Is the United Nations still relevant?

Is the UN still relevant? I'll gather recent analysis on its global role and the challenges to its effectiveness.

Is the United Nations still relevant? The short answer is: Yes, but its relevance is increasingly contested and depends on reform.

The UN celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2025, having come into existence as its charter came into force as an effort to avert another world war in the aftermath of Germany's surrender. Today the debate is whether it can adapt to a very different world.

Why many argue it is still relevant

In 2024, the United Nations helped to mobilize $25 billion of the $50 billion funding target, enabling life-saving humanitarian assistance to reach 116 million people in urgent need across 77 countries and territories. This included programmes in the Horn of Africa, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen and regions affected by natural disasters.

Other work includes supporting 170 countries in implementing climate pledges, advancing initiatives to eliminate violence against women and girls, and allocating over $116 million through the Peacebuilding Fund to support national peace plans in 32 countries.

Defenders push back against the narrative that multilateralism has failed. As one delegate noted at the General Assembly, there is a growing belief that multilateralism is ineffective and that the United Nations is no longer relevant, "but I stand before you today to affirm that this is not true", pointing to the UN-led coalition that defended freedom in Korea in the 1950s as proof that the UN in action works.

Why relevance is questioned

The Council is described as "paralyzed due largely to the divisions in the Security Council" and "dangerously falling short" of its mandate as the primary custodian for the maintenance of international peace and security. Absent structural reform, its performance and legitimacy will inevitably continue to suffer – and so too, the credibility and relevance of the UN.

The central problem is the veto power held by the five permanent members (China, France, Russia, UK, US), which is frequently wielded according to narrow state interests and prevents critical issues from being effectively addressed. The paralysis in the face of the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict has deepened skepticism about the body's capacity and legitimacy, and even leads to self-censorship among elected members.

For that reason, analysts warn that in its current form and function, the United Nations is certainly on course to become irrelevant.

Is reform possible?

There is broad agreement on the need to modernize the 15-member body to maintain the relevance of the United Nations in the twenty-first century. As the organization marks 80 years, leadership says it is time to "adapt and evolve for a United Nations that will carry us through the next eight decades to show eight billion people why this Organization still matters".

The 2024 Summit of the Future adopted the Pact for the Future, which commits to more representative and effective global governance, including reforms to the Security Council and greater voice for developing countries.

However, formal Charter amendment is extremely difficult because it requires a favorable vote of all P5 members, effectively locking in veto power. Experts are therefore exploring non-amendment reforms: reinterpretation of the charter, new working methods, and an expanded role for the General Assembly.

Conclusion

The UN remains relevant as the only universal organization providing humanitarian relief, peacekeeping, health and development coordination, human rights norms and a diplomatic venue where adversaries can still meet. Arguably, it has succeeded in preventing another world war, but with many member nations flouting rules and weakening their support, is the organization now at one of its most vulnerable moments?

Whether it stays relevant will depend on whether member states are willing to fund it, restrain veto use, and make the Security Council more representative and effective. Without reform, its credibility on peace and security will continue to erode; with reform, its indispensability for problems no country can solve alone – pandemics, climate change, famine, displacement – remains hard to replace.