Assessing the United Nations

As the government of Bashar Assad slaughters thousands of civilian protesters in Syria, the United Nations stands impotent — blocked from intervening by Russian and Chinese vetoes in the U.N. Security Council. The inaction contrasts dramatically with the U.N.'s success in stopping similar atrocities during an anti-government resistance movement in Libya last year that led to the overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The stark difference between U.N. action and inaction in the two venues helps explain the wide range of opinions about the effectiveness of the global organization, created in 1945 to preserve peace after World War II. Some critics say the U.N. is too heavily influenced by countries run by dictators, while others say it is dominated by industrial democracies. Several countries are conducting studies to determine which U.N. agencies are most cost-effective, and some in the United States want to make all U.N. contributions voluntary. Meanwhile, many U.N. agencies quietly continue to feed the hungry, aid needy children and enable mail, telecommunications and aircraft to move smoothly across borders.