UN will either undergo fundamental reform or be replaced by new organization, says Armenian analyst

Armenian political analyst Davit Stepanyan is convinced that the United Nations (UN) will either undergo fundamental transformation or a new organization will be created in its place, based on new geopolitical realities.

Amid the ongoing 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Davit Stepanyan addressed the UN’s role in resolving contemporary conflicts, as well as its role and significance in international relations.

“Not only in recent years, but also in recent decades, the UN’s role has, unfortunately, significantly diminished, because decisions are increasingly being made in major superpowers. The UN today, by and large, serves as a platform where the main actors try to legitimize their decisions, which are made contrary to the UN Charter and existing resolutions and legislation,” Stepanyan told Armenpress.

Addressing discussions concerning reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC), the political analyst emphasized that as a result of discussions on the issue, the role of the UNSC is unlikely to change for the better.

“Talk about increasing the number of permanent members of the UNSC reflects the geopolitical developments that have taken place recently, within the framework of which the number of states that are already regional actors or seek to have such status and functions is growing. These states, naturally, want to become permanent members of the UNSC. I do not think that if Türkiye or India become permanent members of the UNSC, the quality of decisions made there and the implementation of decisions will become more relevant than they are today,” the political analyst explained.

Stepanyan also spoke about the position of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has called for abolishing the veto power of permanent members of the UN Security Council.

“Türkiye is simply seeking to increase its role on the international stage. Each of Erdoğan’s steps, starting in 2002, when he became President of Türkiye, has been directed and aimed at achieving this goal. Erdoğan is trying to achieve such a decision at the UN, which indicates that he wants to open another door in order to fulfill his own ambitions. At least at the regional level, this is succeeding, because Türkiye is currently a regional power,” the expert said.

Taking into account the fact that, in addition to a legal-charter instrument, the UN has another instrument in the form of peacekeeping missions carried out under its auspices, Stepanyan noted that decisions related to the “blue helmets” are also not made by the UN.

“The deployment of peacekeeping forces in any given conflict zone is decided by individual superpowers that are interested in resolving a particular conflict, or, conversely, do not want the conflict to be resolved. For example, we saw that during the 44-day war, despite certain calls for the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces in Karabakh, this did not happen for the simple reason that there was no consensus on this issue. And if there is no international consensus, even the UN Security Council at the highest level cannot make such decisions. If the UN were truly a fully functioning institution capable of exercising its powers to the fullest, then we would have a completely different situation in Karabakh at this point, and there would at least be an Armenian population there. In the case of the UN, the connection with the inability to make decisions is obvious here,” the political analyst said.

According to Stepanyan, the situation will certainly have a logical resolution in the future. 

“Certainly, there can be reforms within the framework of which the UN will undergo rebranding, or it will be completely dissolved, but a new structure will be created in its place, because both in the past and now, any state that is a major international actor has the problem of legitimizing its functions. In other words, superpowers take steps that are not accepted by the UN, but then try to legitimize them from the platform of the mentioned organization,” the political analyst concluded.