Saudi Arabia's challenge to the United Nations... If a wealthy and pivotal country like Saudi Arabia declines to wield greater power at the UN, what might become of the hope to create a stable and useful “international community”?

"The Saudi Foreign Ministry gave plenty of reasons for its rebuff of the UN offer. Its most immediate concern is the lack of UN punishment for Syria’s use of chemical weapons. Another one is the failure to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli dispute and to create a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction. But the general complaint was that the Security Council’s “double standards” and its tilted power structure favoring five permanent members have prevented the UN “from keeping world peace.”..."

The United Nations Security Council votes on a resolution last month. Saudi Arabia, after being elected to a seat on the body, reject the offer Friday, citing the body's inability... to keep world peace.

 http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Monitor-Political-Cartoons#746629 

When Saudi Arabia refuses a seat on the powerful UN Security Council, does it say more about the UN or the royal House of Saud?

By the Monitor's Editorial Board / October 18, 2013 

For nearly seven decades, much of humanity has projected its inherent idealism onto the United Nations, or at least the values it stands for. So when one country, Saudi Arabia, is elected to be a member of the powerful Security Council – and then rejects it – is the UN itself to blame?

That was the question Friday after the Middle East kingdom refused a seat on the 15-member Council for a two-year term. The surprise move sent shock waves among diplomats. Council seats are coveted for their prestige and ability to influence global events. If a wealthy and pivotal country like Saudi Arabia declines to wield greater power at the UN, what might become of the hope to create a stable and useful “international community”?...READ MORE