The United Nations does have teeth!
Every killer, tyrant and barbaric thug around the world should no that there is justice and the world will bring them to justice. They will be hunted down and sentenced.
Nobody who has committed crimes against humanity can now feel safe.
Eighty criminals have been brought to justice! Karadzic has been given 40 years! He will rightly die in jail!
HURRAY FOR JUSTICE!! HURRAY FOR THE UNITED NATIONS!!!
Now let us start to look to bring all the ISIS scum to justice and clean the planet up!!
Boko Haram, the Taliban, and all the other rapists, torturers and murderers who practice genocide and think they are immune will pay the price.
A clear message has been sent out to all who commit war crimes! YOU WILL BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE!!!

Jailing one man for 40 years does not demonstrate that the UN has “teeth” in my view. It’s too late and too little. It is well-funded and can supply well-equipped military forces drawn from member states but prevaricates and is indecisive when action is needed. The UN had ground forces in Bosnia and Rwanda but failed to stop genocide by non-action. The French and Ethiopians have been more effective in Africa than the UN. Independent coalition forces have been more effective than the UN.
There were 80 men brought to justice by the UN from the Bosnia war. Not merely Karadzic. That is a clear message to all warmongers and tyrants, to the scum of ISIS and all who break international law.
That is the first signs of having teeth. There’s a long way to go.
It has neither been properly funded or given quality troops and equipment. That has resulted in its paralysis in both Bosnia and Rwanda.
I would agree that it is far too slow and indecisive. It needs to sharpen up, act properly and get to grips with hatred, intolerance, breaches of human rights and wars around the world.
Only the UN has the mandate to do this. It needs to become the proper policeman of the world. Coalitions do not have the same authority and make too many mistakes.
I would like to see the UN spearheading the fight against ISIS and harnessing the Arab States as troops on the ground.
I would like to see its wonder charter of human rights enforced on a global basis.
In Rwanda the UN soldiers had guns. The Hutu genocidal murderers had machetes yet the UN troops were ordered to stand by and do nothing to stop the killings. The UN had forces inc. British troops in Bosnia which on paper were more than a match for the Serbian forces as was shown when Blair’s government bombed Serbia into defeat in Kosovo yet they were ordered not to intervene in the slaughter of Bosnian Muslims & Croats and the wanton killing of innocent civilians inc. thousands of children in the attack on Sarajevo. How can the UN act in the manner you describe when it is paralysed by its own Security Council voting system. 45 years ago when I was studying Roman Law at UCL I read a book by one of the law professors there. It was titled “Power Politics” and the professor was a lecturer in international law. I think his name was Swarzenberger or something similar. The theme of the book was that organisations like the UN were a charade and the real power lay with the countries who were the most powerful like the USA & the USSR. I believe that is still true today.
Yeah – I agree. I think you are right on all counts. The UN is far too cautious, the voting system is too restrictive and the real power is held by the major players.
I concede on all those points.
My hope is that it can evolve, change and become effective. We need a global force capable of imposing that charter of human rights on the world and policing it. The UN is the only possibility for that.
I take heart from the effectiveness of dealing with the Bosnian fascists. It sends a message. We need more of that.
My conclusion – give the UN more teeth to act as the world’s only police force, which might mean nations giving up some of their powers. But this is a good day for justice.
My view entirely!
My mum was an internationalist … what chance did I stand?
You could have rebelled!
When the system actually works it feels wonderful, doesn’t it? 😀
It gives one hope.