The U.N. fails to lead
Feeble. That’s the only word to describe the shaky package of “reforms” that Prime Minister Paul Martin and 150 world leaders have been invited to endorse at the United Nations’ 60th anniversary summit.
Canada’s diplomats take pride in being the driving force behind the General Assembly finally acknowledging that all states have a “ responsibility to protect” people from Rwanda- like genocides. The idea is spelled out in the World Summit’s grand statement of goals that the leaders will adopt before they leave New York. That just mightshame the U. N. into action in the next crisis. But there’s no guarantee.
That’s because the General Assembly flatly refused to accept any legal obligation to intervene that would give the “ responsibility to protect” real force. The Security Council is still free to turn a blind eye to crimes against humanity. And so it goes for the rest of the World Summit’s fecklessly squandered chance to reform the U.N., fight poverty and disease, thwart terror and defend rights.
While the U. N. did avoid an embarrassing fiasco by agreeing on a watered down consensus statement, Secretary- General Kofi Annan’s ambitious ideas were subverted at every turn by the United States, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela, Pakistan, Syria and other spoilers. Hollow rhetoric trumped bold reform.
The General Assembly does endorse U.N. Millennium Development Goals to curb poverty, illiteracy and disease. But it cravenly dropped a call on countries like the U. S. and Canada to join others in devoting 0.7 per cent of economic output to aid, to ensure the goals can be met.
The U. N. condemns terrorism, but does not rule out attacks on civilians.
It endorses a more powerful Human Rights Council. But it dropped safeguards to have the General Assembly vet potential members in a two- thirds vote, and to bar notorious rights violators.
Disgracefully, it fails to endorse the International Criminal Court and nuclear disarmament.
And while the statement endorses stronger U. N. ethical and audit oversight, it fails to empower Annan to hire and fire on merit alone, which would be the best defence against corruption and incompetence.
Challenged to boldly revitalize the U. N., its members instead embraced timidity and the status quo. This was an opportunity squandered.