Eight countries of the world have atomic capability. They have between them enough nuclear bombs that a sudden outbreak of atomic war could play havoc with all humans on earth. Generally, nuclear bombs are considered deterrence against foreign aggression. The unchecked aggressive acts of the majority of the powerful countries, mainly veto empowered United Nations (UN) member states, may one day provide non-nuclear countries a pretext and grounds to acquire the atomic bomb at all costs for their own safety. They may enter the race to become atomic powers to preserve their sovereignty. Iran has recently put a moratorium on uranium enrichment and the operation of centrifuges, after the lifting of some sanctions by the US. Iran has repeatedly reiterated in the past that its atomic bomb, if successfully tested, would be against the US ally Israel for its anti-Muslim acts and threats to Tehran. Reportedly, Saudi Arabia has been trying hard to get atomic capability against purported threats to its existence from Iran.
The League of Nations was established in 1919. It had similar aims and objectives to the present day UN. It turned dysfunctional in the 1930s, when the hawkish rulers of Italy and Germany defied its authority and rules. Thereafter, the world went into the disastrous World War II. The war felled millions of innocent non-combatants and brought immense misery and poverty to the surviving people of earth. In 1945, the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US, causing the painful death of over 200,000 people. The harmful effects of radiation lasted for over four decades on the population of the given battered cities. The authority of the UN and its prescribed rules have since long been ignored by the majority of its veto power holding countries. The UN was established on October 24, 1945 in San Francisco. This aimed at bringing to an end the disastrous World War II and prevent such wars in the future. Now, almost every country of the world is its member. Its articles apply to its all member countries and they are obligated to comply with them. The second article of the organisation reads: “All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. And all Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.”
The UN-affiliated International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) team searched Iraq for weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), but they found no such thing and so had declared Baghdad WMD-free. But in 2003, the US and Britain, both veto power holding countries, rejected the UN agency report and launched aerial and ground attacks on Iraq on the pretext of the presence of WMDs. The two veto-holding countries’ acts did not have UN approval and support. Now peace is elusive in Iraq. The Sudanese civil war was also supposed to be settled by the UN, not by the US. The US interfered in Sudan’s affairs. It provoked South Sudanese fighters to demand separation from Sudan to end the fighting forever. With the US providing an upper hand and favours, a referendum was held in Sudan. South Sudan voted for secession from Sudan. Now South Sudan is an independent country, but its 3.7 million people face starvation. The US has for a long time violated the sovereignty of Pakistan, Yemen and some other countries through its drone attacks. This violated the UN articles, but the organisation never took a firm stand against the US. The forcible occupation of territories may compel weaker nations to strive to achieve nuclear capability. With the way UN articles have frequently been flouted and the sovereignties of the less powerful countries have been violated, the time is not far when a majority of the countries of the world will become nuclearised. The UN must flex its muscles against those powerful countries that disobey its articles and arbitrarily divide less powerful sovereign countries. The UN has to ensure that aggressive acts no longer continue. The fear is that the UN’s inertia against the aggression of powerful countries will one day render it dysfunctional like the League of Nations and turn earth into a nuclear world.
The writer is a blogger and
freelance columnist