UN General Assembly President Jan Kavan challenges view that U.N. is irrelevant by Jim Wurst . UN Wire 1:05pm 14th Apr, 2003   11.4.2003    UNITED NATIONS - General Assembly President Jan Kavan yesterday challenged the pronouncements of many analysts after the United States and United Kingdom launched war on Iraq that the United Nations is irrelevant and ineffective.    In a wide-ranging interview with UN Wire, Kavan said a prominent U.N. role in Iraq now would give "a strong air of legitimacy that the U.N. can confer ... for the whole democratization process."    "It would be in the interest of the U.S. to have this backing of legitimacy so that they don't have to battle throughout the postwar reconstruction against suspicions that they are acting as invaders," Kavan added. "The U.N. should be very actively involved in the postwar situation in Iraq ... and not just play a kind of advisory role."    Kavan said that while a humanitarian role is important, "The U.N. should also play a wider role in participating in decisions leading to a transitional authority and the setting up of a democratic, free and independent Iraq." He added, "It would be wrong to ignore the wealth of experience and knowledge that the U.N. has."    Kavan objected to the possibility that Iraq is only the first case of the United States taking pre-emptive action against states Washington considers threats to its security. No one defended Saddam Hussein's rule, he said, yet there were widespread protests and criticism against a pre-emptive war "primarily because it didn't have a U.N. Security Council mandate." Removing Hussein, he said, "is a contribution to world stability, but it seems to me that if [the United States] wishes to move against any other country, it would lead to even more protests. It may not only question the role of multilateral organizations, such as the U.N.; it would also politically lead to certain isolation of the United States."    Launching other actions without Security Council approval "definitely would establish an entirely new world order," Kavan said. "The role of the U.N. would be completely changed," he said, adding that he hoped Washington would "pursue its foreign policy bearing in mind the need to enjoy the support of the international community."    Kavan also spoke about the status of Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammed al-Douri, who said today that he is leaving his post. Kavan said there has been no change in Iraq's diplomatic representation at the United Nations and that "no one has questioned the credentials of" al-Douri. "Until the credentials are questioned and a proper process for determining a new authority are in place," no change will occur, Kavan said.    While any nation may question al-Douri's credentials, Kavan said the United States and United Kingdom as occupying powers have no special authority in this case. "In Resolution 1472, the occupying powers are correctly defined [as being] responsible for the welfare of the citizens" of Iraq, Kavan said. "But that responsibility ... does not say anything about political representation of the country. Resolution1472 doesn't touch on it." That resolution, adopted unanimously March 28, authorizes the United Nations to begin providing urgent humanitarian aid to Iraq and includes a reference to the responsibilities of the occupying powers.    The Arab League earlier this week requested a General Assembly debate on Iraq. Yesterday, however, the Arab states asked for a postponement of their request. Any new debate, Kavan said, is likely to center on the United Nations' postwar role, "not only in terms of providing humanitarian help, but also in playing a role in administrative and economic reconstruction of Iraq."    Kavan Says Trend After Cold War Is Marginalization Of General Assembly    Speaking generally about the General Assembly, Kavan said that since the end of the Cold War, there has been a trend to marginalize the assembly and transfer more decision-making powers to the Security Council -- a trend he said must be "stopped and reversed." He said he would like to see the assembly begin a transformation "towards a proper world parliament."    Kavan said his goals as president include seeking assembly consensus on two issues: conflict prevention and follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals. The presidency of the assembly runs for one year. Kavan's term ends in September when the 58th General Assembly begins.    The latter goal will likely be a challenge. "It's very difficult to reach a consensus, [because] there is great suspicion and distrust, particularly between the developing countries and the rich countries," Kavan said.    Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals has been "uneven," he said, adding that the General Assembly should adopt a mechanism "for a coordinated and integrated follow-up" to the goals, as well as the conclusions of recent U.N. meetings such as the International Conference on Financing for Development.    "It makes sense that you do not discuss sustainable development without discussing its financing," he said. A comprehensive progress report is due in 2005, Kavan added, but the international community cannot wait for a report that will "almost certainly acknowledge by 2005 that we have not met the goals in many areas."    "A monitoring system should indicate how the promises and obligations are met or not," he added.    Regarding conflict prevention, Kavan said he hopes the General Assembly can adopt a resolution on "the ways and means" to prevent conflict, including addressing the root causes. "If you want to nip in the bud any armed conflict, then you have to define what constitutes a fertile soil for such a conflict," he said, such as poverty, lack of democracy, socioeconomic problems and the illegal flow of arms.    To reach consensus, Kavan said he is working with facilitators from regional groups on the drafting of the resolution. "It's a cumbersome method but to my mind, it's the only one which will ensure that if we do agree, then the General Assembly will have no problem."    Kavan also expressed hope about the International Criminal Court, whose next assembly begins in New York later this month, with the expected selection of Luis Moreno Ocampo of Argentina as prosecutor. With the judges and prosecutor selected, Kavan said, "I don't see any reason why the functioning of the ICC should be doubted." While several major powers, including Russia and China, are not members of the ICC, the United States is the only one actively working against the court, arguing that the court would be subject to political manipulation. Those powers "may be in time convinced, by observing the ICC and see[ing] in practice that some of the anxieties and fears are not justified." He noted that his own government, that of the Czech Republic, is one of those holdout states.    Kavan is a former foreign minister and deputy prime minister and currently holds an elective seat in Parliament. During the Cold War, Kavan was a leading dissident, publishing samizdats, or underground political and literary journals, from exile in London.    Kavan said his activities in the 1980s involved both human rights and disarmament. He said he supported the arguments made at the time calling for "the utter rejection of nuclear weapons as a means to solve anything, and on the other hand, the [rejection of] violations of basic human rights," adding that "demilitarization and democratization go hand in hand."    Today, he said, the network of multilateral disarmament instruments including the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty "is not an ideal situation. … We cannot do miracles, but within the framework of what we have to work with, these efforts are reasonably successful and hopefully will persuade others" to join disarmament agreements. New policies undermining multilateral arrangements "is an untenable premise," said Kavan. Visit the related web page
	Next (more recent) news item
	Next (older) news item