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  The United Nations finds itself facing some of its most serious and dangerous issues ever during its 60th year of existence.
 
  Some of these issues relate to the continued moral and political authority of the United Nations, while other issues relate to the future financial and political position of the United Nations in an increasingly complex political world.  
  The seriousness of some of these issues and their danger of inflicting long-term damage and possiblly even the collapse of the United Nations as an effective functioning body cannot be under-estimated. The most serious are listed below:  
  1. The re-establishment of the political and legal authority of the Security Council on action against rogue states  
  The Invasion and War in Iraq represents the most serious challenge to the moral, political and legal authority faced by the United Nations for many years. The decision of the United States Government with the support of its key allies to invade Iraq without allowing weapons inspectors and the world time to resolve and discover the true position of Iraqs former weapons programs was a direct defiance to the Authority of the United Nations.  
  Contrary to making the world safer, the action signalled to many currently rogue behaving states that their own political agendas can continue to be followed without any real effect by the United Nations, excepting further pre-emptive and unilateral action by the United States and its allies. As a result, in the past three years we have seen the complete break down of nuclear weapons program self-imposed moratoriums by North Korea and Iran as well as a general increase in the terrorism threat levels for most developed nations.  
  What is done is resigned to history. What is most urgent is how the United Nations now chooses to reestablish its authority on matters of global security and seeks to now actively support the United States and its allies in introducing a Muslim centric international peacekeeping force in replace of the military units of the US and its allies.  
  Such an agreement in no way reflects a defacto validation for the invasion of Iraq by the United States of America and its allies. Rather it reflects a correct re-establishment of the moral and legal authority of the United Nations in assisting in matters of support to nations in need of military and logistical support. It is extremely urgent that such action is considered.  
  2. The central position of the United Nations in coordinating economic aid and global programs  
  In recent years, a range of natural and human created disasters have required significant funds be made available in places such as Indonesia and more recently the southern states of the United States of America.  
  Rather than the United Nations functioning as the central control and mechanism for economic aid, many states have instead chosen to circumvent the United Nations and provide direct and differing aid themselves. The net result is that many organisations that should be assisting the end of poverty and hardship are in fact fighting one another.  
  The net result of such political and strategic decisions to diminish the role played by the United Nations will ultimately lead to an increase in poverty and hardship across the world and not a reduction as hoped in the Millenium Goals 2015. On the present unwinding and collapse of coordinated global aid it is expected that as many as 100 million Africans will be on the very of starvation by 2010.  
  3. The financial scandals and continued political disputes concerning the oingoing funding of the United Nations  
  The "Food for Oil" scandal represents a terrible and oingoing credibility problem for the United Nations in regards to their good corporate financial governance. Such has been the level of corruption and lack of accountability that many large member states have openly questioned the justification in making due payment to continue the financial support of the United Nations.  
  Indeed, it is hard to argue against challenges that state the United Nations must prove once more it has put in place all the necessary financial safeguards to ensure such financial scandals can never happen again. The problem is that as a result of the witholding of effective funds to the United Nations, many programs have been deferred and delayed.  
     
     
     

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UN Issues