Is the United Nations still relevant?

Is the UN still relevant? I'll look for current assessments of its impact and criticisms.

The United Nations is still relevant - but increasingly as a humanitarian and technical network rather than as a collective security arbiter. Assessments in 2025-2026 describe it as "a tale of two institutions"- one a gridlocked political body, and the other a network of agencies doing "real, important work in the field"

Short answer framed by one 2026 analysis: "Yes, but not for the reasons its defenders usually claim. And its current form is unsustainable."

Why it remains relevant

1. Humanitarian and development work that no one else can replace

If the UN disappeared tomorrow, "you'd notice immediately, and not in a good way."

2. Technical and normative functions

> Technical standard-setting. The International Civil Aviation Organization sets the rules that let you fly between countries... The World Meteorological Organization coordinates weather data... The World Health Organization... still runs disease surveillance and vaccination campaigns that no single country could manage alone. These functions are boring, invisible, and genuinely indispensable.

This includes peacekeeping operations to promote stability, human rights promotion via the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals, and climate governance via the Paris Agreement.

Currently the UN operates 11 UN peacekeeping missions worldwide, with more than 60,000 personnel from over 120 countries with an approved budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year of $5.4 billion

3. Irreplaceable diplomatic infrastructure

> The UN provides a permanent venue where adversaries can talk without formally recognizing each other... When the US and Iran need to pass messages, when Russia and Ukraine need a neutral table... the UN is often the only game in town.

Despite criticism, 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, with the vast majority sending heads of state.
If turning up is what matters, that popularity is "a clear indicator that the United Nations is widely viewed to be politically relevant".

There is no plausible alternative venue — "The G7 is too small. The G20 is too incoherent. Regional organizations lack global scope"— and near-universal membership gives the UN legitimacy that can't be replicated by starting over.

4. Continued public legitimacy

The General Assembly President in 2025 insisted "the world needs the United Nations" highlighting work providing lifesaving support in Gaza, championing girls' education in Afghanistan, protecting civilians in Sudan, saying "In no way would the world be better off without our United Nations. It is worth fighting for"

Why its relevance is questioned

1. Security Council paralysis by veto

The five Permanent members — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — have held veto power since the inception of the Council

> Veto Power: The veto power held by the P5 often leads to gridlock

Critics argue the veto allows powerful nations to act with impunity and fuels deadlock at the expense of global peace and security. Repeated veto use has been called a "poster child" for global gridlock.

In recent years, the council has been unable to pass effective resolutions to halt the invasion of Ukraine or the indiscriminate violence in Gaza. As one summary notes:

> Wars in Syria, Ukraine, and Gaza demonstrate how regional rivalry among major countries stifles collective action

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the Council's lack of unity on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and on Israel's military operations in Gaza "has severely – perhaps fatally – undermined its authority". In 2024, seven draft resolutions were vetoed, and the pattern in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere shows veto has "evolved into a paralysis from its original purpose"

> The most fundamental challenge to the relevance of the United Nations is intimately linked to perceptions of its legitimacy. For many, this has been irretrievably compromised — with Russia violating Ukraine's sovereignty, China refusing to condemn it, and the United States seen to have provided unconditional support for Israel’s actions in Gaza.

2. Growing financial and capacity gap

The UN's ability to tackle climate change, global health, humanitarian disasters is "shrinking, and it is shrinking rapidly" due to financial shortfalls.

One critique notes the regular budget is roughly $3 billion annually — less than the New York City Police Department spends.

3. Structural reform deadlock

Criticism centres on membership not reflecting today's world, with no permanent members from Africa or Latin America, and the veto.

> Genuine reform would require the abolition of the veto... and the expansion of the Security Council to include permanent representation for Africa, Latin America, and major Asian powers

However, any reform aimed at reducing or abolishing the P5 veto would require unanimous support of all P5 states — an outcome that appears improbable. Demands for reform have gained new momentum since 1989 but endless discussion has produced zero change.

Views of the UN have also declined within the past two years in key states like the UK, France, and US, and favorability declined in 10 countries since 2025 even as a median of 55% remain favorable. In the US, polarization is stark: 57 percent overall view the UN favorably, but 77% of Democrats vs 37% of Republicans, and 62% of Democrats vs 29% of Republicans say strengthening the UN is a very important foreign policy goal.

Conclusion: Selectively relevant

As analysts put it:

> The UN isn't irrelevant. It's selectively relevant. It works where great-power interests align or where they don't care. It fails where they clash directly. It works on technical problems. It fails on political ones. It keeps people alive. It doesn't keep the peace.

Proposed adaptations include working around the Security Council via "Uniting for Peace" General Assembly resolutions when the Council is blocked and formally empowering regional organizations, and building new flexible coalitions inside the UN system for climate, AI, and pandemics.

In short, for humanitarian aid, health, aviation and weather standards, development, and as a universal forum where all voices can be heard, the UN remains indispensable and has no substitute. As a guarantor of international peace and security against great-power aggression — its core Charter mandate — it is widely seen as paralyzed and in need of structural reform to remain credible.