I read with interest the article “Security Council needs reforms” (Oct. 31) by Harun Yahya. I endorse his views regarding the United Nations Security Council. In fact, the structural defects in the Security Council that have rendered the United Nations useless. I blame all the member countries for the current state of affairs. They have apparently succumbed to the whims and wishes of five or six powerful countries. These world powers can do anything and get away with it because there are no checks and balances in place to regulate the functions of the Security Council.

The Council should be made accountable to an independent body within the United Nations or as proposed by the writer in the article. Without doing so, the United Nations can never achieve its basic goal of achieving universal peace. At present, the world is facing various crises but the UN is acting as a silent spectator. The mandate that the UN enjoys requires of it to do more than issuing statements of condemnation. Had the UN been performing its duties without any bias and without being manipulated by the members of the Security Council, the situation of the world would have been very different. In the ongoing Syrian crisis, the UN’s role in its resolution has been disappointing. The question that arises is: Why do we need such an organization then?