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Tuesday, 05 December 2006 17:49 |
| | Gillian Sorenson |
By JIM GENARO
Despite the devastating impact of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the United Nations remains a vitally important institution, which fills an essential role in achieving peace throughout the world, as well as combating poverty, human rights abuse and disease, former U.N. Undersecretary Gillian Sorenson told a standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 at the Young Womenës Christian Association last Wednesday night.
The occasion of Sorensonës speech was a banquet celebrating the 50th anniversary of Western North Carolinaës United Nations Association chapter.
When the chapter was founded in 1956, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was the keynote speaker.
Sorenson noted
that that event was also held at the YWCA ÇƒÓ but for different reasons.
At the time, the facility was one of the only places in Asheville where
racially integrated audiences could gather ÇƒÓ a requirement set by
Roosevelt for all of her public appearances.
In 1956, the
U.N. was greatly admired by people throughout the world ÇƒÓ and
particularly in the U.S., Sorenson said. By choosing New York as the
location of the new organizationës headquarters, the U.S. was
expressing its commitment to diplomacy and international dialogue in
the post-World War II era.
"That had a profound aspect to it," she told the audience. "It said to them that ǃÚWe are partners in this with you forever.ë"
Over the past 50
years, the U.N. has evolved to adapt to changing world conditions, she
added. "For instance, there is not one word in the U.N. Charter about
the environment," Sorenson said. Today, environmental issues are at the
forefront of the organizationës concerns.
Furthermore, the
world body now has 192 member states, having started with just 52, she
noted. "There is no other organization ÇƒÓ none on earth ÇƒÓ that can call
together the entire human family," Sorenson added.
The U.N. is
involved in 18 peacekeeping missions throughout the world and has made
a tremendous impact on human rights, the conditions of refugees and the
lives of the poorest people in the world, she said.
However, despite
its tremendous contributions to humanity, many in the U.S. harbor
hostility towards the organization, Sorenson said ÇƒÓ a position that is
unique in the world.
"I have never
encouraged the dilemma that we seem to experience in this county: a
skepticism ... a hatred, even, of the U.N." she told the audience.
Elsewhere, it is "seen as an imperfect-but-indispensable instrument."
The isolationism
and unwillingness of the U.S. government to compromise ÇƒÓ particularly
over the past five years ÇƒÓ has contributed to the animosity, she said.
"This sense that
we donët need others, or weëll go it alone ÇƒÓ or that uses the U.N. as
an instrument of convenience ÇƒÓ that has created problems," Sorenson
argued.
She listed a number of developments within the U.N. that constitute "the good news that doesnët make news."
Among these was
the work of the Human Rights Commission to improve standards for human
rights, the U.N.ës efforts to combat maternal death and its work caring
for more than 20 million refugees.
However, Sorenson also listed the "very intensive period of reform" the body has undergone over the past year.
These include
the consolidation of all human rights efforts under a single
organization, the Human Rights Council ÇƒÓ with considerably stricter
standards for the countries that sit on it.
Furthermore, new
regulations allow for "increased authority from the inspector general
to look into the financial operations" of the organization at every
level, she said.
The U.N. will
also soon have a new secretary general, as Kofi Annan will step down
Dec. 31 from the post he has held for more than a decade.
"I have enormous respect and admiration for Kofi Annan, who did a super job under extraordinary circumstances," Sorenson said.
She also had words for incoming Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, whom she called "a very experienced career diplomat."
Noting that she
has worked with the U.N. under the direction of five secretary
generals, Sorenson added, "I have witnessed the reality that there is a
power of personality-diplomacy. I have very high hopes for his term of
office."
However, despite
positive developments, the U.N. is facing an unprecedented challenge as
a result of the growing rift between it and the U.S., she said.
"It is the war
(in Iraq) that has created this deep rift," Sorenson told the audience.
"It is very important that we heal this rift ÇƒÓ it is deep and it is
damaging."
She contrasted
President Bushës handling of the war with that of his father during the
first Gulf War, saying that the latter "understood very well that he
needed the support of the Security Council."
The senior Bush achieved this by presenting "very persuasive evidence" about the threat Saddam Hussein posed, she said.
The current President Bush, however, failed to do so ÇƒÓ with disastrous effects, Sorenson said.
By invading Iraq
without the support of the Security Council, the U.S. has involved
itself in a quagmire that is perceived as a "war against Islam" by many
and which ultimately will be paid for ÇƒÓ in money and lives ÇƒÓ almost
entirely by the U.S., she said.
However, Sorenson noted, "it didnët take three months for the U.S. to come to the U.N. and say, ǃÚPlease help.ë"
After the
initial military campaign, the U.S. asked the U.N. to help in a number
of reconstruction efforts, including rebuilding hospitals, monitoring
elections and establishing a coalition government. Many of these
efforts involve dangerous work on the ground, she noted.
"Iëm sure you
can understand why among the U.N. there is some ambivalence ÇƒÓ if not
resentment ÇƒÓ about being asked to do those very dangerous and important
duties in the aftermath of a war of choice that was not supported by
the U.N.," Sorenson said.
Now, Iraq is in
the grips of a civil war and "has become an incubator for terrorists in
a way that it never was" before, she added.
One of the
tragic aspects of this, she said, is that the U.S. is no longer seen as
the worldës leading proponent of democracy and human rights.
"For decades,
the U.S. was the beacon," Sorenson told the audience. "That was natural
for us and we had to fulfill that. But Iëll be honest, our ability to
do that today is diminished."
If the U.S. were
truly interested in reclaiming its historic role, it would take a
number of steps to promote global democracy and support the U.N., she
added.
These include
paying its dues to the U.N. "in full, on time and without conditions;"
ceasing "U.N.-bashing;" and supporting the Millennium Development Goals
ÇƒÓ a set of objectives established by the U.N. to meet the basic needs
of the worldës poorest populations in the coming decade.
"We have this
precious historic role and we do not want to abdicate that because that
leaves a vacuum and we know what happens with a vacuum ÇƒÓ something
fills that," she said.
Sorenson said
that the European Union is already starting to fill that vacuum,
gaining political and economic clout as the U.S. has begun to decline
in moral authority in the eyes of many people in the world.
Worst of all,
she said, the U.S. government has begun to undermine decades of efforts
by the U.N. to improve human-rights standards.
If the U.S.
wanted to reclaim its position as an inspiration to the world, it would
"support human rights and honor the Geneva Conventions against torture
ÇƒÓ and would never, never allow American soldiers or government agents
to torture with impunity," Sorenson told the audience. "This has done
more than anything else to destroy our moral authority."
She noted that
the U.S. voted against the creation of the Human Rights Council, saying
it was "not perfect" and then chose not to stand for election to the
council.
The reason for
this, she argued, is that under the new rules, members of the HRC must
undergo close scrutiny of their own human rights records.
Furthermore, in
light of the press attention given to human rights abuses by the U.S.
government in the conduct of the War on Terror in recent years, it is
unlikely it would have been approved had it applied to be on the HRC,
she said.
"What does that say about our country?" Sorenson asked. "What have we lost? How do we regain that?"
The U.S.
government needs to learn that "compromise is the art of diplomacy,"
she said. "That doesnët diminish us ÇƒÓ it enhances what we can do."
However,
Sorenson said she is an optimist. "I know that this can be turned
around in reasonably short order," she told the audience. "Good fortune
also brings obligation. We canët solve every problem, but when we can,
we should try."
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