Bertie Ahern must stand up to US and Non Aligned Movement's attempts
to thwart UN reforms
September 1st 2005
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and fellow EU leaders must stand up to the United
States and other opponents of UN reform including the Non-Aligned Movement
in key talks this week said Oxfam Ireland today. Failure to do so could spell failure for the
UN summit, set to be the biggest ever meeting of world leaders.
The United States and the Non-Aligned Movement of states, currently led by
Malaysia, are undermining the chances of effective UN reform by demanding
last minute and sweeping changes during negotiations before the UN World
Summit.
Oxfam Ireland called on Ireland and the rest of the EU to try to prevent the
United States from pushing major cuts to agreements on reducing poverty and
stopping future genocides.
It must also stand up to the Non-Aligned Movement that is attempting to
block the measure on protecting civilians facing genocide or mass killing.
Just two weeks before the September 14-16 Summit, a core group of
supporters, including the EU, has been selected by General Assembly
president Jean Ping of Gabon to try to save negotiations on the outcome
document for the Summit.
The gathering of world leaders is a chance for countries to commit to
ending poverty and suffering that kills millions of people every year, as
well as to implement reforms to improve the operations of the United
Nations.
Yet Colin Roche from Oxfam Ireland said that the historic chance to reform
the United Nations was slipping away as countries squabbled and refused to
find common ground.
"Agreements on measures designed to help stop future genocides and on
reforms to the United Nations will go right down to the wire," said Roche.
"Ireland must use its own influence as EU member to do whatever it can to
save the United Nations summit from failure. This includes standing up to
the US and the Non-Aligned Movement who are set to block key measures like
those designed to prevent future genocides."
The United States has proposed major changes to the current draft outcome
document, including some that would substantially weaken wording on all
governments' "responsibility to protect civilians" in cases of mass killing
such as the Rwandan genocide. The US has also proposed cutting wording on
poverty reduction, including on overseas development aid, education and
debt relief, and removing the term "Millennium Development Goals" -- the
internationally agreed upon targets for halving world poverty. The United
Sates also wants to cut references to small arms controls from the outcome
document.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is fiercely opposing the current draft
measure on the "responsibility to protect" civilians despite the measure's
potential to save millions of lives. The NAM is composed of 115 developing
country governments which include Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Venezuela,
Egypt, Cuba, Iran, and Syria. Russia is also among those governments keen
to weaken wording on the responsibility to protect civilians.
If endorsed in its current form, the commitment on protection would
establish a new international norm, specifically that: states share the
''responsibility to take collective action in a timely and decisive manner"
to protect civilians facing grave atrocities like genocide, ethnic
cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes when the government of
the people concerned is unwilling or unable to do so.
For more information contact Paul Dunphy Oxfam Ireland Media Officer 01
6040706
Background for editors:
For a copy of the draft Summit outcome document please visit:
http://www.reformtheun.org/index.php/united_nations/1290
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