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positions of their respective organizations on matters expressed in this online journal.
June 20, 2004
Posted 6:32 PM
by Mary
Yahoo! News - US Lacks Votes for Immunity from War Crimes Court: "US Lacks Votes for Immunity from War Crimes Court
By Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) and key U.N. Security Council members intensified their opposition to a U.S. draft resolution that would renew the exemption of American soldiers from international prosecution.
Consequently, the Bush administration on Friday still lacked the required nine votes to renew the measure that would give U.S. troops immunity from the new International Criminal Court. The previous resolution expires on June 30.
'We're going to be coming back to the council by Tuesday with a final plan -- with our position in terms of next steps,' U.S. representative Stuart Holliday.
The resolution was first approved in 2002 after the United States vetoed a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, and threatened to oppose others, one by one.
The immunity would be extended to all nations not among the 94 countries that have ratified a treaty establishing the court, set up to prosecute the world's worst atrocities -- genocide, mass war crimes and systematic human rights abuses.
But this year the abuse by U.S. troops of prisoners in Iraq (news - web sites) is largely responsible for opposition among the 15 council "
June 13, 2004
Posted 12:29 AM
by Mary
t r u t h o u t - Marjorie Cohn | John Danforth - Bad Choice for U.N. Ambassador: " John Danforth - Bad Choice for U.N. Ambassador
By Marjorie Cohn
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
Friday 11 June 2004
Cheers went up on both sides of the aisle last week when George W. Bush nominated John Danforth to be the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Easy confirmation is expected for the former Republican senator from Missouri who has much experience brokering agreements in the Senate.
Coincidentally, Danforth, an ordained Episcopalian minister, was also tapped to officiate at Ronald Reagan's funeral Friday, as Billy Graham is hospitalized. With millions of Americans watching that emotional event, the senators who will vote on Danforth's nomination would be hard-pressed to oppose it.
Hail fellow, well met. Danforth is popular among his brethren in the Senate.
Unfortunately, John Danforth 'doesn't know much about the U.N.,' according to former ambassador Robert Oakley. William H. Luers, president of the United Nations Association, said Danforth would be hampered by his lack of knowledge about the U.N. 'He hasn't had any great experience in diplomacy,' said Oakley. 'But,' he added, 'knowing how to work the crowd in the U.S. Senate teaches you how to work the crowd anywhere.'
So how will Danforth work the crowd at the United Nations? He voted against imposing sanctions on South Africa for its system of apartheid in the mid-80s, and for cutting funds for U.N. peacekeeping in 1990s.
But most telling is Danforth's vote to limit U.S. support for international family planning - the litmus test for a Bush nomination. With the premier international peacekeeping organization at a crucial crossroads in this 'preemptive strike' period, Danforth's anti-abortion pedigree does not "
June 12, 2004
Posted 5:58 PM
by Mary
Channelnewsasia.com: "Annan: Inequality worse in past 40 years
SAO PAULO : UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that developing nations have fallen behind since 1964, when the UN Conference on Trade and Development was founded.
'The sad truth is that the world today is a much more unequal place than it was 40 years ago,' he told Group of 77 ministers.
The G77 was also formed in 1964, after the first UN Conference on Trade and Development, which is to open its 11th meeting Monday in Sao Paulo. G77 has grown to 135 member countries.
Much of that inequality has to do with the terms of trade with the developed world, he said.
'Debt crises have revealed serious weaknesses in the international financial architecture,' Annan said.
'Too many developing countries remain dependent on the export of primary commodities for all or most of their foreign currency earnings, leaving them vulnerable to price declines and volatility. Developing countries also suffer from a lack of access to markets of developed countries, and from other imbalances and injustices that have led you to raise questions about the basic fairness of the global trade regime."
June 9, 2004
Posted 9:56 PM
by Mary
BBC NEWS | Americas | UN back in the Iraq picture: "UN back in the Iraq picture
By Susannah Price BBC United Nations correspondent
Tuesday's unanimous vote at the United Nations Security Council in favour of the resolution ending the occupation in Iraq and transferring sovereignty to the Iraqis was hailed by many diplomats as a 'milestone'.
The US has been the lone force in much of Iraq for over a year
While the focus was clearly on what this resolution would mean for Iraq, and whether the violence and lawlessness would allow the ambitious timetable to be put into practice, the vote also has important implications for the UN itself.
No one at the Security Council has forgotten the bitter divisions among Security Council members in the lead-up to the Iraq war last year. It proved impossible for the US and Britain to push through a resolution that would pave the way for military action - and in the end they did without. "
June 6, 2004
Posted 6:48 PM
by Mary
STLtoday - News - Nation: "Danforth's skills may heal rifts
By PHILIP DINE
Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - As U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John C. Danforth would bring a rare set of skills and strengths to take on the enormous challenges the job poses.
Danforth, 67, former Republican senator from Missouri, was nominated Friday by President George W. Bush to replace John Negroponte, who is headed to a new post as ambassador to Iraq.
The task of representing the United States at the world organization comes at a critical time. There are volatile situations in key regions, including instability in Iraq, the violent Palestinian-Israeli conflict, North Korea's nuclear capability and Iran's weapons programs. Meanwhile, the threat of terrorism looms.
In addition, the United Nations is grappling with the oil-for-food scandal over money that changed hands while Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq. And transatlantic ties have sunk to their lowest ebb since World War II, with the United States and Europe at odds over issues ranging from Iraq to environmental treaties. "
June 5, 2004
Posted 8:32 AM
by Mary
BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | UN urges full power shift in Iraq: "UN urges full power shift in Iraq
Brahimi called on the US to completely transfer power
The United Nations envoy to Iraq says the US will have to change its behaviour if a shift to sovereignty is to have any meaning.
Lakhdar Brahimi told the BBC that complete power must be handed over from the US to the interim government. Until now the US administrator rather than the US-appointed Iraqi governing council had held control, he said.
His comments follow a revised version of a Security Council resolution on Iraq from the US and Britain. The new draft states clearly that the US-led multi-national force will leave if asked to by the Iraqi government.
Mr Brahimi said further talks on the role and command of troops was needed. 'There is a need for a detailed discussion about what they are going to do, how these troops are going to behave, what is the chain of responsibility,'
Mr Brahimi also said sorry for calling Paul Bremer the dictator of Iraq earlier this week - it had been a tongue-in-cheek remark, he said.
Iraq's new Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari echoed Mr Brahimi, telling the BBC that a sovereign government must have the power to influence any foreign military presence"
June 4, 2004
Posted 8:51 PM
by Mary
IHT: UN rights chief warns of war crimes in Iraq: "UNITED NATIONS, New York The top human rights official for the United Nations said Friday that the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers could constitute a war crime, and he called for the immediate naming of an international figure to oversee the situation.
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Bertrand Ramcharan, the acting high commissioner for human rights, acknowledged that the removal of Saddam Hussein represented 'a major contribution to human rights in Iraq' and that the United States had condemned the conduct and pledged to bring violators to justice.
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'Everyone accepts the good intentions of the coalition governments as regards the behavior of their forces in Iraq,' he declared in a 45-page report issued at the agency's headquarters in Geneva.
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But, Ramcharan added, after the occupation of Iraq, 'there have sadly been some violations of human rights committed by some coalition soldiers.'
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In an apparent reference to the incidents of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison and to cases where Iraqi prisoners have died in detention, Ramcharan said that 'willful killing , torture and inhuman treatment' represented a grave breach of international law and 'might be designated as war crimes by a competent tribunal.'
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He said it was a 'stark reality' that there was no international oversight or accountability for the thousands of detainees, the conditions in which they were held and the manner in which they were treated.
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To correct this situation, he said, the coalition authorities should immediately appoint 'an international ombudsman or commissioner.' That person would be charged with monitoring human rights in Iraq and producing periodic reports on compliance with 'international norms of human rights and humanitarian law.'"
Posted 8:46 PM
by Mary
t r u t h o u t - Brahimi: Bremer the 'Dictator of Iraq' in Forming Government: "Brahimi: Bremer the 'Dictator of Iraq' in Forming Government
By Tom Lasseter
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Baghdad, Iraq - Lakhdar Brahimi, wrapping up his U.N. mission to bring an interim government to Iraq, looked a little tired and disheartened Wednesday as he said the compromise he negotiated was the best possible under American control.
When the U.S.-appointed Governing Council announced this week that it had selected a new prime minister, Brahimi seemed to be caught flat-footed. The man tapped for the post, Iyad Allawi, has close ties to the CIA. Almost immediately after being named prime minister, he called for the United States to keep its troops in Iraq, a position unpopular with many Iraqis.
Asked how big a role the American administration had in forming the government and selecting the prime minister and president, Brahimi reminded reporters that American Ambassador L. Paul Bremer runs things in Iraq.
'Bremer is the dictator of Iraq,' he said. 'He has the money. He has the signature.'
He later added: 'I will not say who was my first choice, and who was not my first choice ... I will remind you that the Americans are governing this country.'
Sadoun al Dulame, the head of a Baghdad research organization and polling center, said he spoke with Brahimi last week and that the diplomat was discouraged.
'He was very disappointed, very frustrated,' al Dulame said. 'I asked him why he didn't say that publicly (and) he said, `I am the U.N. envoy to Iraq, how can I admit to failure?''
Brahimi arrived in Iraq in February with orders to evaluate whether elections were feasible in the short term and, if not, to find an alternative. "
Posted 8:42 PM
by Mary
US frantic to soften harsh language in UN rights report on Iraq
United States is scrambling to soften allegedly harsh and inflammatory criticism of the US-led coalition in Iraq that is expected to be contained in a UN human rights report to be released this week, US officials said.
The officials said US diplomats are lobbying for language in a report from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to be toned down in a bid to prevent a new firestorm of controversy over the mistreatment of Iraqi detainees by US troops at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad.
The final version of the report is to be released Friday at UN human rights headquarters in Geneva and Washington fears that, without changes, its publication could complicate efforts to secure passage of a new UN Security Council resolution on Iraq, the officials told AFP on condition of anonymity.
That resolution is critical to securing support for the interim Iraqi government taking power June 30 and for further detailing the mandate of the US-led multinational force to remain in the country after that date.
'What we're looking at in the draft is strong anti-US and inflammatory language that was written before we even got a chance to submit our own information,' one official said. 'What we're looking for is a more balanced approach.'
A UN spokesman announced Tuesday that the release of the report, originally due Monday, had been delayed until Friday because the Pentagon and the US-occupation administration, the Coalition Provisional Authority, had asked for more time to contribute their sides of the story.
June 3, 2004
Posted 8:49 PM
by Mary
Blackmail Efforts of the Bush Administration at the UN End in Failure This Time
By Ian Williams
On Wednesday, May19th, the U.S. delegation withdrew the "blackmail-the world" resolution that they had been trying to force to a vote in the Security Council, when they realized that there was a serious chance that other members may try to call Washington's bluff. The resolution was to renew Resolution 1487, which in turn was to renew Resolution 1422, which sought to exempt U.S. military in UN peacekeeping forces from any chance of arrest and removal for trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Ian Williams contributes frequently to Foreign Policy in Focus (online at www.fpif.org) on UN and international affairs.
See new Present Danger commentary online at:
http://www.presentdanger.org/
Bush Administration Seeks UN Escape Hatch
By Ian Williams
The U.S. invaded Iraq waving the stars and stripes. It appears to be >retreating under cover of the blue and white flag of the UN. The latest draft resolution that the U.S. and Britain have submitted to the UN Security Council shows that a combination of: the impending U.S. elections, Abu Ghraib torture pictures, the climb-downs with ex-Ba'athists in Fallujah and the Shi'a militia in Najaf, and the mounting U.S. casualty toll, have all put the U.S. in a very weak negotiating position with both the UN, and now the uppity Iraqi Governing Council (IGC).
Taken overall, the latest resolution panders less to the neoconservative ideologues in the Bush administration than was conceivable six months or a year ago. By the time the newly proposed Iraqi government and Algeria, France, Germany Russia and the other Security Council members have finished, it will likely pander even less. Indeed, even UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is trying to chivvy the Americans into granting more expansive powers to the Iraqis.
See new Present Danger commentary online at:
http://www.presentdanger.org/commentary/2004/0406escapehatch.html
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"War does not determine who is right--only who is left." - Bertrand Russell
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