It’s mostly just a trend in the USA and Russia. Other than these two no country really sabotages the UN to a major degree. It’s a sad state of affairs that they hold veto power. It’s generally a silly concept in an institution that aims to create a fair and peaceful global society. However, stripping just these two hellholes of their veto power would go a long way.
WHO and ICC are a bit different. WHO doesn’t have any actual power, so it cannot do anything by itself. Only suggest actions based on their data.
The ICC is problematic, because the major global powers - the countries, who are the most likely to commit crimes and be prosecuted for them - aren’t even a part of it. Both China and the USA voted against the establishment of the ICC (note that not even Russia voted against). If they’re not members of the ICC, they don’t have to cooperate with it. As clearly displayed by the USA putting sanctions on ICC prosecutors for targetting Israel (that also voted against its creation).
Furthermore, even some countries that have legal obligations to the ICC simply ignore them. Hungary and Mongolia both ignored the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin when he visited them personally, due to close ties to Russia. Poland was perfectly willing and prepared to host Benjamin Netanyahu, despite being legally bound by his arrest warrant too. Similar incidents all over Northern Africa, too many to list individually.
It’s by no means a perfect institution. There seems to be a clear focus on African and Asian countries when it comes to pursuing responsibility for potential crimes. So perhaps China had a good reason to vote against. Or perhaps, as a then emerging global superpower, they didn’t want to be held accountable by anyone. In any case, the vast majority of the world seems to be cooperating in good faith. This is not a widespread issue.
I was speaking in broad strokes, maybe too broad. Of course there are nuances. But there’s an undeniable and relatively new trend, beyond USA and Russia, in both public and political opinion, to redefine such treaties as mere suggestions (“invented by the leftists”); and that’s just wrong and blinkered. Short-sighted.
It’s mostly just a trend in the USA and Russia. Other than these two no country really sabotages the UN to a major degree. It’s a sad state of affairs that they hold veto power. It’s generally a silly concept in an institution that aims to create a fair and peaceful global society. However, stripping just these two hellholes of their veto power would go a long way.
WHO and ICC are a bit different. WHO doesn’t have any actual power, so it cannot do anything by itself. Only suggest actions based on their data.
The ICC is problematic, because the major global powers - the countries, who are the most likely to commit crimes and be prosecuted for them - aren’t even a part of it. Both China and the USA voted against the establishment of the ICC (note that not even Russia voted against). If they’re not members of the ICC, they don’t have to cooperate with it. As clearly displayed by the USA putting sanctions on ICC prosecutors for targetting Israel (that also voted against its creation).
Furthermore, even some countries that have legal obligations to the ICC simply ignore them. Hungary and Mongolia both ignored the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin when he visited them personally, due to close ties to Russia. Poland was perfectly willing and prepared to host Benjamin Netanyahu, despite being legally bound by his arrest warrant too. Similar incidents all over Northern Africa, too many to list individually.
It’s by no means a perfect institution. There seems to be a clear focus on African and Asian countries when it comes to pursuing responsibility for potential crimes. So perhaps China had a good reason to vote against. Or perhaps, as a then emerging global superpower, they didn’t want to be held accountable by anyone. In any case, the vast majority of the world seems to be cooperating in good faith. This is not a widespread issue.
I was speaking in broad strokes, maybe too broad. Of course there are nuances. But there’s an undeniable and relatively new trend, beyond USA and Russia, in both public and political opinion, to redefine such treaties as mere suggestions (“invented by the leftists”); and that’s just wrong and blinkered. Short-sighted.