A Flawed Security Order Encourages Crimes Against Humanity

The world is witness to Russian atrocities, once again, against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, Irpin, and probably in every township or city they occupied. Civilians bodies, in the hundreds, have been documented of men going about their business and women raped and strangled. Obviously, the world is shocked. One European leader after another are condemning the images and videos of what Putin is capable of committing against the innocent people of his targeted anger. Many of these leaders are calling for accountability under a flawed security order that provides Russia with a veto power over the will and intent of the global community to address crimes against humanity.

So how do these European leaders expect to hold Putin and his criminals accountable? How did the world community hold Assad of Syria accountable for his crimes against humanity? It did not and nor will it hold Putin accountable.

Unless we change the international system that guarantees order and security, inhuman crimes and criminals during wars will always enjoy their freedom to kill at will.

Yes, the outrage is genuine but the mechanism to bring stability to human behavior is totally dysfunctional. The United Nations can hardly punish any country that holds veto powers, and unless we restrict that veto power to only democratic countries whose own people hold their leaders accountable, we will always become witness to harrowing crimes. We will always scream and holler to punish the perpetrators but with nothing to show for it except our lack of capacity to correct any wrong.

The architecture of our own flawed security order is irreparably broken. Let us admit that much.

The ICC is a sideshow that works on the low-hanging fruits. It has no power to really catch the big fish.

THE ICC IS A SIDESHOW

Some of these European leaders calling Russia’s Putin a criminal are relying on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict, prosecute, and provide the mandate for other countries to capture the perpetrators of crimes. The problem is that the ICC is really a sideshow. It has very limited powers to exercise, which are necessary to control criminal behavior.

The ICC may work against third-world countries whose leaders have limited powers and accessibility. But how can the ICC prosecute Vladimir Putin sitting on thousands of nuclear warheads? To punish him, you need the concerted global effort the United Nations forum provides under a collective punishment mechanism, be it political or economical.

Such is impossible because of the veto system at the United Nations.

Think of the ICC as a mechanism that provides individual countries with a mandate to arrest criminals. Do you think the prime minister of Hungary would arrest Vladimir Putin if he lands on Hungarian soil? But if the United Nations provides such a mandate under the cover of its own International Court of Justice, then countries must abide by the collective decisions they make. Not so under the powerless jurisdiction of the intergovernmental organization the ICC.

The ICC is a sideshow that works on the low-hanging fruits. It has no power to really catch the big fish, which demonstrates amply the flawed security order we created at the United Nations.

Only democracies should have veto powers because democracies provide the world their own layers of self-accountability.

ONLY DEMOCRACIES SHOULD HAVE U.N. VETO POWERS

A U.N. veto power is cover for criminality for any autocracy. It extends their autocratic rule over the world when they can veto their own criminal behavior thus subjugating it to no scrutiny and no accountability; especially when it comes to crimes against humanity. I doubt very much that if Russia had no veto power at the United Nations, Putin would commit any atrocities. The consequences would be global isolation of his country at so many levels that his rule would not be able to survive.

Often other countries commit atrocities because they have the support of a veto wielding nation. Syria is just one such example. Violent autocracies should have no powers to veto their own crimes.

The world community must come together to abandon the United Nations as it stands today with its archaic and ill-advised rules. Scratch the UN and start all over again. This is a relatively young organization whose flaws provide humanity with a big disservice that we must come together to correct. Only democracies should have veto powers because democracies provide the world their own layers of self-accountability.

Countries like Russia and China need to re-apply for membership in a new United Nations built on the common good of humankind. Let us end crimes against humanity for eternity.

Let us use the atrocities Russia committed in Ukraine as a springboard to change the world for good.

A Flawed Security Order Encourages Crimes Against Humanity