Existential Crisis at the UN: Global Powers Act Unilaterally as Security Council Faces Gridlock

As world leaders gather in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warn that the institution is grappling with an existential crisis involving funding shortages, waning relevance, and severe Security Council gridlock.

Major conflicts remain intractable, while powers such as the United States and Russia are able to bend the UN’s Security Council to their own interests. In response, member states are searching for new mechanisms to ensure accountability and looking toward a new secretary-general to address their concerns. The body has faced sharp accusations of failing to halt what its own experts have described as a genocide in Gaza.

Daniel Forti, head of UN Affairs at the International Crisis Group, noted that while world leaders harbor no illusions about the poor health of the UNGA, many still recognize the venue's vital power as a global conversation platform for small states, middle powers, and even major powers.

The UN is currently juggling multiple complex crises, including high-profile wars involving Iran, alongside neglected catastrophes in Sudan and Myanmar. In Ukraine, the UN reports that civilian casualties in the first eight months of 2026 surpassed the total for the entirety of 2025, prompting NATO powers to express growing fears of a regional spillover. Despite repeated Russian vetoes in the Security Council, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the UNGA for the fifth time since the full-scale invasion, urging international leaders to tighten economic measures against Moscow.

Meanwhile, in the Israeli war on Gaza, the UN has struggled to exercise real agency despite labeling Israel's conduct a genocide. Repeated Security Council resolutions have been vetoed, and UN relief agencies have faced attacks without accountability. The ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran continues to send economic shockwaves globally and threatens to plunge Yemen back into civil war.

Alanna O’Malley, professor and chair of Global Governance and Wealth and head of the Department of History at Erasmus University, stated that the veto problem leaves the UN hamstrung across these various global flashpoints. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres similarly warned Al Jazeera’s James Bays that these conflicts are driving worldwide humanitarian impacts, including reduced food access, surging fuel prices, and global inflation.

To bypass Security Council deadlocks, nations are increasingly reviving historical mechanisms. A 1950 resolution stemming from the Korean War allows the UNGA to debate issues blocked in the Security Council, while a 2022 initiative forces any of the permanent five members (China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US) to justify their use of the veto before the assembly.

Another major challenge for the UNGA is maintaining relevance as global powers pursue unilateral paths. The administration of US President Trump has advanced its own Board of Peace, securing Security Council approval to absorb responsibilities previously managed by UN agencies like aid distribution and refugee management. Furthermore, Trump has imposed sanctions on UN special rapporteurs and organizations like the International Criminal Court.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping opted to skip the UNGA entirely, choosing instead to hold one-on-one talks with US President Trump during his visit to the US. While China values the UN Security Council, it is simultaneously pursuing alternative multilateral venues such as BRICS and the SCO.

With Secretary-General Guterres's term concluding on December 31, the Security Council prepares to recommend a successor. Candidates must secure at least nine votes from the 15-member council and avoid a veto from any permanent member before facing a UNGA vote. Experts emphasize that the next leader will need to successfully navigate severe funding cuts from major donors like the US while balancing the organization's core diplomatic mission and conflict prevention efforts.