Topic: 2025 – Responsibility of International Organizations
Country: Ukraine
Delegate Name: Jaclyn Charbauski
Committee: LEGAL
Topic: Responsibility of International Organizations
Country: Ukraine
Delegate Name: Jaclyn Charbauski
School: Forest Hills Northern
International Organizations (IOs) such as the United Nations, NATO, the World Bank, and the European Union have provided invaluable services to nations for decades. The United Nations helps to maintain international peace and security, serving nations by tackling problems like climate change, pandemics, and poverty. NATO uses political and military means to ensure the freedom and security of its member countries. The World Bank works to eradicate global poverty and provides financial support to countries in pursuit of this goal. The European Union promotes peace and prosperity through a unified voice that participates in UN affairs. All in all, each one of these IOs has vital roles in global affairs that keep the world afloat and that work to continue creating prosperous environments for each country. Yet, in recent decades, these IOs have gained so much power that when they slip up and their attempts at help fail, it can cause disastrous consequences for nations. For example, Haiti’s 2010 cholera epidemic was rightfully blamed on UN peacekeepers who had recently arrived from a cholera-endemic region. This resulted in thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of infections. When things go south for a country due to failed attempts by these IOs, the question is raised of who to place the blame on and how to administer the consequences best.
The responsibility of IOs is a significant issue in Ukraine because of its ongoing conflict with Russia. Its main problem is that although the UN and other IOs are involved in attempts to provide aid and diplomatic solutions, their effectiveness seems to be little in preventing aggression, holding perpetrators accountable, and supporting Ukraine’s needs. Ukraine urges the UN to recognize its responsibility toward helping Ukraine in this war. Despite claims of support made in May, when the UN said, “It is time to put an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” and agreed to assist Ukraine, the UN has yet to do much more than pass resolutions to address the conflict and provide some aid to displaced persons. Ukraine believes that there is more to be done, for there are still roughly 3.7 to 3.8 million people displaced within the country and 6.8 to 6.9 million people who have fled. Additionally, the UN’s past attempts to coerce Russia into an agreement have failed miserably due to Russia’s Security Council veto. Russia vetoed resolutions that demanded an immediate withdrawal of troops from Ukraine and that condemned the attempted annexation of Ukrainian regions. These two resolutions, which were intended to end, or otherwise subside the conflict, only worsened it. Thus, Ukraine believes that the UN needs to take more responsibility as its measures are currently fruitless and ineffective.
Ukraine maintains the belief that IOs should bear the full legal responsibility of any harmful or destructive actions. IOs should uphold full transparency and accountability of their actions so that they can be watched for any dangerous activity. Yet accountability does not need to jeopardize the effectiveness or the independence of IOs. Ukraine argues that responsibility should primarily fall on IOs, but emphasizes that member states should be held accountable for any actions that would influence these IOs toward harmful behaviors. Ukraine also supports individual accountability for any war crimes, human rights abuses, and misconduct by peacekeeping officials. Ukraine proposes an international monitoring system of IOs, along with security guarantees from international partners that would prevent future aggression.
