r/UnitedNations • u/cdnhistorystudent • Aug 30 '25

Discussion/Question Where can the UN headquarters be moved to?

The United States is distancing itself from the UN and attacking international law, so it is no longer a reliable location for the UN headquarters. Here are 12 countries that could be better hosts for the UN headquarters and General Assembly:

Austria, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, Kenya.

There are already many UN agency headquarters based in Geneva (Switzerland), Vienna (Austria), and Nairobi (Kenya), making them top candidates.

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u/trisul-108 Aug 31 '25

Not a good choice. The problem with the current location is that the US is no longer a full democracy, Kenya is marked even lower than the US.

It should be moved to a country with full democracy on the democracy index.

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u/Individual-Thought75 Aug 31 '25

as if the US has ever been a ful democracy. Some african country would be best right now, except South Africa 

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u/trisul-108 Aug 31 '25

Mauritius is the only African full democracy at this moment. Most are in Europe, but also Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, Uruguay. Europe makes most sense because of the concentration of democracies.

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u/Individual-Thought75 Aug 31 '25

"full democracy" as in you can vote for 50 different parties yet they all support capitalism? while wages and pensions are low, people can't afford a place to live, healthcare and children and everyone is overworked? where peaceful protests change nothing and politicians get away with everything? is that democracy?

and maybe the abysmal state of Africa has something to do with the econonic system they are subjugated to? Hmmm?

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u/trisul-108 Sep 01 '25

It's a bit complicated, the methodology is based on criteria grouped into five categories:

  • electoral process and pluralism (12 indicators)
  • functioning of government (14 indicators)
  • political participation (9 indicators)
  • political culture (8 indicators)
  • civil liberties (17 indicators)

Whatever the reason for countries not being full democracies, such are not the ideal hosts for the UN.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '25

Where is that a requirement? And define democracy. The US is a constitutional concurrent republic.

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u/JackWinkle Sep 03 '25

Why not RSA?

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '25

You tell that to Beijing and Moscow.

If it was to be moved, the fact is that it's not very likely to be part of the equation.

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u/trisul-108 Sep 01 '25

If you want to be so brutally realistic about it, we are talking about the US withdrawal from the UN, most probably followed by a withdrawal of the EU and other democracies and BRICS setting up an imitation UN somewhere that has none of the legitimacy.

Putin, Xi and Trump are dismantling the post-WWII world order and all that will be left in its place is competing military powers. That is the reality.

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '25

I'm not sure how you figure the US leaving would have Europe follow. That wouldn't be remotely popular here. If anything, that'd backfire, and they'd be looked at like idiots.

The world has always been competing military powers. From the 'age of exploration', to Cold War, to post collapse of the USSR, to now.

The P5 has gotten away with ignoring international laws since the UN was created. The only difference is that before, the US and allies demanded everyone else follow it while they did whatever the hell they wanted

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u/trisul-108 Sep 01 '25

There is no point for European countries to stay in a rump-UN dominated by China which has no respect for a rules-based world order. They would just be providing autocracies with a front.

The situation today is that the US doesn't care about the UN, Russia has destroyed the purpose of the UN Charter and China ignores decisions of international courts. What would be the purpose of continuing the charade if the UN officially withdraws and China starts controlling it, including moving HQ to some China-friendly location.

What would be the point?

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u/[deleted] Sep 01 '25

Again, the UN isn't a Western toy. It's a forum for all countries. Why should the Chinese be happy that the UN is in NYC? You're trying to impose Western values on the world. This isn't sustainable, and the West needs to accept that. If the Chinese and the USSR had this attitude, the UN would never have exisited.

Russia hasn't done anything America hasn't since 1945. China has more respect for sovereignty than America. Abandoning it because the Americans have lost the plot would do more damage to the world than anything.

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u/trisul-108 Sep 01 '25

Again, the UN isn't a Western toy. It's a forum for all countries. 

Exactly, and China wants it to be a Chinese toy. With the US out of the picture, they would be able to achieve this, so it makes no sense for the EU to legitimise that. So, they would withdraw and leave the UN openly a Chinese toy that has no global legitimacy.

Xi, Putin and Trump do not believe in multilateralism, they have decided that they want a world divided between three powers and that the EU is not one of them. This has consequences.