Sir, - Your Editorial (November 5th), "Strengthening the UN", errs in equating the UN entirely and exclusively with its Security Council. There are no fewer than six references to the latter, yet no mention is made of the more representative General Assembly. Why?
Your assertion that the Security Council remains the "ultimate source of legitimacy" is inaccurate. Rather, the UN system as a whole retains and confers legitimacy since it alone represents all countries inclusively.
The UN Security Council indeed commands requisite authority. Legitimacy, however, resides with the UN organisation and General Assembly belonging to all the nations. This seems self-evident.
What determines the degree of legitimacy of any representative organisation is its inclusivity. The Security Council of the UN falls short in this regard. - Yours, etc.,
J.A. Barnwell, St Patrick's Road, Dublin 9.