Trump asks what is the UN's purpose? This is the answer

At the United Nations on tues, U.S. Chairwoman Donald ruff openly questioned what the organisation is even out for — and strongly implied that it is unable to accomplish much of anything.

He first complained about the seemingly minor matters of a broken escalator at the UN building in New York and a malfunctioning Teleprompter at the podium.

In fact, escalators not working are indicative of a U.S.-imposed funding crisis at the UN. In recent months, its offices in New York and Geneva have intermittently turned off elevators and escalators to save money. That's due in part to delays in funding from the United States, which is the top donor of the world body.

Trump then told the General Assembly he was doing the UN's job for it. He claimed he had ended seven wars since resuming the U.S. Presidency. "It's too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them."

Some of those conflicts have in fact not ended, and in the case of India and Pakistan, India has downplayed Trump's involvement.

But Trump used the claim to ask the existential question: "What is the purpose of the United Nations?"

In meetings with UN Secretary General António Guterres immediately after his speech, Trump was more supportive. "Our country is behind the United Nations 100 per cent," he said.

The mission of the UN is often summed up by a quote from the organization's second secretary general, Dag Hammarskjöld: "The UN was created not to lead mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell."

The founding document of the UN is its Charter, which says the UN exists to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. When it was drafted in 1945, everyone involved had been through two brutal world wars that had killed millions of people. Their goal was to prevent the world from descending into that situation again.

The Charter pledges to maintain human rights, and says disputes should be resolved through treaties and international law, not conflict. In other words, talking.

Probably the world's most famous talking shop is the UN General Assembly, one of the key decision-making bodies of the organization. All member nations belong to it, which currently number 193. There are also two non-member observer states. One is the Holy See (the government of the Vatican). The other is Palestine, which Canada and some other nations decided to recognize in recent days.

The General Assembly meets for its annual session every fall. That's what's happening this week. During the course of it, all members get a chance to speak — usually the leader of a country. Although the UN has a reputation for politeness and diplomacy, these speeches can be blunt, undiplomatic, provocative and even threatening.

This week, Trump spoke for about an hour, covering a wide range of topics. He spoke at length about immigration and the "hoax" of climate change. "Your countries are going to hell," due to immigration and green energy policies, he said.

In 2009, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi spoke for an hour and a half (far longer than his allotted 15 minutes), during which he complained of jetlag and accused the UN of engaging in terrorism because it is led by countries with nuclear weapons.

In 1974, Palestinian Liberation Organization head Yasser Arafat brought a gun with him to the gathering. He was forced to relinquish it before taking the podium, but wore the holster. "Today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom-fighter's gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand," he said.

Beyond the speeches, all 193 nations have a vote on whatever is being decided. But crucially, these decisions are recommendations to member states. They are not legally binding, so the General Assembly has always faced allegations that it is easy to ignore.

A smaller body with more power, the Security Council's decisions carry heavier weight than those of the General Assembly.

There are five permanent members, all victors in the Second World War: the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia and China. There are 10 other seats that are held by other nations, usually for terms of two years. Any nation can campaign to get on the Security Council.

Canada has served eight terms, which happened roughly once a decade until 2000. But since then, Canada has been absent. It lost a bid in 2010 and again in 2020.

Decisions of the Security Council are binding on all members of the United Nations, which theoretically gives the body far more power. However, there's a big but: the five permanent members each have a veto, meaning they can defeat any resolution or decision they want.

So if the Security Council wants to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine, Russia itself can veto it. In one case, the council did pass a resolution calling for an end to the conflict, but it contained no criticism of Russia.

Similarly, the Security Council has repeatedly tried to pass a resolution demanding an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The most recent attempt earlier this month was vetoed by the U.S.

The procedural deadlocks infuriate critics of the UN, including Trump, who this week repeated a familiar complaint. "All they seem to do is write a strongly-worded letter, and then never follow that letter up. It's empty words, and empty words don't solve war," he said.

The UN itself is part of a wider system under the United Nations umbrella. Within it are agencies and other organizations that try to carry out mandates and goals set by the UN. In most cases they have their own staff and budgets.

Some are well-known and are in the news regularly, including the World Health Organization, the co-ordinating authority on international health. The U.S. Announced its withdrawal from the organization on Trump's first day in office in January.

There's also UNICEF, the children's agency, the World Food Program, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, UNWRA, which tries to deliver aid to Gaza, and the UNHCR, which advocates for the rights of migrants.

The UN also runs peacekeeping operations, as decided by the General Assembly and Security Council. There are currently 11 peacekeeping missions, mostly in Africa and the Middle East.

Senior Producer

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