The UN Humanitarian chief recently welcomed Israel’s decision to allow aid trucks to enter Gaza after an 11-week blockade. The Assad-controlled Syrian government usually blocked the entry of essential items into the country. Due to underfunding, the UN was unable to fulfill the basic needs of the African people. The reasons for the above misgivings are attributed to several factors. Corruption, funding gap, political pressure, trust and accountability issues – the list goes on.

Be it people in war-torn countries or the ones grappling with natural disasters, every person has expectations from the UN. For years, the organisation has been a pillar of saviour, yet it has often been under scrutiny. Despite billions of dollars and years of experience, the UN has not always been a beacon of hope for distressed countries. This article aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the failures of the UN’s humanitarian aid over the last few decades.

The Existence of Humanitarian Aid in the UN

In the aftermath of World War II, the United Nations was created. The organisation aimed to prevent any other war in the future, to provide relief to the poor nations of the world, as well as to safeguard peace. Since its inception, humanitarian service has been a core principle of the UN. To fulfil its objective, special programs and agencies were created:

• UNICEF (1946): The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. Created to focus on child welfare, education, and nutrition all over the world.
• UNHCR (1950): The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It is tasked with the responsibility of protecting the refugees.
• WFP (1961): The World Food Programme. The world’s largest food association, created to address hunger and food insecurity issues.
• OCHA (1991): Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Its main responsibility is to improve international coordination among the countries.

These agencies, along with international humanitarian law, form the backbone of the UN’s humanitarian forces. The coordination and cooperation among these bodies are ultimately responsible for the failure or success of any mission undertaken by the organisation.

Key Failures of the UN

In recent years, the United Nations’ Humanitarian Aid has proved to be rather inefficient and slow to deliver its services. The world recently witnessed the UN’s inadequate response in some of the most dreadful situations in modern history. Let’s take a look at them:

Gaza

• As mentioned in the introduction, the UN has repeatedly failed to provide basic relief items in the most attacked regions of Gaza.
• Moreover, due to the suspension of funding, the process became even more delayed. The UN shelters where the civilians were living had also been bombed. This further raised questions about the organization’s safety precautions.

Ukraine

• Since the beginning of the Russia–Ukraine war, the UN has been incompetent in its service. The UN agencies could not reach the war-hit zones in the country due to a lack of negotiations with Russia.
• As Russia is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, no further attempts could be made by the officials.

Afghanistan

The deployment of American troops from the country in 2021 and the Taliban takeover of the country in the same year proved to be a catastrophic period for innocent civilians.

• Having no access to food, healthcare facilities, and financial assistance made the country’s population crippled down to extreme hunger and poverty.
• The UN struggled to reach an agreement with the Taliban, which further delayed the assistance.

Syria

• The Assad-led government often created problems for the UN workers. They dictated the route of the food supplies, and often, the support did not reach the suffering people.
• The UN came under fire for unintentionally enabling Assad’s government to take control of the aid.

Sudan

• The UN’s slow response to the 2023-24 Sudan civil war was highly criticised. The organisation failed to keep up with the casualties and displacements in the country.
• With the conflict ongoing in the capital, Khartoum, and the city of Darfur, millions of people were affected, and aid could not reach them in time as the UN was unable to ensure safety corridors.

Somalia

• One of the poorest and most hunger-stricken countries in the world, Somalia has witnessed famines that have wiped out thousands of people. Despite a warning of forecasted famine, the UN’s help often arrived late.
• Also, with Al–Shabaab’s rule, the UN could hardly function in the region. The country has even seen less than 50% of its humanitarian fund ever being fulfilled.

Reasons for Failures

There are multiple loopholes in the UN structure to support humanitarian aid. One of the most pressing issues is the agency’s overreliance on voluntary donations, which can be erratic as well as inconsistent. The donors are often wealthy governments, private individuals, and some institutions. However, their donations are subject to change as they determine them according to the political considerations.

While the organisation is involved in getting approvals, engaging in negotiations and trying to keep the donors happy, people continue to fight for life-saving aid. This shows the inefficiency of the UN in providing the required aid on time. It has also been seen that the two major veto powers in the UN Security Council – Russia and China, have often blocked the necessary help which defers the UN from reaching the war-torn zones.

Surprisingly, there have been instances in the UN itself where its agencies have shown a lack of coordination and clashes. The 2010 Haiti earthquake is a perfect example of the statement. With agencies like UNICEF, WFP, WHO and UNDP functioning in the country, an overlapping of resources was found in certain areas. This created an imbalance of resources with some areas being left neglected. A connected and discussed strategy would have helped save the lives of millions who otherwise lost their lives to Cholera fever.

Lastly, incorporating the assistance and knowledge of the local NGOs and organisations has been ignored by the UN. Avoiding the invaluable insight of the locals, who are well versed in the worst–hit areas, know the short – cuts and are more aware of the on-ground crisis, should be the last thing done by the UN.

It is important to understand that the UN’s efforts to procure and deliver humanitarian aid are not always in vain or delayed. But the difference between the lives claimed by a war or by a natural disaster and its rate of response is quite alarming. In a survey conducted by Glocalities in 2020, it was found that 47 per cent of the world’s population has more trust in the UN than in their own national government. It’s time that the UN lives up to those expectations.

.    .    .