I'm thinking: Why I'm a fan of the UN

By Micah D. Halpern Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770 I am a member of a small select group. I am one of few people who believe that the United Nations serves an important purpose. I am not blind; I am not deaf and I am certainly not dumb to the vitriol spewed forth from the imposing glass building that graces the East River and causes New York’s traffic to jam. But when I weigh the benefits reaped by the nations of the world against the anti-Semitic, anti-Zionistic, anti-West hatred spewed forth in the great public halls of the United Nations, the positive outweighs the negative. For better and for worse, the United Nations levels the playing field and every country is treated equally.  But that is not why I am a fan. Equality among men, or, in this case, nations, is a credo we try to instill in our children. It is a fallacious credo. In the General Assembly, Muammar Ghaddafi of Libya is accorded the same respect as Gordon Brown of England. Actually, right now, he is accorded more respect because the current president of the Assembly is from Libya, so Gaddafi is a little more equal than other nations but, then again, England is a member of the coveted Security Council — and Libya is not. The United Nations gives voice to those countries around the world which have no voice, to the countries whose voices would otherwise never be heard, to the countries with names difficult to pronounce and which we would be hard pressed to locate on a map. In the United Nations the powerless perceive themselves to have power. That explains why so many anti-Western resolutions are proposed in the General Assembly. In the end, the resolutions have no legal value and the debates are simply rants, a way in which to vent, to let off pent up frustrations and to safely chastise bigger and stronger nations. Only the Security Council has international power, only the Security Council can control and deploy forces. And only sanctions emanating from the Security Council can be imposed. The permanent members of the Security Council truly guide the world. But that does not explain why I am a fan. The United Nations provides military aid, economic aid and food to countries in need. The United Nations has goodwill ambassadors who canvass the globe helping people in need. The United Nations gives medicine and technology to nations in need.  But even these non-political dimensions of the United Nations are not what makes me a fan. I believe that the United Nations serves an important purpose because it is the only place in the world that fosters informal diplomacy. In corridors and in corners, over coffee and tea, in hushed voices and through third parties, ideas and agenda are floated. The seeds of the future are sown behind-the-scenes in the United Nations. Agreements that will shape the world are first floated in conversations during informal meetings. There are no banner headlines, very few leaks and almost no significant political risk. The machismo and bravado strutted about in the General Assembly, the Security Council, and high-profile committees, is absent in the dimly lit corridors of the United Nations.  Governments are not toppled; agreements are conceived.