West Coaster,
Well Perth - Freemantle is one of my favorite places! A bit hot in the summer but the Doctor mitigates that, at least on the coast. Lovely spot on the Swan river.
I'm skeptical about the potential benefits of reform in the UN. In the first place I am not confident enough of the state of political development in the world to want to see any kind of world government. Bad as they have been, rule by successful nation-states looks better to me than what may come from an organization that represents Cuba, Zimbabwe, Syria, Belarus, Myanmar, or many others on anywhere near the same basis as my own.
You are correct about the manner in which the General Assembly operates. Happily it has little power except in the various, mostly dysfunctional commissions operated by the UN. As you suggested, a restructuring of the Security Council seems needed to reflect the aspirations of large nations like Germany, Japan, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Iran, Egypt, and others. However even among this crowd, I would not willingly submit the protection of my interests to their wisdom.
The UN has functioned now for almost sixty years as a forum for the interaction of member nations. For much of that period the UN was considered by its members to be worth keeping, but not a crucial element of their national policies. In that atmosphere the bureaucracies that arose with little real function or accountability became seriously corrupt and incompetent. It is very hard to reform such deeply entrenched vices. In business at least it is usually better to bring the structure down and start over.
Alternatively we can keep it as it is, ignoring it for most things and using it in the odd occasions in which is useful. A problem is that, due to the activism of some member countries, it is becoming too intrusive. The result is the continued existence of an increasingly odd monster that is incapable itself of accomplishing anything important or difficult, but almost always in the way of progress by others. It is interesting to note the increasing role in international affairs being played by various regional councils, which increasingly doing the real work in this area. Perhaps we should focus on them and end the farce in the UN.
