Editing United Nations (section)

=== Role ===
In a sometimes-misquoted statement, American President [[George W. Bush]] stated in February 2003—referring to UN uncertainty towards Iraqi provocations under the Saddam Hussein regime—that "free nations will not allow the UN to fade into history as an ineffective, irrelevant debating society."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2003/02/14/bush-implores-un-to-show-backbone/ |title=Bush implores U.N. to show 'backbone' |last=Greene |first=David L. |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |date=14 February 2003 |access-date=12 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112201147/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2003-02-14/news/0302140349_1_security-council-resolution-united-nations-weapons-inspectors |archive-date=12 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pm-9_uxFw5UC&q=Bush+UN+ineffective,+irrelevant+debating+society&pg=PA150 |title=Problem of Ethnicity: Role of United Nations in Kosovo Crisis |first1=Jasvir |last1=Singh |publisher=Unistar Books |year=2008 |access-date=12 January 2014 |page=150 |isbn=978-81-7142-701-7 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116165827/https://books.google.com/books?id=pm-9_uxFw5UC&q=Bush+UN+ineffective%2C+irrelevant+debating+society&pg=PA150 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rqiHRA8RAMkC&q=Bush+UN+ineffective,+irrelevant+debating+society&pg=PT489 |title=Human Rights at the UN: The Political History of Universal Justice |first1=Roger |last1=Normand |first2=Sarah |last2=Zaidi |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |page=455 |year= 2003 |access-date=12 January 2014 |isbn=978-0-253-00011-8 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116165838/https://books.google.com/books?id=rqiHRA8RAMkC&q=Bush+UN+ineffective%2C+irrelevant+debating+society&pg=PT489 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, former American President [[Barack Obama]], in his memoir ''[[A Promised Land]]'' noted, "In the middle of the [[Cold War]], the chances of reaching any consensus had been slim, which is why the UN had stood idle as [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary]] or [[Vietnam War|U.S. planes dropped napalm on the Vietnamese countryside]]. Even after the Cold War, divisions within the Security Council continued to hamstring the UN's ability to tackle problems. Its member states lacked either the means or the collective will to reconstruct failing states like [[Somalia]], or prevent an ethnic slaughter in places like Sri Lanka."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/un-failed-prevent-ethnic-slaughter-sri-lanka-barack-obama |title=UN failed to prevent 'ethnic slaughter in Sri Lanka' – Barack Obama |newspaper=[[Tamil Guardian]] |date=22 November 2020 |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308191611/https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/un-failed-prevent-ethnic-slaughter-sri-lanka-barack-obama |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/sunday-times-sri-lanka/20201129/281702617274536 |title=Obama's best seller refers to 'ethnic slaughter in SL' |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)]] |date=29 November 2020 |access-date=29 November 2020 |archive-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312014934/https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/sunday-times-sri-lanka/20201129/281702617274536 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Since its founding, there have been many calls for [[reform of the United Nations|reform of the UN]] but little consensus on how to do so. Some want the UN to play a greater or more effective role in world affairs, while others want its role reduced to humanitarian work.