The U.N. faces an interesting conundrum…
A Memory of Nuremberg. The General Assembly calls upon the world body to adopt a resolution that would require both Hamas and Israel to do independent investigations into whether war crimes were committed in Gaza.
¶ The resolution would:
- condemn all “targeting of civilians.”
- propose a 3-month deadline for the investigations to be started.
- require the Secretary General to work with the Security Council on enforcement action.
The point here is that both Hamas and Israel can shrug this off because *there is zero chance that the Security Council will take any enforcement steps whatever.
*The reasons for that are that:
1) the U.S. would veto the resolution, in keeping with its history of support for any and all Israeli actions.
2.) China would also veto it because of its brutal occupation of Tibet. and
3) Russia would veto it because of its actions in Chechnya and in other places.
So – the serious in-depth investigation of war crimes is really off the table - because so many governments, including the United States of America, have committed them.
We have indeed come a long from from Nuremberg.
Cynical window-dressing.
No nation including Canada could survive the searchlight of diligent inquiry, we all have similar reasons to obstruct it.
So besides its pious sugarcoating of military deployments, what is the function of UN other than to facilitate charades like the one you describe?
The function of the United Nations is – in my view – to be the conscience of the world.
It’s unfortunate that the U.N. was the product of an agreement between the colonial Masters – Britain and the United States…and as long as they were in control…things went swimmingly.
But when other nations – the non-aligned ones especially – became full members, the picture began to change.
The U.N. is failing because it is, like all other aspects of international politics, the rich and powerful against the poor and disenfranchised.
The real renegades on this planet are the U.S. (and its little canadian surrogate), Britain, Russia and China and any issue that affects any one of those bullies will be vetoed and/or destroyed.
punto final
Sadly, agree with both of you but no reason we shouldn’t do all we can to encourage any effort that gets us closer to truth, justice and peace. Perhaps something closer to South Africa’s truth and reconcilliation (ie – no hangings involved) would be better. I can’t help but cheer on people like Cynthia McKinney and this group out of Malaysia attempting to criminalize war itself – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgwbGt8jym4
http://www.criminalisewar.org/