Spotlight: UN dovotes to unremmitting peace mission in chaotic Mideast

Despite the setbacks, the UN has all along devoted to the unremmitting peace mission in the Mideast region and saved millions of lives by deploying peacekeeping troops at hot spots, said Dag Hammarskjold, the second UN Secretary-General who held the post from 1953 to 1961.

In addition, the UN has contributed a lot to improve health and education, enhance food security and set programs for development, fight poverty and preserve heritages around the globe, he said.

"The United Nations (UN) was not created to lead mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell," he said.

Established following the end of the World War II in 1945, what has the United Nations (UN) offered to humanity? And could it make the world better amid conflicts spreading around, particularly in the Middle East region?

After seven decades of its foundation, the Middle East is still a mess, with turmoil and chaos in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, while the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Middle East peace process remain unresolved for over 60 years.

Although the UN was founded to maintain peace and security around the world, a mission that does not seem to be perfectly done despite the organization's efforts and envoys in the conflict-torn regions, especially in the Middle East.

For instance, the world body has been powerless to enforce its Security Council resolutions for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, to stop the Israeli recurrent attacks on the Gaza Strip or to prevent the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

"It is clear that the UN cultural and social efforts and activities are more successful and effective than its political and security ones," said Mostafa Elwi, professor of political sciences at Cairo University.

"I would like to praise the UN for the role of its various agencies in development, social and cultural fields that professionally provided assistance for the whole world at large," Ahmed al-Quisni, Egyptian former assistant foreign minister for consulate affairs, told Xinhua.

The UN has successfully provided hope and assistance for millions of people around the world through its social and cultural activities and programs provided by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and others.

"The UN Human Rights Council also did well and the UN peacekeeping forces, like those in Egypt's Sinai and Sudan's Darfur, are among the UN successful missions that reflected great, fruitful efforts on the part of the organization," Quisni, also Egypt's former ambassador to Indonesia, added.

Reaching a peace treaty or a ceasefire is easier than maintaining peace between the conflicting parties, a task that the UN well performed as seen in the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that has been going on for over 35 years now.

"In healthcare, the WHO made a real difference in facing serious perils including plagues and epidemics like HIV and bird flu through providing necessary drugs and vaccines and supervising relevant agreements," he told Xinhua.

The reform and restructure of the UN has been endlessly discussed and has always been the demand of many countries. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon himself appointed an Indian diplomat in 2011 to lead the reform procedures, but nothing tangible has been seen.

"The UN needs an urgent reform to maintain democracy and cope with the massive changes in the world today," said Quisni, stressing that the current UN structure does not efficiently respond to the growing threats to the world peace and security.

The expert said it would be convenient to have an African or Arab permanent member at the UN Security Council to represent such a hot spot of the world that is currently suffering growing conflicts.

"I refer to the UN Security Council as 'the world board of directors' that should have influential states from all world continents represented," the ex-diplomat insisted.

Since its establishment, the UN has spent over half a trillion U.S. dollars to finance its programs and various missions around the world. The international organization has some 41,000 employees working at 17 specialized agencies and 14 funds and administrations.

It also deploys about 120,000 peacekeepers in conflict-stricken zones, mostly in Africa, which cost the body about nine billion dollars every year. The two-year approved budget of the UN has mounted to reach five billion dollars.

"The payments provided by the world states are insufficient to bridge the gap that widens every day due to the growing conflicts in the region," Iyad Hassan Nasr, regional spokesperson of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told Xinhua.

The OCHA official continued that the concerned states have not reduced their payments but the needs and the relevant challenges are getting greater day after day.

The finance is the number one challenge facing the UN humanitarian efforts, then the growing illegitimate armed movements in conflict-torn areas that hinder the humanitarian work.

There are about 100 million people across the world who need assistance, while 60 million others are displaced, according to a recent statement of the UN chief on the 70th anniversary of the organization.

"In the Syrian crisis for example, which is extremely complicated, we have about 4 million refugees in neighboring countries and we have 62 percent shortage in the funds necessary to assist them," the OCHA regional spokesman told Xinhua. Endit