens of these countries gained, with their elected governments continuously increasing military expenditure?” What they have gained in return for their silence, for not questioning military expenditure of their elected government, is increasing poverty. The US has a growing “homeless” issue that according to the 2023 “Annual Homelessness Assessment Report” counted 653,000 homeless people in a single night. It is an increase of 12% from that of 2022. 

There were also 111,000 plus children without a roof. Official poverty rate was 11.5% with 37.9 million counted poor, with Forbes counting 735 “Dollar billionaires” that’s worth watching. What the youth under de jure compulsory conscription for military services have gained from increasing military expenditure in US is going to war. They were conscripted for the Vietnam war, recruited for Afghanistan and then Iraq occupation with 58,200 plus casualties in Vietnam, 2,459 deaths and 20,760 plus injured in Afghanistan and 4,431 casualties and 31,994 wounded in action in Iraq.

Thick grey side that remains cloaked

All countries considered rich and powerful with their heavy military presence and increasing trade on armaments, have a thick grey side that remains cloaked with GDP improvements and annual per capita income. Yet WB information on China says, in year 2019 the poorest 10% of the Chinese population had only a 02.8% share of household wealth, while it was said the richest 10% had a share of over 70%. According to Forbes, China had 539 “Dollar billionaires” in 2022, second only to the USA. French “Statista Research Department” said on 2024 March 11, French poverty rate in 2020 was 14.6% and “In recent years, poverty in France has been increasing, affecting both unemployed and working people”. The UK “Department for Work and Pensions” reveals a stunning 21% totalling 14.3 million people in absolute poverty in financial year 2022/2023. In research briefing files with British parliament, household income disparity “In 2021/22, 37% of total disposable household income in the UK went to the fifth of individuals with the highest household incomes, while 8% went to the fifth with the lowest”. Do we need more data and more information on increasing military expenditure and poverty in this world plagued with armed conflicts? 

Since the UN charter for global peace came into force, the world has now lived for almost 80 years, never without an armed conflict somewhere on this planet earth. Just 1 year and 2 months after the signing of the UN charter for global peace, France, one of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (SC) from inception, declared war on Vietnam in December 1946. This was called the “Indochina war” and was dragged till July 1954 when the country was divided into North and South Vietnam. Then the US military stepped in to support South Vietnam’s war effort against North Vietnam that bled to an end in April 1975 when South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnamese forces. A parallel war was being waged in Korea begun in 1950, that also bifurcated Korea into North and South. The US backing the South while Russia backed the North. Both, permanent UN SC members from inception. 

On data collected by Uppsala University of Sweden, there were 285 armed conflicts since 1946. The “Infoplease.com” website says, “The major conflicts that followed World War I and World War II have mostly taken place outside of Europe.” The Uppsala University data list of such major armed conflicts beginning with the Korean war have Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, First Gulf war, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Second Gulf war, Darfur, Libya and Syria among others. All of them with US interventions, and the Iraqi invasion with direct assistance from the British in ousting Sadam Hussein on false information provided to the UN regards Weapons of Mass Destruction, not to be forgotten. 

Now, there is the Ruso-Ukraine war and there are also massive human massacres in Gaza with Israel continuing its genocidal war against Palestinians. The UN meanwhile is proving its total failure in carrying through any of its 180 plus resolutions adopted against Israel. In fact, the UN General Assembly has adopted about 05 Resolutions that say, “Israel’s strategic relationship with the United States, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power, allows Israel to pursue aggressive and expansionist policies and practices in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict”. They are reduced to mere resolutions with permanent SC members allowed a non-sensical “veto power” that impedes any meaningful action.

Super powers

These “Super powers” also have other means in allowing conflicts for unexplained reasons, as in Rwanda massacre of a million Tutsis cut and hacked to death in just 100 days in 1994. Madeleine Albright US Secretary of State under the Clinton administration, in her autobiography “My Life”, says “Dallaire (head of the UN Peace keeping force) was making dire reports to the UN headquarters, but the oral summaries provided to the Security Council lacked detail and failed to convey the full dimensions of the disaster (?). As a result, the Council hoped unrealistically that each new day would bring a cease fire.” (page/188) She then says, “… President Clinton later apologized for our lack of action, as did I”. An apology for lack of action when over 01 million civilians were hacked to death. 

Writing 15 years ago in May 2009 on UN SC and the heavily corrupt and inept UN agencies, I said “Imagine this planet earth in soothing peace? No armed conflicts anywhere, only dialogue and negotiations in managing conflicts. Can these five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council afford to lose US $ 273.5 billion? As former US President Jimmy Carter said during his presidential campaign in 1976, - We can’t have it both ways. We can’t be both the world’s leading champion of peace and the world’s leading supplier of arms.” (https://kusalperera.blogspot.com/2009/05/will-this-international-community.html) 

That is the plain truth and that applies to all 5 permanent members in the UN SC and to those on rotation too. In a world riddled with threats to peace and stability from ever growing military hardware trade, ruthless and inhuman wars with hundreds of thousands including children killed and more left maimed, hospitals and homes devastated, many millions displaced and left as starving refugees, have become the order of the day. This is not a world that can sustain economic growth for social development with equality and democratic rights. In short, 80 years with this UN and its SC that decides on peace and security in relation to profits on armament trade, have left this world in growing poverty and economic instability. UNDP Poverty Index 2023 records, “… Roughly five out of six poor people live in Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia: 534 million (47.8 percent) in Sub-Saharan Africa and 389 million (34.9 percent) in South Asia.” 

This world needs an immediate halt to all armed conflicts right across the planet earth. This world needs a citizenry that would at least now demand a substantial reduction in world military expenditure with a plan for a paradigm shift in restructuring the UN decision making and implementing processes and mechanisms. The UN SC to be constituted with seven member countries who are not manufacturers and traders of armaments and without “veto power”. Such restructuring of the UN, should be initiated with the General Assembly adopting a resolution mandating the present permanent members of the SC and its members on rotation to implement a 10% cut on their 2024 annual military and defence expenditure in the name of 108.4 million refugees and the war displaced in UNHCR 2022 Global Trends Report.