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Mercy Global Concern - 2003
The Ongoing Role of the United Nations in the Face of Crisis
The United Nations is in the midst of change, critically assessing
its performance and seeking to strengthen its central role in
meeting the many demands of a world in transition. For a truly
global organization, which incorporates so many views and concerns,
such fundamental change requires the unprecedented creativity,
cooperation and political will of all 191 members.
The founding principles of the UN express the ideals and common
aims of all the peoples whose governments joined together to form
the United Nations:
"We the peoples of the United Nations determined
to save succeeding generations
the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold
sorrow to many,
reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and
worth of the human
person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large
and small, and
to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the
obligations arising
from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained,
and to
promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom, AND FOR
ENDS to practice tolerance and to live together in peace and harmony
with one
another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain
international
peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles
and the
institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save
in the common
interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion
of economic
and social advancement for all the peoples,...."
In recent weeks the U.N. has been at the centre
of the storm. What was paramount for the Security Council was
the preservation of the process of debate and decision. What was
paramount for the Bush Administration was the outcome - disarmament
of Iraq.
In the light of the war, the Security Council needs
to play a role in defining the new generation of threats to international
peace and security, as it played a role in defining the threats
of civil war and genocide in the 1990's. U.N. professionals have
more experience with nation building than anyone else in the world,
but the politics of this are fierce. Tony Blair, desperate to
restore his multilateral bona fides with his own citizens and
with other European leaders, has lobbied for the largest possible
U.N. role.
At a recent briefing held at the United Nations,
the role of the United Nations in the face of crisis was discussed.
The panel consisted of...
Danilo Turk, Assistant Secretary General, Department
of Political Affairs Ross Mountain, Assistant Emergency Relief
Coordinator and Director, Geneva Office, Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani,
Representative of Singapore to the UN
Danilo Turk.....
- The United Nations was set up to respond to a world in crisis
and to assist in its survival. Crisis management is only part
of the broader picture. Unfortunately, many people see the UN
only in relation to Iraq and the situation in the Security Council
(SC) The UN is facing serious questions such as who has legitimate
authority? Will the occupying powers fulfill their moral obligations,
including humanitarian ones? Does the UN operating in a changing
world, need to re-look at its structures.
- The UN is often portrayed as an Emergency Ward and the UN has
not always addressed sometimes threats to peace. For example,
the when the genocide began in Rwanda, Romereo Dallaire, commander
of the UN peace-keeping force on the ground appealed for reinforcements.
Within hours of the killings, he had cabled UN headquarters in
New York: "Give me the means and I can do more." Instead the SC
made a decision for a full UN withdrawal. On April 21st, amid
press reports of some 100,000 dead in Rwanda, the SC voted to
slash UNAMIR's size to 270. The fate of the Tutsi's was signaled
in this vote. Ross Mountain: Ross began by providing an overview
of the situation in Iraq.
- The situation is fragile. Looting is widespread and there is
a lack of many basic amenities. While stocks of food are adequate,
moving food around is a problem. (In the 'oil for food programme')
44,000 distribution points and 480,000 tons of food allocated
each month, to 70% of the people.
- Up until now there are few refugees but there are 300,000 internally
displaced persons in the north of the country.
- Ross stated that the big issue is to ensure that international
humanitarian law is applied in Iraq.
Ambassador Kishore:
Ambassador Kishore noted that during the Cold War the Security
Council was dead but that recent times has seen a rise in its
significance especially in relation to East Timor and Sierra Leone.
Most recently it was able to produce a unanimous Resolution 1441
in regard to Iraq. However, there is a structural flaw in the
SC as members vote in
'their' national interests rather than in the 'international'
interest.
He illustrated this point by stating that if Security Council
members do not have a national interest in the country in crisis,
they are not likely to take any action. The Ambassador compared
the Security Council to a fire engine. The location of the fire
determines whether or not the SC will act! This point was further
illustrated with reference to the situation in Rwanda in 1994
when despite an alert from Canadian Major General Romeo Dallaire
of the UN peacekeeping forces in Rwanda that 'ethnic cleansing'
was imminent, help was not forthcoming and a fever of killing
descended on Rwanda.
The present challenge is how the international community can
come together for the common good? The critical questions for
our day are..
Deirdre Mullan RSM
Director
Mercy Global Concern
New York
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