Double Standards in International Organizations: A Comparative Study of the UN Response to Iraqi Invasions of Iran and Kuwait

Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980 which led to eight years of full scale war, and then Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 are two examples of classic wars in 20th century. Among other things, one of the most important issues related to theses two wars is the reaction of international organizations to them. Undoubtedly, the UN role in dealing with Iran-Iraq war, and the role played by the UN in the aftermath of Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait in 1990 up to the American occupation of Iraq in 2003 are regarded as the most important epochs in the life of the United Nations. This article is an attempt to explore and discuss the role of the United Nations in these two conflicts in a comparative perspective. It is also the aim of this paper to show the sharp differences in the ways that the UN reacted to these cases and then examine that how this double standard behavior undermined the UN credibility and damaged its image in the world.