OPINION — In the 1990s, over one million North Koreans died of starvation. People in North Korea were eating grass and the bark of trees due to extreme food scarcity. The United Nations recently reported that some people in Gaza are eating grass also due to extreme food scarcity. Although the current war in Gaza is dissimilar to the domestic situation in North Korea in the 1990s, the result is the same: starvation.
Over the past three decades, the situation has worsened in these and other countries as the United Nations and other international organizations have been unable to prevent and eventually resolve wars and power grabs and unable to provide the food, water, and fuel for the 700 million people, according to the World Bank, who are living in extreme poverty.
Over 40% of the population in North Korea is malnourished amid annual reports of food scarcity, inadequate pharmaceuticals, and a weak health care system. This, even though North Korea has a sizeable arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, to include solid fuel, road mobile Intercontinental Ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons to targets as far as 15,000 kilometers.
Indeed, North Korea’s recent embrace of Russia and support of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, while providing Russia with artillery shells and ballistic missiles, has further alienated Pyongyang from many in the international community sympathetic to the plight of the North Korean people.
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On October 7, 2023, the Hamas terrorist group invaded Israel and in the third deadliest terrorist attack since 1970, killed 1,200 Israelis – children, women, and elderly — and took 253 hostages. In response, Israel sent troops into Gaza to destroy Hamas, killing over 30,000 people to include up to 10,000 Hamas fighters, and approximately 70,000 wounded. The situation for the people in Gaza is bleak, as the Israeli Defense Forces continue their campaign to root out Hamas and leaving civilian Palestinians risking their lives to find food, water, and other necessities.
The war in Ukraine has entered its third year, with 30,000 civilian casualties and approximately 31,000 military personnel killed in action. Reportedly, Russia has suffered over 300,000 casualties. Moscow’s continued bombing of cities throughout Ukraine has resulted in a significant displacement of large numbers of people with estimates of over one trillion dollars that will be needed to rebuild Ukraine after the war. And Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, with no end in sight, and Vladimir Putin recently threatened to use nuclear weapons if Western troops should enter the war in Ukraine.
On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar (Burma) military overthrew the elected government and according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), identified Myanmar as the most violent among the 50 wars it tracks globally, with an estimated death toll of at least 50,000 since the 2021 military coup, including at least 8,000 civilians.
According to the United Nations, 2.3 million people have been displaced. The war continues, with mass killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, and crimes against humanity. Opposition to the military junta is mounting, however, with various ethnic groups joining the National Unity Government of deposed Aung Son Su Kyi and other militias to do battle with the military junta.
In Iran, since the September 2022 arrest and death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for improperly wearing her hijab (head scarf), there have been massive demonstrations throughout Iran, demanding “Woman life freedom” against decades of inequality and widespread repression. The Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, reacted as expected, with the security services arresting many of the protesters, with over 500 civilian casualties, some publicly executed.
So summing this all up, Russia is continuing its brutal invasion of Ukraine while threatening to use nuclear weapons; North Korea continues to build nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles while embracing a revanchist Russia and neglecting the humanitarian needs of its own people; the military junta in Myanmar continues with it scorched earth approach to wiping out all the ethnic groups opposed to the military coup; Ayatollah Khomeini brooks no opposition in a defiant Iran that both commands and supports Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi proxies. And the Israeli war in Gaza against Hamas continues to displace innocent Palestinians in need of food and shelter.
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These are a few of the international conflicts covered by the media, although the focus has been on Ukraine and Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Although aid to Ukraine to defeat Russia and ensuring the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, while defeating Hamas and enhancing efforts to better protect the innocent civilians in Gaza are concerns of the U.S. and its allies and partners, unfortunate developments in North Korea aren’t getting the attention they deserve.
For many who follow North Korea, there is a sense that war can break out quickly and unexpectedly on the Korean Peninsula, with the potential to affect stability throughout Northeast Asia. Also of concern is Myanmar and the humanitarian crisis that gets little attention. Indeed, Iran deserves greater attention and censure for its human rights abuses and its support to its proxies, intent on destabilizing the region and annihilating Israel. The situation in the South China Sea, Taiwan, the Red Sea, and nuclear proliferation are getting the attention they deserve.
When you consider these major geopolitical issues, and others in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America, the logical assumption is that the United Nations is responsible for helping to prevent and resolve these – and other – issues. But unfortunately, the United Nations and other international organizations have not been able to live up to this expectation. And that’s sad and unfortunate.
This reality argues for the United States, the European Union and potentially China to assume this role and responsibility. Failure to do so could prove catastrophic for peace and stability for all nations.
This piece by Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joe Detrani was first published in The Washington Times
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