The United Nations recently announced that it is teaming up with Marvel Comics. The unlikely partnership will publish a comic featuring the usual Marvel superheros working mask-in-glove with U.N. peacekeeping forces and agencies such as UNICEF. Their mission: to bring peace to war torn nations and rid the world of disease.
No doubt the Marvel heroes — if they really existed — would pursue these objectives with single-minded dedication. But it’s doubtful they would achieve them with the U.N. as a sidekick.
Over the years, the U.N. has often been a den of thieves and thugs — a legion of villains rather than of heroes. In the past few years alone, Turtle Bay has seen an avalanche of scandals and crimes. Some of the more notorious include:
The Oil-for-Food scandal. Perhaps the largest financial swindle of all time, it was overseen by top U.N. officials. While the scale of thievery was unusual, the practice is commonplace. Numerous investigations have found the U.N.’s multi-billion dollar procurement programs are riddled with corruption and mismanagement.
Abusive peacekeepers. Hundreds of U.N. peacekeepers have been charged and dismissed by the U.N. for preying on those they are supposed to protect. The range of their crimes extends from soliciting prostitutes and demanding sex from desperate women in exchange for food, to rape and pedophilia. Far too few actually face justice for their crimes.
Coddling criminal regimes. The U.N. Human Rights Council has ignored some of the most egregious human rights crimes around the world and even voted to end scrutiny of human rights abuses in Belarus, Cuba, Iran, and Uzbekistan. Could it be because some of the worst abusers have seats of honor in the Council itself?
AWOL in the war on terrorism. The U.N. cannot even agree on a definition of terrorism, much less fight it effectively. Of course, it’s hard to be heroic when so many member nations support terrorist groups and objectives.
The Oil-for-Food scandal. Perhaps the largest financial swindle of all time, it was overseen by top U.N. officials. While the scale of thievery was unusual, the practice is commonplace. Numerous investigations have found the U.N.’s multi-billion dollar procurement programs are riddled with corruption and mismanagement.