FACE TO FACE: Should Canada bow out of the United Nations?
The British government has recently decided to defund four United Nations agencies and put three others on notice that they could face the same fate unless they improve their performance. The U.S. is also taking a critical look at UN funding as part of its overall budget austerity plan, with some Republicans calling for a complete withdrawal.
It's time we in Canada join our allies and review our involvement with the international body.
In the spring of 1945, Canada and 49 other nations met in San Francisco to form the Charter of the United Nations, designed to create a new international body to keep peace in the world and support social and economic progress. It was certainly a noble mission but today's UN has become a bloated and ineffective organization that gives a voice to the world's dictators.
Just look at some of the ridiculous and mind-blowing decisions recently made by the UN:
This summer, it named North Korea chair of a UN disarmament conference. That's North Korea, a country that has breached a number of arms embargoes and continues to make threats to expand its nuclear weapons program.
In September, the UN allowed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahma-dinejad to address the general assembly and spread lies and untruths about our American neighbours.
Last month, UNESCO admitted Palestine as a member state, supporting the Palestinian leadership's anti-Israel, anti-peace statehood scheme.
Also in November, while the international community was still dealing with the human rights atrocities in Syria, UNESCO welcomed the embattled Arab country to its human rights committee.
Is this an organization we still want to be a part of?
Stepping back from the UN doesn't mean Canada won't have international influence. Over the past two years, Canadahas been active on foreign soil, independent of the UN. We were among the first nations to come to Haiti's rescue after the devastating earthquake in 2010. Through NATO, Canada is a significant participant in the battles in Afghanistan and Libya.
Perhaps we can participate on an ad-hoc basis in some UN programs that we support but it's becoming increasingly evident the United Nations does not fully represent our beliefs or concerns.
It's time that we join our allies and review our options.
Andy Radia is a Coquitlam resident and political columnist who writes for Yahoo! Canada News and Vancouver View Magazine. He has been politically active in the Tri-Cities, having been involved with election campaigns at all three levels of government, including running for Coquitlam city council in 2005.
