NationStates Jolt Archive

COMMENTARY: Everyone who knows anything about the UN understands that the organization is broken and needs fixing, particularly the "peacekeeping" missions and UN finances. Now the very nations which should cheer on this effort seem to be the ones raising hell about attempts to reform. WTF, over?


U.S. Criticized for Actions in U.N. Council (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/18/international/18nations.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin)


By WARREN HOGE
Published: February 18, 2006
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 17 — Developing nations expressed anger on Friday at what they said was a United States-led effort to wrest power from them and give authority for bringing major change at the United Nations to the 15-member Security Council.

Conflict burst into the open after John R. Bolton, the American ambassador to the United Nations, scheduled Security Council briefings on two volatile issues that many on the 191-member General Assembly believe are their responsibility and two United States congressmen wrote an accusatory letter to Ambassador Dumisani S. Kumalo of South Africa, head of the Group of 77, which represents 132 developing nations.

Mr. Bolton, president of the Security Council this month, set meetings next week on what the United Nations has been doing about charges of sexual exploitation by peacekeepers and an audit on waste approaching $300 million in the peacekeeping purchasing department.

The letter — from Representative Henry J. Hyde of Illinois, the Republican chairman of the Committee on International Relations, and Representative Tom Lantos of California, the top Democrat on the committee — took issue with an earlier complaint from Mr. Kumalo to Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Mr. Kumalo said in a Feb. 6 letter that the Secretariat had bypassed the General Assembly by commissioning audits, suspending people under investigation and briefing reporters about it.

The congressmen wrote, "We are writing with regard to the outrageous attack you have launched on behalf of the Group of 77 against the United Nations Secretariat for its aggressive effort to shine a light on the corruption that has infected the United Nations procurement office."

The dispute comes while intense negotiations are going on to reach consensus on proposals to tighten management of the United Nations, and to produce a new Human Rights Council to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission.

Mr. Bolton said he had no quarrel with the General Assembly taking up reform issues, but said he would not relinquish the Security Council's right to do the same. "The United States believes in taking action and being effective, and we don't apologize to anybody for that," he said.

COMMENTARY: Everyone who knows anything about the UN understands that the organization is broken and needs fixing, particularly the "peacekeeping" missions and UN finances.


I almost stopped reading here. Either everyone accepts one's own position, or they know nothing about a given topic?



UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 17 — Developing nations expressed anger on Friday at what they said was a United States-led effort to wrest power from them and give authority for bringing major change at the United Nations to the 15-member Security Council.

Conflict burst into the open after John R. Bolton, the American ambassador to the United Nations, scheduled Security Council briefings on two volatile issues that many on the 191-member General Assembly believe are their responsibility and two United States congressmen wrote an accusatory letter to Ambassador Dumisani S. Kumalo of South Africa, head of the Group of 77, which represents 132 developing nations.

...

Mr. Bolton said he had no quarrel with the General Assembly taking up reform issues, but said he would not relinquish the Security Council's right to do the same.


Basically, the United States is percieved as trying to centralize control over these issues of the UN away from the general member population to a smaller and thus much more easilly controlled body, where the United States holds perpetual office and welds great power.

COMMENTARY: Everyone who knows anything about the UN understands that the organization is broken and needs fixing, particularly the "peacekeeping" missions and UN finances. Now the very nations which should cheer on this effort seem to be the ones raising hell about attempts to reform. WTF, over?


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Because by kicking it upstairs to the security council, its out of the hands of the majority of members and back to a select club. Nobody in their right mind would trust America to do anything that would make the UN more effective, because its effectively a US plaything at the best of times.

In addition, most of the ineffectiveness of the UN cannot be changed by the "reforms", becuase its weaknesses were built in. It cannot act independently of its member nations, and it has no seperate funding.

when I saw this all I could see was US criticized for actions...

and I was thinking now is it one of the golden oldies crap ups by dubya and co or have they waded into some new shit....

with a government like that who needs enermies

Because by kicking it upstairs to the security council, its out of the hands of the majority of members and back to a select club. Nobody in their right mind would trust America to do anything that would make the UN more effective, because its effectively a US plaything at the best of times.

In addition, most of the ineffectiveness of the UN cannot be changed by the "reforms", becuase its weaknesses were built in. It cannot act independently of its member nations, and it has no seperate funding.

Exactly - member nations like the US and China and Russia and France and Britain are what weaken it. And then they bitch when they have weakened it that it is weak.

Why does the US even have a permanent seat in the security council? It may be a superpower, but it doesn't deserve a veto. The US is one of the biggest obstacles the UN has to face.

Why does the US even have a permanent seat in the security council? It may be a superpower, but it doesn't deserve a veto. The US is one of the biggest obstacles the UN has to face.

Because the United Nations was proposed, designed and implemented by the WWII allies (Great Britan, France, United States, Republic of China, Soviet Union), of which the United States was the most powerful. Edit: Since the beginning, the United Nations has been dominated by a handful of the most powerful states on the planet. Naturally, smaller and less developed states tend to be suspicious of their true intentions.

Because the United Nations was proposed, designed and implemented by the WWII allies (Great Britan, France, United States, Republic of China, Soviet Union), of which the United States was the most powerful.

I didn't mean why they got it in the first place. I meant why it hasn't been taken away from them, considering the US's recent antics.

I meant why it hasn't been taken away from them,

The United States continues to have a veto power because it gave itself a veto power, and there isn't any other state around in a position to take it away.

Technically, every nation at the UN has equal representation. For this reason, it's the developing world's favorite place to dis the US.

Africa has also been the most important opposition to the bid of some nations (including Japan and Germany) to get a seat on the UNSC.

Granted, China would never have tolerated giving Japan a seat, but one of the main problems that prevented the group from properly making a case was that the Africans couldn't make up their mind on who should be their chosen one. And since they couldn't, the plan was made to push for the seats without an African nation - so they blocked it in various sessions.

COMMENTARY: Everyone who knows anything about the UN understands that the organization is broken and needs fixing, particularly the "peacekeeping" missions and UN finances. Now the very nations which should cheer on this effort seem to be the ones raising hell about attempts to reform. WTF, over?Reform? Do you even know who the President sent to the SC? Any reforms Mr. Bolton would be capable of would be in the opposite direction of whatever is necessary.
Mr. Bolton said he had no quarrel with the General Assembly taking up reform issues, but said he would not relinquish the Security Council's right to do the same. "The United States believes in taking action and being effective, and we don't apologize to anybody for that," he said.:rolleyes:
Mr. Bolton and no quarrel with the General Assembly... das ich nicht lache!

Everyone who knows anything about the UN understands that the organization is broken and needs fixing..You say: Everyone who knows anything about the UN understands that the organization is broken and needs fixing..

I say: Everyone who knows anything about Bush understands that he s got a Chimp's brain.. and needs to go..

Lets make a POLL, which one we really need to Fix urgently..

And only then we shall know if you really have Everyone thinking what you are thinking everyone is thinking.. what do you think?l :D