 |  |  |
| Return to: Left History: a digital archive | Return to: Say no to imperialist wars! | Return to: NATO-Yugoslav War Internet Resources |
| | |
| Return to: Left History: a digital archive | Return to: Say no to imperialist wars! | Return to: NATO-Yugoslav War Internet Resources |
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20 (AFP) - An assertion by Secretary General Kofi Annan that the UN Charter enshrines "rights beyond borders" stimulated debate in the General Assembly on Monday on the right to override state sovereignty.
Strongest in supporting Annan, French Premier Lionel Jospin declared: "The United Nations must respond to crises wherever they occur."
Leading the counter-charge, the Algerian president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika said "sovereignty is our final defence against the rules of an unequal world."
Even blunter, President Andres Pastrana said Colombia "rejects any foreign interference or intervention".
Annan began by telling the 54th General Assembly that the 1994 genocide in Rwanda "will define for our generation the consequences of inaction in the face of mass murder."
Speaking at the start of the general debate -- two weeks of speeches by the heads of state or government of almost 65 countries and by the foreign ministers of more than 120 others -- he contrasted the concepts of state sovereignty and individual sovereignty.
The "core challenge" to the United Nations in the 21st century, he said, was "to forge unity behind the principle that massive and systematic violations of human rights -- wherever they occur -- should not be allowed to stand."
As Annan stepped to the rostrum, about 1,200 troops in an Australian-led multinational force were digging in to spend their first night in Dili, the capital of East Timor.
The force, which will eventually number about 7,000 has a mandate from the Security Council to restore peace and security after three weeks of unrestrained savagery by Indonesian-backed militiamen opposed to the territory's vote for independence.
Stressing that "the role of the Security Council is more than ever primordial," Jospin said NATO's intervention in Kosovo "must remain an exception".
Annan had earlier described as "a tragedy" the international community's failure to produce a consensus in favour of military action in Kosovo.
France is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
Britain, another of the five, was due to speak last in Monday's debate in the person of its foreign minister, Robin Cook.
In an echo of Jospin's words, Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio said the Council's action over East Timor must be "an example and not an exception".
The "very credibility of the United Nations was at stake" after Indonesian-backed militiamen had sacked Dili in an attempt to overturn the result of a ballot on self-determination organised by the UN, he said.
"The swiftness of reaction by the Security Council is a condition of its authority and effectiveness," he added.
Sampaio spoke only about East Timor -- a former Portuguese colony overrun by Indonesia after Portuguese troops hastily withdrew in 1975.
But Jospin told the Assembly he regretted "the relative timidity of the Organisation whenever Africa is concerned, and added: "The extent of the tragedies on that continent requires us to take more resolute action."
Two recent debates in the Security Council -- on the protection of children and civilians in armed conflict -- focused on atrocities in Sierra Leone, including mutilations and the kidnapping of child soldiers.
"We do not deny the right of public opinion in the Northern hemisphere to denounce breaches of human rights where they exist," Bouteflika said.
"And we do not deny that the United Nations has the right and the duty to help suffering humanity. But we remain extremely sensitive to any undermining of our sovereignty."
The Algerian leader, who is current chairman of the Organisation of African Unity, said "we firmly believe that interference in internal affairs can only take place with the consent of the state in question."
His own country was recovering from "a war which was inflicted upon us and which has allowed terrorism and extremism to exert violence against society, values, dignity and men's consciences".
Much had been said and written about Algeria "by people who are hostile or who have only superficial knowledge," he said.
Although the violence "brought the republic almost to its knees" Algeria had the right to defend itself through its own institutions.
Steering a cautious middle line, South African President Thabo Mbeki said peacekeeping operations sometimes "serve to freeze those conflicts, perpetuate polarisation and make their timely resolution more difficult."