Is the United Nations still relevant?

The UN's relevance is hotly debated — I'll survey its current role, achievements, and criticisms to give you a balanced answer.

The United Nations is still relevant, but its relevance is increasingly contested and conditional - more as a legitimate global forum and humanitarian/development actor than as an effective war-stopper.

1. Why Many Still Consider It Indispensable

A universal forum for legitimacy and discourse: It is easy to dismiss the UN, but its more than 190 member states, with only a few exceptions, are sending representatives to New York for the 80th session of the General Assembly, and the vast majority are sending heads of state. If turning up is what matters, that popularity is a clear indicator the UN is widely viewed to be politically relevant and an important platform for shaping international discourse.

The UN's image also remains favorable globally. Most publics in the 25-nation 2025 Pew Global Attitudes Survey hold net-positive views of the UN, and several nations — such as South Africa, Nigeria, and Germany — have seen favorable views rise. That perception makes the UN a still-useful venue for international contestation and a tool for nations seeking international power and prestige.

The Center on International Cooperation describes the paradox entering 2026:

> The United Nations (UN) enters 2026 at a moment when global disorder and institutional constraints converge
> The UN remains indispensable, and the expectations placed on it have expanded. Yet its authority and effectiveness are increasingly contested

Peace operations: UN peace operations are described as indispensable tools for maintaining international peace and security.

They help defuse crises, stop conflict, sustain ceasefires and protect civilians. Since 1948 the Council has been authorising peacekeepers to help conflict parties reach political solutions, with 11 active missions, guided by three main principles: consent, impartiality and non-use of force except in self-defence.

More than 2 million women and men from 125 countries have served in 71 peacekeeping missions over 75 years, and in a world facing the highest number of conflicts since 1945, missions remain a cornerstone for monitoring ceasefire agreements, protecting civilians and facilitating humanitarian aid.

Secretary-General António Guterres presented the first ever review on the future of all forms of peace operations in 2025-2026 to adapt them to new realities.

Humanitarian, development and normative work: This is often cited as the UN's most effective domain, distinct from the Security Council:

Climate and Sustainable Development Goals: The UN is the organization responsible for the COPs, the UN Climate Change Conference. The Paris Agreement, formed in COP21, is still used to create climate policies.

And with only four years left until 2030, the UN leadership argues it is precisely in such a context that the role of the UN becomes even more relevant for investing in people and resilient economies.

2. Why Critics Say It Is Losing Relevance

Security Council paralysis and the veto: The most fundamental challenge is linked to perceptions of legitimacy, which for many has been irretrievably compromised. Of the five permanent members, Russia has blatantly violated the sovereignty of Ukraine, China has refused to condemn it, and the United States is seen to have provided unconditional support for Israel's actions in Gaza, eroding the UN's central role to ascribe or deny legitimacy to the use of force.

Criticism centres on three issues: Council membership does not reflect today's world, developing countries are underrepresented and there are no permanent members from Africa or Latin America; and five permanent members enjoy veto power.

Since its creation in 1945, the UNSC has undergone only one reform in 1965, increasing non-permanent members from 6 to 10.

Secretary-General Guterres himself described the Security Council as an "outdated," "unfair," and "ineffective system", whose permanent members' veto power has consistently hindered its ability to effectively address conflicts in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine.

The Council is described as ineffective in the two major contemporary conflicts, Ukraine and Gaza, unable to even demand a cease-fire because of the veto powers of the permanent members.

The Council's design reflects the geopolitics of 1945, not 2026, with five permanent members retaining veto power over any binding resolution. Intended to preserve consensus, the veto now functions as a shield for impunity.

Relatedly, the UN has been described as playing a 'bystander' role in key conflicts such as Ukraine and Gaza, despite extensive peacekeeping elsewhere.

Financial and operational constraints: The UN's ability to tackle climate change, global health, humanitarian disasters and development is shrinking rapidly, radically diminished by the United States' decision to delay critical budgetary support and put caps on contributions to peacekeeping.

Conflicts have become more complex, comprehensive peace agreements are less common and funding has declined, with recent cuts slashing nearly half a billion dollars for peacekeeping and $96.3 million for special political missions.

The US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization has disrupted progress on two of the greatest challenges for the 21st century.

3. The Reform Answer

UN leadership calls UNSC reform an 'absolute priority' and warns permanent members' conduct has fostered an environment of impunity.

Two initiatives reflect a pragmatic attempt to restore ability to govern despite fragmentation:

> The UN80 Initiative, a reform effort to modernize how the organization operates, and, to some extent, the Pact of the Future before it, reflect a pragmatic attempt to restore the ability to govern the UN system despite persistent political fragmentation

Their ambition lies in treating reform as a system-wide exercise in coherence and prioritization: aligning mandates, structures and resources.

2026 is also the year when leadership will change hands, with the Secretary-General selection taking place in a context in which mandate delivery is greatly hampered by political uncertainty.

If the United States steps back, others will step in. Beijing's influence within the UN has steadily grown as China has taken over leadership positions throughout the UN agency system, and two-thirds of Chinese citizens say China's participation in the UN has been very important for influencing global policies.

Bottom Line

As the UN turns 80, analysts broadly conclude it remains irreplaceable because no alternative organization can replicate its universality and breadth, but it is also indispensable yet increasingly ineffective without structural — especially Security Council — reform and reliable financing.