| The UN and Iraq: a shameful history Hans von Sponeck |
| What is success has put us in front of two very important issues: Iraq and UN reform. The same process to Saddam Hussein is part of these problems. He must certainly pay for the crimes committed against his people. But the same principle should be equally valid for crimes against humanity committed by those who, despising the human suffering that have caused, have imposed economic sanctions on Iraq, conducted a secret war in parts of the country off-limits to flight and they abused, mutilated, tortured and killed Iraqis. | |
| E 'was from 1998 to 2000 the United Nations coordinator in Iraq of the "oil for food". Professor of demography and anthropology, has worked for more than thirty years to the UN. The article is from Horizons et débats, n.33 When you talk about the role played by the United Nations before and after the invasion of Iraq by the U.S., Britain and other countries in the coalition of "willing "It is important first make a clear distinction between the politicians and officials who make these choices made, namely between the members of the Security Council and the UN Secretariat. This is to clarify how the main responsibilities of the humanitarian disaster in Iraq should fall primarily on the members of the Council. For their part, it was a real betrayal not only of the Iraqi people but of the Charter of the United Nations. recolonisation IRAQ politicians have hidden behind the screen of the Security Council to make it possible in 2003, an illegal war. Many now eat some serious doubts that the American and British governments have caused by force of arms with the fall of the Iraqi regime to the whole world into believing that it was applying international law to peacefully resolve the conflict and protect the people of that country. In addition, when the war ended, the world public opinion has moved and those who had desired and had not developed any strategy for peace. Their goal was primarily to make Iraq into a vise and then justify the occupation of the country, creating confusion and resorting to deception. Many Iraqi officials have been dismissed without the slightest proof of guilt, only because they belonged to the Baath party. Then they were promulgated to decree laws Provisional Authority (CPA): their purpose was to re-colonize the country economically and create a dependence, as is the case, for example, in the agricultural sector from which the seeds have been removed to leave Iraq the place to GMOs imported from the U.S.. How the UN Security Council has responded to these violations of international law? For more than ten years, it approved everything that was done by two of the six permanent members (the U.S. and Britain), each of their first choice policy aimed at isolating Iraq and then to change the rules of procedure. The debates that have followed, then, have shown that the various members of the Council were fully aware of the humanitarian crisis in that country, but at the same time they lacked the will to take the necessary measures to remedy this tragic situation. INSTRUMENTALISATION THE SECURITY COUNCIL All Council members were aware that the link between the disarmament of Iraq and the economic sanctions taken against that country, simply meant that people had to pay a high price for the policy of his government in terms of survival and quality of life. You must know that the restrictions imposed by the Security Council acting by the "oil for food", would take seriously affect the chances of survival of many Iraqis. They knew that the Council refused to authorize payment of the money received to the Central Bank of Iraq was needed to finance the training of personnel, technical infrastructure and education, would force the Iraqi leaders to get some money illegally. Just as they knew that the creation of two areas off-limits to air travel within the country, it would not be served - as claimed - to protect ethnic and religious groups from repressive government, but rather simply to destabilize Iraq. In fact, the American and British rulers, after the operation in December '98, using the air space as a place of exercise for their bombers and their combat aircraft. The six members of the Security Council so they knew that civilians were massacred, but never discussed the legality of the no-fly zones, when it could jeopardize unilateral actions of two States that had imposed such a choice without a warrant of 'UN. moral conscience and passive obedience The UN Secretariat has bowed to the U.S. and Britain when they decided to impose a regime of economic sanctions that would lead to a real human tragedy. As the Secretariat will not say anything when Washington and London will break with the international community to begin the invasion illegal occupation of Iraq. Then, when the fundamental principles of the United Nations will become the subject of intense debate, Kofi Annan will not react at all. Shortly before, Henri Blix, the first UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, was hanging a report on progress made by the survey on the presence or absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and had requested an extension of its mandate to complete its work. The UN Secretariat would take this opportunity to criticize U.S. and British war plans, but chose to abstain from doing so, so much so that in March 2003 withdrew its inspectors from Iraq. Serious violations of international law by members of the Security Council and disdain ostentatious compared to an international institution that was created primarily to prevent wars, it represented a challenge to all those who believed in the UN: to show publicly that the most important thing was to have a moral conscience rather than passively obey. After the illegal invasion of Iraq, the Security Council would be useful to open a serious debate on the contempt shown by the occupying forces of the military conventions created because the army would comply with the Hague and Geneva conventions. But the management of the Iraq conflict by the Council will enter into the history books as a huge setback suffered by the international community. Historians should focus attention on the fact that all over the world, the voice of the highest UN body that has been supported by the people. This item has in fact never ceased to denounce the U.S. and British governments for their brutal behavior with regard to Iraq, before, during and after their illegal war. UNSOLVED PROBLEMS
What has happened has put us in front of two very important issues: Iraq and UN reform. The same process to Saddam Hussein is part of these problems. He must certainly pay for the crimes committed against his people. But the same principle should be equally valid for crimes against humanity committed by those that, disregarding the human suffering it caused, have imposed economic sanctions on Iraq, conducted a secret war in parts of the country off-limits to flight and they abused, mutilated, tortured and killed Iraqis. Besides Saddam, then, other people should appear in the dock. That said, we can say that the situation in this country remains an unsolved problem for both the international peace movement for the citizens and citizens aware of their responsibilities. There are some problems that are primarily made from them: first, that concerns the United Nations. Are sunk when they were unable to prevent economic sanctions, an illegal war and destruction caused by military occupation. This means that the peace movement must ensure that it is found that now all the responsibility for what happened. We must make it clear that everything has been done in the name of freedom, democracy and human rights is nothing but a caricature of what is really freedom, democracy and human rights. In the medium term, provided the peace movement because it will push to open every level, a real debate on UN reform in order to help create an international institution immune from abuse of power. Secondly, this international movement can not only react to economic sanctions unjustified or illegal wars. It should be a deep self-critical question of why his action failed. Today we are threatened by many socio-economic and political dangers. In the medium term, the movement will have to abandon any discussion of the conflicts that erupted as a result of personal ambitions and concentrate rather on a more organized response in times of international crises, growing a shared commitment and a coordinated strategy. | |||
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