Rachel Sacher
Staff Writer
In western Sudan, the region of Darfur is moments away from complete annihilation. Since 2003, more than 200,000 people have been killed according to a Sept. 15 New York Times article. In addition, 2 million have been forced to flee their homes.
It is times like these that call for intervention. The ability to intervene rests in the hands of the United Nations, and thus far, they seem to be uninvolved. The United Nations has proven to be one of the most profound failures of the decade. To begin, in 1994, the United Nations stood and watched as mass genocide took the lives of innocent Rwandans.
After more than 500,000 people were slaughtered in Rwanda, the United Nations apologized and promised to intervene more quickly in the future.
However, we are faced with Rwanda No. 2, and where is the United Nations? Missing in action as usual? If absence is how the United Nations plans to act in the future, than this is something that needs to be addressed.
The United Nations is given an ample supply of funds, militia and other resources. Why is it that when the call of duty is upon them, the United Nations is nowhere to be found? The time to act is now. Darfur is in dire need of relief from the face of injustice.
The United Nations was unable to react in 1994, but it is now 2006. The lives of 2 million Sudan inhabitants are at stake, according to The New York Times.
The United Nations was designed for this very purpose. It is the mission of the United Nations to promote peace and security.
For this new millennium, the United Nations has outlined several goals, which they desire to uphold. Let’s look for a second at the goals of the United Nations, which can be found at the United Nations Web site at www.un.org.
The goals include the eradication of poverty and hunger, the achievement of a universal primary education system, the advocacy of gender equality and the empowerment of women, the reduction of child mortality, the improvement of maternal health, the fight to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, the assurance of environmental sustainability, and finally the innovation of a global partnership for development. In addition, U.N. members claim, “By the year 2015, all the United Nations member states have pledged to meet these goals.”
Having goals is meaningless if there are no actions to back them up.
The United Nations dates back to 1945, in the midst of the terrors of World War II, when countries allied to combat evil, including, the evil of the Holocaust.
The United Nations was formed to protect those in need.
The hour for the United Nations to react is now. Far away in Darfur, the evils of mass genocide have begun. And yet once again, the United Nations is nowhere to be found. It is not surprising. The United Nations has bailed before and they will continue to, unless people speak up.
The United Nations has failed to protect Darfur, and it is certain that this will not be the last time they fail to react.
The U.N. was established for action, and its negligence must not be overlooked. The time has come for change. The U.N. must experience rebirth or its entire organization should be eliminated all together.
The U.N. must be questioned. It is the duty of the citizens of the United States to reconsider the government’s association with an organization such as this.
09-28-2006