When international institutions fail
Whether in Bucha, Gaza or Tehran, international law and multilateral and regional organizations have failed to prevent war and human rights violations. This chaos is both a moral failure and a security threat, especially for Europe, which must confront these challenges while being sidelined from global affairs.
April 21, 2026 -
Anaïs Marin
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Hot TopicsIssue 3 2026Magazine
The 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, February 2026.
Photo: UN / Violaine Martin
The world order is experiencing serious turbulence, with regional conflicts incrementally becoming global. The effect on human rights, which have been in retreat worldwide for the last decade, is disastrous. The very principle of this concept’s universality has been contested while the international institutions established over 75 years ago to protect them are in jeopardy. It is fair to criticize the ineffectiveness of international organizations and it is urgently needed to reform them. However, it is unwarranted to accuse the United Nations or other organizations established to prevent conflicts and protect human rights regionally, such as the OSCE in Europe, of failing.
Similarly, claiming that international law is failing to deliver is both unfair and dangerous: the looming collapse of the norms-based multilateral order is a man-made disaster. Yet, restoring a functioning order in which international human rights law, as well as humanitarian law and institutions, can operate for the better good does not require superhuman efforts. It is each and everyone’s responsibility to hold states accountable when they fail to protect human rights both locally and globally. Charity begins at home, and for Europeans that means upholding human rights at least on their continent while they can.
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belarus, human rights, International institutions, Multilateralism, United Nations
