The UN and its Security Council is becoming irrelevant today. Not because the idea has failed, but because its members have. They violate their own treaties, ignore their own agreements, and then pretend that the rules still bind others. This is the danger—when powerful states act without restraint, they set precedents that weaken the very system meant to hold them accountable.
There is a story developing that China is planning, or may have already begun, sending weapons to Iran—an apparent violation of the arms embargo imposed by the UN. But here lies the contradiction: how does the international community hold China accountable when the United States and Israel have themselves violated UN principles? They have engaged in military actions against Iran and Lebanon, actions that have resulted in civilian deaths and infringed upon the sovereignty of other nations—without meaningful consultation with the UN.
Russia, too, stands in violation through its war with Ukraine, yet it justifies its actions by pointing to what it sees as the hypocrisy of the West. It argues that the UN framework has already been compromised, that selective enforcement has replaced universal principle. And in this fractured order, each nation finds its own justification.
Iran, under attack, asserts its right to defend itself. The United States sends weapons to Ukraine in the name of defending sovereignty. And now China may see itself as doing the same for Iran. This is the dangerous cycle we have created—one where every violation becomes a justification for the next.
This is not just instability. This is how a world war begins.
The United Nations was established to prevent a world war—to create a system where disputes could be resolved through law rather than force. But when its most powerful members act outside of its charter, when they refuse to hold each other accountable, they do not just weaken the UN—they dismantle it.
The United States must be held accountable. Israel must stop its bombing campaigns in Lebanon. Russia must end its war against Ukraine. These are not optional demands—they are necessary if the UN is to have any meaning left.
But the damage is already done. The precedents set by the United States, Russia, and Israel have opened the door for others. And now, as China considers its own actions, we are forced to confront an uncomfortable question: is China violating the UN charter, or is it simply operating within the broken logic that others have already established?
When rules are applied selectively, they are no longer rules—they are tools of convenience. And when the system meant to prevent global conflict becomes a stage for power politics, then we are no longer maintaining peace—we are inching closer to chaos.
The UN was meant to stop a world war. But if this path continues, it may instead become a witness to one.
By Rev. Renaldo C. McKenzie, Author of Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty and Resistance (April 2021) and Author of the upcoming book: Neoliberal Globalization Reconsidered, Unfair Competition and the Death of Nations (Out in May 2026).
This article was published in The Neoliberal Journals at https://theneoliberal.com our main publishing website.
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