80 years on

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter, the founding document of the UN. Signed in the wake of World War II, the charter’s preamble proclaims that the members of the UN are determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights. In the years since the signing, more and more nations have signed on to this pledge and the world's understanding of war and what constitutes fundamental human rights has only grown, along with the list of international laws meant to keep the peace. Sadly, this has not brought the UN any closer to actually achieving the goals of preventing war and upholding human rights. This was true in the decades immediately following the charter’s signing, and it is especially true today.

This year alone has seen Israel continue its genocide in Gaza in full view of the world, the Russia and Ukraine conflict drag on and a mini-war between two nuclear armed nations: Pakistan and India. Just last week, Israel and the US launched an illegal attack on the civilian nuclear programme of Iran and the assassination of several of its top security officials. The fact that Iran was in full compliance with the relevant international atomic regulations and institutions did not seem to matter. Through all of these events, the UN, with all the lofty principles of its charter, has been an ineffectual spectator. Its failure is only heightened by the fact that the most consistent violator