UNITED NATIONS: UN chief An­­tonio Guterres said on Thursday the United Nations is facing unprecedented attacks on its founding pri­nciples, as it marks 80 years since the organisation’s charter was created.

“Today, we see assaults on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter like never before,” the secretary general told members of the General Assembly. He listed threats that included breaches of international humanitarian law, the targeting of civilians, and the weaponisation of food and water — without citing those responsible.

“On and on, we see an all too familiar pattern: Follow when the charter suits, ignore when it does not,” Guterres said.

“The Charter of the United Nations is not optional. It is not an a la carte menu. It is the bedrock of international relations. We cannot and must not normalise violations of its most basic principles.”

Nations signed UN Charter on June 26, 1945, in San Francisco

Conceived in the early years of World War II and signed on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco, the charter paved the way for the creation of the United Nations on October 24, 1945.

It lays out the principles of international relations, including the peaceful settlement of disputes, sovereignty and equality between states, humanitarian cooperation and res­pect for human rights. But those gui­ding values have been often viola­ted across the planet for eight decades, with critics saying the charter has failed to prevent numerous conflicts.

Guterres insisted on Thursday it had not lost its relevance. “We can draw a direct line from the creation of the UN and the prevention of a third world war,” he said.

“Upholding the purposes and principles of the charter is a never-ending mission. Over the decades, we have celebrated the end of wars — while witnessing the start of others.” The 80th anniversary comes as the United Nations experiences a funding shortage as donors — especially the United States under Presi­dent Donald Trump — pull back.

Guterres has launched the UN80 initiative to streamline operations. Those changes could include thousands of positions being cut.

‘Impunity reigns’

But for all the good words, the Charter’s principles have been continually violated across the planet for eight decades. Member states rarely agree whether self-determination trumps non-interference in a state’s internal affairs, or if the right to self-defense can justify acts of aggression.

In the most recent example, Tehran, backed by veto-wielding China, accused Washington of violating the UN Charter by striking Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, an act the United States justified by the right to “collective self-defense.” And the international community has never really addressed the “crime of aggression,” said Gissou Nia, a fellow with the Atlantic Council think tank, be it Russia’s war against Ukraine or the US invasion of Iraq.

“And once impunity reigns on one set of violations, one that’s never dealt with, it continues, and countries use it as justification for the actions that they take,” Nia said.

She added: “For self-defense, you really have to show evidence of an imminent attack. I think that it’s one of the more contentious issues that involve the UN Charter and the narrative has really gotten away from us.” Russia’s invasion of Ukra­ine in February 2022 was denounced as a clear violation of the Charter by Guterres and the General Assembly, but not by the Security Council, where Russia has a veto.

And even though the Charter allows for persistent violators to be expelled from the UN, that has never happened. In 1974, the UN did, however, suspend South Africa from the General Assembly over the crimes of apartheid, a ban that lasted two decades.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2025