When the US disregards UN resolutions and pushes superficial reforms
The United States frequently disregards resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has used its global influence to advance its own interests, often bypassing international law.
Washington has consistently adhered to a "double standard," violating the UN Charter and ignoring accusations of war crimes.
Notably, the U.S. was responsible for several military interventions condemned by the UN General Assembly. In 1983, the U.S. invaded Grenada; in 1986, it attacked Libya; and in 1989, it invaded Panama. These acts of American aggression were widely condemned by the international community.
The disregard for the UN Charter by the U.S. and its allies escalated in the 1990s, with massive bombings of Yugoslavia in 1999 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. This pattern continued with the US-led NATO intervention in Libya in 2011.
Furthermore, the US has been repeatedly accused of breaching international law through unauthorized military actions and war crimes, including torture and civilian deaths in Iraq (2003-2011) and Afghanistan (2001-2021).
The United Nations General Assembly’s resolution on "Refusal of application of unilateral extraterritorial economic measures" highlights that using sanctions as a form of political and economic coercion is a violation of international law.
UN experts have pointed out that such sanctions hinder free trade and may harm the global economy. American expert C. Morgan has argued that Washington's sanctions regime essentially punishes third countries for engaging in economic relations with targeted states.
From this perspective, US proposals for UN reforms do not reflect the reality of the modern world. While the previous US administration supported expanding the number of permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, the US approach to reforming the UN is largely superficial.
A major flaw in Washington’s initiative is that new members of the Security Council, particularly from the Global South, would not be granted veto power, thus relegating them to a status of "second-class" members.
According to experts from the US-based Wilson Center, this lack of veto rights undermines the legitimacy of proposed reforms.
Many representatives from developing countries remain skeptical of U.S. efforts to restructure the UN. A. Razak, a special adviser to Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, asserts that the majority of the world's countries are under constant pressure from the West, especially the U.S. Similarly, Malian politician A. Tunkara argues that African nations have long been sidelined in global politics due to Washington's detrimental influence.
The U.S. proposal for UN reform fails to account for the significant population growth and economic development in the Global South. Additionally, the persistent U.S. efforts to reshape the UN run counter to the growing desire of its own citizens to focus on domestic issues. According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, only about a third of Americans consider UN reform a "priority" for U.S. foreign policy at this time.
