The U.S. was responsible for three of those vetoes: those of an Oct. 18 resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses,” a Dec. 8 resolution that would’ve called for an “immediate humanitarian cease-fire,” and a similar cease-fire resolution from Feb. 20. The U.S. has vetoed resolutions critical of Israel more than any other council member has – 45 times as of Dec. 18, 2023, according to an analysis by Blue Marble.
The ICJ, meanwhile, has taken up two cases involving Israel and the Palestinian territories – an advisory case on the legality of Israel’s occupation of the territories and a case South Africa brought to the court accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
In January, the ICJ ruled that, for the duration of the case brought by South Africa, Israel must “take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide” as well as take immediate measures to allow for humanitarian assistance. But the judges stopped short of approving the request to end military action in Gaza, nor did they order a cease-fire.
What other factors are involved in how the UN is perceived?
Dina Smeltz, senior fellow of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, told Blue Marble, a project of the Council, that the U.N.’s inability to deescalate the wars in Ukraine and Gaza has likely helped shape Americans’ views on the U.N., given how the public has viewed the group’s involvement in past conflicts.
“When we were doing surveys in Bosnia, for example, in the ’90s and the U.N. peacekeepers weren’t able to hold off some aggressive tactics … that definitely had some impact on American views,” she said. “What value does the U.N. have if its peacekeepers can’t even really keep peace?”
Gallup’s polling data also hints at the idea that wars can affect Americans’ perception of the U.N. Respondents’ approval of the U.N.’s handling of international issues took a sharp downward turn in 2003, around the start of the Iraq War, and it remained low for the next several years.
But global conflicts aren’t the only factors that contribute to how the U.N. is perceived by the public. Smeltz said that partisan politics and geographic location also play a role.
Political affiliation
Smeltz cited political affiliation as a key indicator of U.N. approval among Americans. She said that, after the U.S. war in Iraq, approval for the U.N. took on a partisan split that has persisted.
“People who support the Republican Party tend to more often want to do things alone and think we can do better if we don’t have to work with other countries,” Smeltz said. “While Democrats and younger people – I would say younger people also have a higher opinion of the U.N. than older generations – they see more value in working with other countries to solve global problems.”
Location
While not reflected in Gallup’s polling of Americans, Smeltz noted that those in developing nations might possess very different views of the U.N. as they are more likely to come into direct contact with a U.N. agency.
“Americans don’t really see how the U.N. touches their daily lives,” Smeltz said. “But in some of these countries, it definitely is a lifeline.”
