The UN once defended the oppressed. Now it defends the powerful.



I should be dead. Buried in an unmarked grave in Romania. But God had other plans.

As a young attorney living under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s brutal communist regime in the 1980s, I spent my life searching for truth in a regime of lies. I found it in the Bible — forbidden in my country. I answered the divine call to defend fellow Christians facing persecution in an ungodly land.

If the United Nations is to mean anything again, it must rediscover the courage that once gave refuge to dissidents like me.

For that “crime,” I was kidnapped, interrogated, beaten, and tortured. I spent months under house arrest and came within seconds of execution when a government assassin pointed a gun at me. I survived and fled to the United States as a political refugee.

The UN once stood for something

In his recent address to the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly, President Donald Trump said the organization “has tremendous potential — but it’s not even close to living up to that potential.” He’s right.

When the United Nations was founded in 1945, its mission was noble: to promote peace, security, and human rights worldwide. It was meant to be a platform for honest dialogue, a beacon for humanitarian action, and a voice for the voiceless.

It once lived up to that promise. During the Cold War, the U.N. amplified the voices of dissidents behind the Iron Curtain and gave cover to lawyers like me defending Christians in communist courts. Its support for human rights cases in Romania helped expose Ceaușescu’s tyranny to the world.

That international pressure saved my life and countless others.

Bureaucracy replaced moral courage

Today’s U.N. bears little resemblance to that courageous institution. It has become paralyzed by bureaucracy and corrupted by politics. Instead of defending the oppressed, it often defends the powerful — or looks away altogether.

In Nigeria, Syria, and Yemen, millions suffer while the U.N. Security Council stalls over procedural votes. Permanent members protect their allies, veto resolutions, and block humanitarian intervention. Political calculations routinely outweigh moral imperatives.

When the institution created to prevent genocide can’t even condemn it, the crisis isn’t merely diplomatic — it’s spiritual.

Reform begins with courage

President Trump has proposed bold changes to restore the U.N.’s relevance. He called for adding permanent Security Council members — emerging powers such as India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany — to reflect modern realities and make the council more decisive.

He urged the U.N. to prioritize global security and counterterrorism while aligning its agenda with the legitimate interests of free nations. First lady Melania Trump, addressing the same assembly, launched Fostering the Future Together, a coalition promoting education, innovation, and children’s welfare.

These initiatives could help revive the U.N.’s moral voice and refocus it on its founding purpose: defending the oppressed and restraining the oppressors.

RELATED: Trump strongly defends Christianity at UN: ‘The most persecuted religion on the planet today’

Photo by seechung via Getty Images

Faith and courage still matter

My own survival came down to faith. When Ceaușescu sent an assassin to kill me, he pulled a gun and said, “You have ignored all of our warnings. I am here to kill you.”

In that moment of terror, I prayed: “Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.” Peace replaced panic. I began sharing the gospel.

That armed killer, confronted with God’s word, lowered his weapon, turned, and walked away. Today, he is a pastor — serving the same faith he once tried to destroy.

The lesson is simple: Hearts can change. Institutions can too. But it takes conviction.

If the United Nations is to mean anything again, it must rediscover the courage that once gave refuge to dissidents like me. It must speak for the enslaved, the persecuted, and the forgotten — not for dictators and bureaucrats.

God spared my life so I could keep fighting for truth. The U.N. was part of that story once. It can be again — if it remembers why it was born.

North Korea launches more ballistic missiles as it prepares to test nuclear weapons



On Sunday, the North Korean government launched eight ballistic missiles as the country’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, tries to establish the country as a global military force with nuclear capabilities.

The New York Post reported that South Korean military sources confirmed that the North Korean military launched the missiles over a span of 35 minutes near the capital city of South Korea, Pyongyang.

These missile launches are North Korea’s latest provocation of the international community and is the 18th round of missile tests conducted by the reclusive communist nation so far in 2022. This round of missile tests came just one day after the South Korean military conducted a naval drill in the Philippine Sea alongside the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan.

Reportedly, North Korean leadership is preparing a nuclear test site in the town of Punggye-Ri as it plans to launch its first nuclear weapons test since 2017. Since 2006, North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests.

Kim Jong Un has sought to make a global statement about the North’s military capabilities as it pushes to develop weapons that could potentially reach the U.S. mainland.

Nuclear disarmament discussions between the U.S. and the North stalled out over sanctions pursued against the North in 2019. Some experts believe that Kim’s strategy is to increase his military might so that his country may be able to negotiate from a position of strength on the international stage.

Recently, the U.S. pushed the United Nations Security Council to place further sanctions on North Korea to attempt and quell rising tensions over the North’s continued missile testing. This sanction package was vetoed by Russia and China.

The package vetoed by the two countries would have imposed sanctions on North Korea for its continued launching of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can be used to carry nuclear weapons.

After vetoing the measure, Chinese and Russian representatives said that the countries oppose implementing any further restrictions on North Korea and stressed the need for more dialogues to be held between North Korean and American leadership.

The last sanctions resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council in December of 2017 emphasized collaboration from member states as they committed to implementing further restrictions on petroleum exports to North Korea in response to the country’s continued ballistic missile tests. At this time, it was believed that North Korea’s missiles had intercontinental range.

Russia and China vetoed UN sanctions on North Korea



China and Russia vetoed a recent resolution in the United Nations (U.N.) sponsored by the U.S. that would have imposed new sanctions on North Korea for its continued launching of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can be used to carry nuclear weapons.

The Associated Press reported that the vote held by the U.N. Security Council had thirteen nations in favor and 2 opposed. China and Russia were the lone dissenters. China and Russia are among the five countries with veto powers on the Security Council. China and Russia’s move to veto the sanctions package marks the first serious division among the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council.

In 2006, the security council unanimously imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test explosion. Over the years these sanctions packages intensified, and so far there have been 10 resolutions unsuccessfully seeking to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

After vetoing the vote, Chinese and Russian representatives said that their countries oppose implementing more sanctions on North Korea while stressing the need for more dialogue between North Korean and American leadership.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield expressed disappointment at the vote but indicated that she was not surprised. Thomas-Greenfield called North Korea’s 23 ballistic missile launches this year “a grave threat to international peace and security.”

Using the initials of the North Korea’s official name, she said, “The world faces a clear and present danger from the DPRK.”

The last sanctions resolution adopted by the U.N. Security Council in December 2017 member states committed to implementing further restrictions on petroleum exports to North Korea if it continued conducting ballistic missile launches capable of reaching intercontinental ranges.

Before this recent vote, Thomas-Greenfield urged council members to fulfill its commitment and act against North Korea’s renewed ICBM launches and its reinvigorated nuclear program.

China’s ambassador to the U.N., Zhang Jun, blamed the U.S. for not reciprocating North Korea’s “positive initiatives” during talks held between the two countries under the Trump administration in 2018 and 2019.

Jun said it was the U.S.’s responsibility to resume dialogue with North Korean leadership and find a diplomatic solution that advanced a peace treaty between North and South Korea in lieu of the longstanding armistice.

Zhang said, “The situation and the peninsula has develop to what it is today thanks primarily to the flip-flop of U.S. policies and failure to uphold the results of previous dialogues.”

Ukraine stands up to Russia in powerful moment at emergency UN meeting: 'There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell.'



Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations confronted Russia's U.N. ambassador in a tense exchange late Wednesday just as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

What happened?

During an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council late Wednesday, Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya directly confronted Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, a rare moment at the U.N. that underscored its seriousness.

Less than an hour after Russia began its invasion, Kyslytsya called on the U.N. Security Council to remove Russia as president of the council (the council rotates the "president" role each month, and the Russian Federation just so happened to be president of the council in February) — and that is when things got tense.

"It’s too late, my dear colleagues, to speak about de-escalation, too late," Kyslytsya said.

"The Russian president declared war. Should I play video of your president?" Kyslytsya then asked Nebenzia directly, holding up his phone. "Ambassador, should I do that right now, or can you confirm it?"

"Do not interrupt me, please — thank you," he continued.

"Then don't ask me questions when you are speaking," Nebenzia fired back. "Proceed with your statement."

"Anyway, you declared war. It is the responsibility of this body to stop the war," Kyslytsya responded. "So, I call on every one of you to do everything possible to stop the war."

Ukraine - Security Council, 8974th meeting | United Nations | UNTV Live (23 Feb 2022) - Official youtu.be

At the end of the meeting, after other countries had condemned Russia for the invasion, Kyslytsya blasted Russia with a powerful line of condemnation.

"As I said, relinquish your duties as chair. Call Putin, call [Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey] Lavrov to stop aggression," Kyslytsya said. "And I welcome the decision of some members of this council to meet as soon as possible to consider the necessary decision that would condemn the aggression that you launch on my people."

"There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, ambassador," Kyslytsya continued.

Shockingly, just before adjourning the meeting, Nebenzia said that Russia is not being aggressive toward Ukraine because there is a "junta in power in Kyiv." The comment amounts to an outright rejection of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.N. @SergiyKyslytsya: "There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell ambassador."pic.twitter.com/exlYjFf7f9
— CSPAN (@CSPAN) 1645675885

In the wake of Russia's invasion, calls are growing to remove Russia from the U.N. Security Council, or perhaps from the U.N. altogether. However, Russia holds a permanent spot on the Security Council, making its potential removal difficult.