International law versus the law of the jungle
Stuart Littlewood
Attempts by outgoing UN General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto
Brockman to ease the sufferings of the Palestinians were futile in the
face of resistance from ‘highly influential members’ of the UN
UN building in New York. Courtesy: Google |
Outgoing United Nations General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto
Brockman says he was obstructed by leading UN members from trying to
improve the lives of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“My greatest frustration this year has been the Palestine situation,”
he told the 192-nation assembly in his final address on September 14
before handing over the one-year presidency to Libyan diplomat Ali Treki.
He found it ‘disgraceful’ the way influential members of the UN
Security Council had shown ‘passivity and apparent indifference’ about
the long and cruel Israeli blockade of Gaza.
Fr Miguel is not your usual timeserving career diplomat. In 1961, he
was ordained a priest in the Catholic Church. In 1962, he obtained a
Master of Science degree from Columbia University’s School of Journalism
(Pulitzer Institute). He served for over a decade as Nicaragua’s
Minister for Foreign Affairs, during which he spearheaded his
Government’s claim in the International Court of Justice against the
United States for supporting military and paramilitary actions against
his country. The Court ruled in Nicaragua’s favour. Not only a man of
words, then, but a man of action.
UN’s Lack of Commitment in Resolving the Palestine Question ‘A
Scandal’ Palestinians in particular, and those concerned about foreign
affairs in general, will find the unedited version of his parting
speech, where it relates to the Holy Land, well worth reading:
“My greatest frustration this year has been the Palestine situation.
The Question of Palestine continues to be the most serious and prolonged
unresolved political and human rights issue on the agenda of the United
Nations since its inception. The evident lack of commitment for
resolving it is a scandal that has caused me much sorrow.
“I promised a proactive Presidency, and sincerely believe that I did
everything I possibly could in this regard, requesting and attempting to
persuade those who should have been most closely involved to call for
the convocation of the General Assembly to consider the Palestine
situation.
However, whether at the time of the three-week invasion of Gaza that
began on 27 December or now, all I received was advice to give the
process more time, because things were always on the point of being
resolved and we should do nothing that could endanger the success that
was always just beyond our reach.
“Faced with this situation, I sincerely did not know what to do. I
wanted to help Palestine, but those who should supposedly have been most
interested denied their support for reasons of ‘caution’ that I was
incapable of understanding. I hope that they were right and that I was
wrong. Otherwise, we face an ugly situation of constant complicity with
the aggression against the rights of the noble and long-suffering
Palestinian people.
“A just resolution of the Question of Palestine must be based on the
content of international law and will only be attained when the unity of
the Palestinian people has been achieved and the international community
speaks with all its representatives who enjoy credibility and have been
democratically elected. In addition to the withdrawal of the Israelis
from all territories illegally occupied since 1967, international law
demands that all Palestinians displaced during the creation of the State
of Israel, their children and grandchildren, be permitted to return to
their homeland of Palestine.
“My chief consultant on humanitarian affairs, Dr. Kevin Cahill, was
sent to Gaza from February 17 to 22 to prepare a report on the
humanitarian situation in Gaza immediately after the aggression. Dr.
Cahill’s report was issued on August 19, on the occasion of World
Humanitarian Day commemorating the sacrifices of United Nations staff in
conflict zones; it had originally been intended for release at a Special
Session on Gaza, but that did not take place for the reasons mentioned.
“I find disgraceful the passivity and apparent indifference of some
highly influential members of the Security Council to the fact that the
blockade of Gaza has continued uninterrupted for two years, in flagrant
violation of international law and of the resolution of the Security
Council itself, causing immense damage and suffering to the Palestinian
population of Gaza. This situation threatens to become even more serious
if immediate measures are not taken, now that winter is approaching. Now
is the time to demonstrate, with actions and not simply words, a true
commitment to the concept of the Responsibility to Protect.”
I hope Fr Miguel will tell us the names of those “highly influential
members” who showed “disgraceful passivity and indifference” in the face
of such appalling human suffering. The world needs to identify and
dispose of these contemptible deadbeats in high places.
Were any of them British? We in the UK are well aware that our
Foreign Office, and indeed the whole fabric of our government, is
infected with Israel’s stooges and others with no moral fibre. These
snivelers mouth words of condemnation and wring their hands but never
take firm action. They disgrace us all.
Law of the Jungle Rules, OK?
Elsewhere in his speech Fr Miguel made this remarkable observation:
“...the whole world knows that, among many other truths, some of our
most powerful and influential Member States definitely do not believe in
the rule of law in international relations and are of the view,
moreover, that complying with the legal norms to which we formally
commit, when signing the Charter, is something that applies only to weak
countries. With such a low level of commitment, it should not be
surprising that the United Nations has been unable to achieve the main
objectives for which it was created.
“Certain Member States think that they can act according to the law
of the jungle, and defend the right of the strongest to do whatever they
feel like with total and absolute impunity, and remain accountable to no
one.”
It is not recorded whether these words received the applause they
deserved.
Farewell, Fr Miguel, and good hunting. You gave it your best shot,
unlike others. Please don’t leave the scene altogether.
- Third World Network Features
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