Criticisms of the UN - are they valid? Part 1 of 2

View of UNHQ from the East River

A core value of mine is to speak up when I feel I have something important to say about an issue I care about, and to do so in the spirit of "appreciative inquiry."  I am genuinely curious about the way the world works and I strive to gain answers to my questions in a productive and respectful manner.  I've learned that it's really more about how you say it, not what you say.  In the conflict resolution field we discuss this in terms of "impact versus intent;" indeed, at the heart of many interpersonal disputes lies a difference between people's perceptions of the same event.  In this and my next blog post, I will weigh the validity of external criticisms of the UN, and offer some of my own from my perspective as a UN "insider/outsider."

View from UNHQ across the East River

The United Nations is no stranger to criticism.  I've heard everything from, at best, the UN is useless, and at worst, is a haven for officials to commit crimes.  As with most things, I think the truth is somewhere in between.  UN officials would likely be the first to admit that the organization is not perfect; no organization is.  I believe that because officials acknowledge the UN's shortcomings and are working to improve them, half the battle has already been won.  That being said, there is much work to be done.

The fab four UNOMS interns: Abby, Jing, Valentina, and I at Bryant Park

Recall the last time you got in a fight with your partner: the hot emotions, raised voices, perhaps a desire to get as far away from him or her as possible.  During conflict we tend to show enmity for even those closest to us.  This enmity may be manifested with thoughts such as, "s/he can't do anything right" or "s/he never appreciates anything I do."  If the conflict resolves positively, these feelings of enmity fade and things return to "normal" (if the conflict doesn't resolve or resolve well you may instead be headed for divorce).  My point is that during the conflict, it's very hard to recall the wonderful things your partner has done for you and the reasons you are with them.

My friend Valentina at UNHQ

I see this same pattern happening in the relationship between the people of the world and the UN, with one important distinction - with the UN there's rarely a return to "normal."  As the world is in a perpetual state of conflict, and because we view the role of the UN to keep international peace, we often only see the UN as failing to fill this role.  Just like during the argument with our spouse, we forget about all the great things the UN is doing in the world and about the numerous other roles the UN plays, and plays well.  Like bringing food, water and shelter to millions of people who would otherwise go without, researching and maintaining data on every culture in every country on every continent on earth including maps and geographical information unavailable anywhere else, creating a forum for thought leaders from across the globe to come together and express their ideas...the list goes on and on.

The fab four with our colleague Susannah in front of Grand Central

To that last point, take a second to think about even just the logistics involved in successfully managing such an event - creating a welcoming environment for literally every country in the world to discuss ideas in the same room.  A key aspect to success in this environment is language - obviously there are hundreds of languages spoken by those participating in UN functions.  The UN has six official languages - English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Arabic - in which every meeting is translated into.  Translators sit in sound booths in every conference room, hear what is being said, and immediately translate it for real time broadcast into the five language not being spoken, not only to the entire room, but often to the world (many meetings available live at http://webtv.un.org/).  The abilities of the amazing translation team hard at work everyday at the UN is just one of many "small" things I've gained appreciation for during my time here.

My friends Valentina and Jing on Valentina's last day

While I believe it is important to criticize, I believe it is equally important to do so in a constructive manner and for the purpose of attempting to foster learning and growth.  Last Friday a documentary entitled "UN Me" was released by a first time filmmaker.  I viewed the film and was disappointed.  I was disappointed not because a main purpose of the film was to point out the UN's shortcomings, but because that was the ONLY purpose of the film, from my perspective.  From taking facts and interviews out of context to bordering on outright lying, the filmmaker was clearly ignorant about UN culture and history in many ways.  And here's the real problem with this type of criticism - the average viewer doesn't have the knowledge to separate fact from fiction, respectively.  Had the filmmaker pointed out flaws then offered solutions, or spent any amount of time on all the great things the UN does, I would be much more supportive of the film.

In the next post I will discuss my experience at the UN from a more personal perspective and offer what I can in terms of solutions to issues raised.