The Legitimacy of the United Nations' Actions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the spread of COVID-19, the United Nations and the World Health Organization have become the focus of global attention. The WHO, in accordance with the International Health Regulations, declared that the disease outbreak aligns with the criteria of public health, identifying COVID-19 as a common global threat. With the widespread dissemination of COVID-19 and the resulting crises, various questions have arisen concerning the legitimacy and performance of the UN system and its capacity to address this global crisis. The present study employs a descriptive-analytical approach to examine the legitimacy of the actions and decisions of the UN and the WHO in confronting the COVID-19 crisis from the establishment of the Public Health Emergency to its resolution. This research seeks to answer the question of whether the UN system possessed the necessary legitimacy to manage and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. This study argues that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, despite initial criticisms of the validity of the procedures and actions of the UN and the WHO, there has been widespread support for the necessity and importance of these institutions. This support largely originates from a deep-seated belief in their instrumental legitimacy, emphasizing their essential and irreplaceable purpose. In fact, although the legitimacy of the UN faced challenges in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuation of the crisis and the failure of unilateral approaches on one hand, and the performance of the UN and the WHO on the other hand, have led to the reinforcement of their legitimacy.