 The headline of your leader column obscures the salient points it makes (United Nations: Weak leaders wanted, 15 august). It correctly states that the UN "confronts a vast array of problems", including many "its founders could not have imagined". UN agencies feed, clothe and shelter millions of people, and UN peacekeepers operate in some of the most fragile states.  It rightly concludes that "deeper currents are making the UN more, not less relevant": issues from climate change to nuclear proliferation cannot be tackled by countries unilaterally. It also identifies the many challenges facing the UN, performing its life-saving work on a shoestring - it employs fewer people than McDonald's and its core budget doesn't come close to that of the London 2012 Games. The UN has indeed been "sorely neglected" by world leaders.  Which is why it is frustrating that your editorial - at least its eyecatching headline - gives them a free pass by implying that responsibility for the UN rests solely with the secretary-general. It is the world leaders, not he, who agree the UN's budgets and programmes. It is they who confirm high-level appoi 