The term UN is useful for its simplicity, but the historical expansion of this body was not in the founders’ minds and is one of the causes of its multiple current problems and criticisms.

"The set of United Nations organizations consists of the United Nations Secretariat, funds and programs (such as UNICEF and UNDP), specialized agencies (such as UNESCO and WHO) and related organizations. The specialized agencies are linked to the United Nations through special agreements and report to the Economic and Social Council or the General Assembly. The related organizations, which include the International Atomic Energy Agency (OEIA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), deal with specialized areas and have their own budgets and governing bodies. Together, the organizations of the United Nations System cover all spheres of economic and social activity". The emphasis is ours, but this last statement is found in the official publication "The United Nations Today" (at page 23 - Website www.unsystem.org/en) of a 245 pages volume, and unintentionally bases two of the criticisms made to the UN.

The first: the UN intends to be, without having received the mandate, a world supra national government with the will to direct all aspects of peoples’ lives. The second: such multiplicity and autonomy, lead each entity to self-direct, to self-extend and to interfere in all matters, also in those that do not correspond to them. It is enough to mention two examples at the center of the recent controversies.

The position taken by UNESCO in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "UNESCO was created in 1946 to forge a lasting world peace based on the intellectual and moral solidarity of humanity. Its areas of work are education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture and communication "(Ibid, 63, www.unesco.org). Therefore "their programs pursue the promotion of a culture of peace and human and sustainable development and focus on the achievement of education for all, [and] the promotion of research." For these reasons, "In adopting its resolution on 'Occupied Palestine', UNESCO adopted a political stand that falls outside its sphere of competence. The resolution will destabilize a delicate political balance which is still a topic of discussion among the competent international organizations." This interpellation to the European Parliament concluded with the question: What step is to be taken so “to ensure that the delicate issue of Israeli-Palestinians co-existence remains within the jurisdiction of the competent authorities and is not destabilized by the political stances of organizations that operate in the cultural sphere alone?” (UNESCO at European Parliament).

Lately, there has been criticism of the United States’ decision to cut its contribution to the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA). On the part of the US this decision is an act of blackmail that lacks any humanitarian content. On the other hand “UNRWA has long been controversial since its establishment in 1949. Though it has evolved into a quasi-government, the agency was first set up to temporarily assist those who fled or were forced from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.” Over time, it has become a body that gives itself arbitrary powers. For example, “The agency allows refugee status to be passed down from generation to generation and does not remove people from its list who have gained citizenship elsewhere, contributing to an ever expanding population and questions as to who qualifies as a refugee. From the approximately 700,000 Palestinians who fled after the 1948 war, there are now over 5.2 million registered refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories.” (See Groups Condemn U.S. Cuts to Palestinian Refugee Agency). While Israel has not granted refugees the right to return, UNRWA has been criticized for not working to resettle refugees in other countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and the other Arab countries. Nor has it been concerned with diversifying its income or becoming economically self-sufficient, exposing itself in this way to the blackmail of those who finance it, this time the United States. It is a pity that the dignity and security of Palestinians refugees - who need emergency assistance and other support – occupy the center of political diatribes. Unfortunately, history teaches that no organization will say that its time is over or that it needs to be rethought. UNRWA ends up giving the impression - it does not matter whether this is completely true or not - of wanting to maintain the refugee status of the Palestinians and to increase their number to guarantee its own subsistence and a constant increase of its funding. In this way, it exposes the flank to criticisms that later affect the UN as a whole.