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| Sunday, 18 September 2005 |
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Features |  |
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In larger
freedom
by Jayatilleke de Silva Last week over 170 world leaders- Heads of State or Government- met in New York for the World Summit, which took stock of the current global scenario and the progress achieved by the United Nations in implementing the decisions of the Millennium Summit held in the Year 2000.
The United Nations was established in 1945 with four basic objectives. They are (1) to save successive generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind (2) to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small (3) to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained (4) to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. Even a cursory glance at the above objectives would show that today, 60 years after the formation of the UN much remains to be done to achieve them. Although the world has seen no world war since then, there have been numerous local wars which taken together used more firepower and sowed more destruction than World War II. The danger of war has not receded and the number of nuclear powers has increased. Military nuclear technology has spread to such an extent that even small terrorist groups could have access to it. The world also witnessed unbridled human rights violations under fascist and military dictatorships, especially in the Third World in which reactionary forces in the developed world colluded with local oligarchies. The overthrow of President Allende in Chile and President Sukarno in Indonesia are just two examples that amply illustrate the genocidal nature of neo-fascism aided and abetted by the United States.
Big powers have violated international treaties and obligations, as well as undermined the United Nations for self-interest. The Iraq War too is a case in point where state alliances were formed to invade a sovereign country without justifiable reasons. Unprecedented social revolutions Although unprecedented social revolutions have taken place during the period under review, in which the entire system of colonial domination crumbled like paper huts, the living conditions of the vast majority of the world's peoples have not improved substantially. Though world production of food has increased at a rate faster than that of the increase in population, debunking the infamous Malthusian theory an estimated 798 million people suffer from chronic hunger. There are more than 1 billion people in developing countries or one in every six human beings on earth, who live on an income of less than one dollar a day. Each day 20,000 people die from hunger. Every year more than 11 million children die before their fifth birthday. In the Millennium Declaration signed by the world leaders in the year 2000 they called for a Global Partnership to achieve a set of 8 goals and 18 targets (See separate cage on page 37) by 2015. With only 10 more years to go, the progress achieved so far does not indicate that they could be achieved unless more commitment and resources are forthcoming, especially from the rich countries. The scientific and technological revolution, especially the revolution in communication technology has generated enough potential to achieve a world, free from hunger. But political instability arising from the imbalance of power in the world acts as a barrier. The United Nations has been made impotent after the collapse of the USSR, mainly due to this power imbalance where the sole super power has established its hegemony even over the UN. A tendency has developed to undermine the UN and act unilaterally for self-interest, thus violating the very Charter of the United Nations. Challenges On the other hand, new technology has provided opportunities for small terrorist groups to challenge even a super power as the tragic incidents of September 11, 2001 demonstrated. The challenges before the UN at this juncture are enormous. UN Secretary Kofi Annan in his preliminary report to the United Nations called for the recognition of three imperatives - development, security and human rights. Underlining the interconnection of these three imperatives he said; "we will not enjoy development without security, we will not enjoy security without development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights." Global cooperation He also emphasised that the cause of larger freedom could be advanced only by "broad, deep and sustained global cooperation among states. Contrary to newborn theories that undermine the sovereignty of states, the Secretary General stated, "Sovereign States are the basic and indispensable building blocks of the international system." Towards this end he called for structural and other changes in the UN system. The United Nations structure has become anachronistic since it does not reflect the changes that took place in the world since its formation. This is clearly evident in the case of the Security Council whose composition reflects the geopolitical reality at the end of World War II. Not only is there insufficient representation for the developing countries, most of which were born after 1945 but even among the developed countries the realities of the day are not reflected. The absolute Veto in the hands of a select few actually holds the world body hostage on many occasions. We have seen it happen even in the case of a simple case like the election of a Secretary-General where majority opinion is not respected. There is an urgent need to democratise the UN and make it more accountable. Just as much as States, the world order should be made accountable to their people, the world body should also be made accountable to its members. Today more states and people are concerned with human rights. The World Summit recognised the enhancement of human rights as a priority. The UN Secretary General in his Report to the Summit proposed the establishment of a Human Rights Council directly under the General Assembly instead of the present Human Rights Commission which is a body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). As the world is plagued by terrorism the World Summit deliberated on a global Convention against terrorism. Terrorism cannot be met by state terrorism. In other words, it is necessary to recognise the socio-economic conditions that generate terrorism and find ways and means to eradicate them. Unfortunately many states, including most powerful ones have so far not recognised this simple fact and have been using terror against terror. As is evident by events in Iraq and elsewhere, US led War on Terror has produced more terror. Iraq has become a terrorist haven and a source of instability in the entire world. Though much more was expected the conclusions of the World Summit gives hope that much more could be achieved through global partnership of peoples and States. |
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