Question

Cold War or no Cold War, one reform is needed above all. Only democratic leaders should be allowed to represent their countries in the UN. How can they allow dictators to speak in the name of the people of their country?

Answer 1

This proposal has a strong democratic basis because governments should respect popular sovereignty and human rights. However, excluding countries led by dictators could make the UN less universal and remove an important channel for dialogue during conflicts. The UN represents states, not only their governments, and its Charter is based on the sovereign equality of states. A better reform would be to strengthen human-rights monitoring, democratic accountability and representation of citizens without denying countries a diplomatic voice.