UN gives warning to US and Britain

UK Telegraph ^ | April 8, 2003 | UK Telegraph

[FairOpinion]

United Nations chiefs have warned America and Britain today that Iraq is not a "treasure chest to be divvied up" after the war.

UN under-secretary general Shashi Tharoor said the Allies had no rights under international law to engage in any kind of reconstruction or creation of government without the express consent of the Security Council.

Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to meet Tony Blair and other European leaders this week to hear what they will agree to on post-conflict Iraq.

Mr Annan will be in "listening mode" but will not be advertising the UN's services for tackling Iraq, something which could eventually be a "poisoned chalice", his right-hand man said.

But referring to the US and Britain, Mr Tharoor said this should not be a case of "people dividing up the spoils of a conquest that they undertook".

Mr Blair has reiterated his desire to see the UN play a role in post-war Iraq, but it is not clear how great he and President George Bush want that to be.

Mr Blair said Iraq should ultimately be run by the Iraqi people themselves. However, there is speculation that the US and Britain want to oversee administration in Baghdad in the initial phase after the war.

Mr Tharoor told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "The only thing that matters ultimately is the right of the Iraqi people to determine their own future, to control their own natural resources and to determine their own destinies.

"What the UN can do is to play a part in bringing that about. But that is the ultimate goal and certainly the UN has no desire whatsoever to see Iraq as some sort of treasure chest to be divvied up."

Under the Geneva Conventions, the Allies have the rights and responsibilities of any occupying power, including the responsibility to look after the territory, law and order, security and the welfare of the people on that territory.

"But that's about it," Mr Tharoor said. "They really have no rights under the Geneva Conventions to transform the society or the polity or to exploit its economic resources or anything of that sort.

"If they need to do more they need to come to the Security Council to get the backing of international law for anything more ambitious than merely being an occupying power in the military sense.

"Let's not forget that Iraq is already subject to a number of Security Council resolutions that remain valid."

Sanctions on Iraq had to be actively lifted, Mr Tharoor added.

"Anything the UN does would require a Security Council mandate, and that includes involvement in reconstruction, involvement in any aspects of governance or civil administration."

On his tour of Europe this week, Mr Annan would like to "get a sense from his point of view as to what he can expect to find himself and his organisation saddled with at the end of a Security Council process that hasn't yet begun", Mr Tharoor said.

If the US went ahead with an interim administration without Security Council backing, there would be "real difficulty in the extent to which other countries would be prepared to recognise this group as anything other than an offshoot or a branch of the military occupation in Iraq".

He added: "The UN is not the kind of private corporation that needs to increase its market share. We have quite enough to do elsewhere in the world and on other issues.

"We are certainly not seeking this assignment which in many cases, I think many aspects, of it would certainly be like drinking from a poisoned chalice."

Tony Baldry, Conservative chairman of the International Development Select Committee, told Today: "At the very least we (the committee) think it's essential that humanitarian organisations are seen as operating under the mandate of the United Nations rather than as reporting to one of the combatants."

[11B3]

There's no way in hell that the President is going to actually take this crap from these losers. They louder they whine, the less chance they have of being relevant to anyone in the US. Just because they say that they matter doesn't mean it is so.

We built Germany and Japan after WWII, and the UN didn't even exist then. I'd say we've got a better track record than the UN by far.

[KingPin]

LOL. This article is funny!

[RightWhale]

UN under-secretary general Shashi Tharoor said the Allies had no rights under international law to engage in any kind of reconstruction or creation of government without the express consent of the Security Council.

This is irrelevant. There is no controlling legal authority. Ask Algore, he knows about these matters.

[legman]

Hahahahahaha!

1) How do you spell Veto?

2) We're there, they aren't.

3) What are they going to threaten us with? Hans Blix?

4) What was the last resolution passed by the U.N. that actually had teeth?

5) LOL

[mtbopfuyn]

Kofi needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

[fellowpatriot]

What are they gonna do - inspect us to death?

[Luna]

"What the UN can do is to play a part in bringing that about.

What the UN can do is take flying leap. Like yesterday.

[11B3]

They "drank out of a poisoned chalice" back when they failed to do their job with Iraq's initial 17 Security Council resolutions. They're useless. I'd bet that the 39 other nations who are with us on Iraq would recognize ANY government that we put in place.

All those various jobs that this jerk is alluding to are funded by whom? That's right. US.

I don't know who irritates me more, Koffi and his butt buddies or Clinton and their disciples of sleaze.

[shotgun]

the one and only word that the US ambassador or Sec. Colin Powell should use from this point forward shoulb be VETO.

A good example would be:

Reporter's question "Mr. Sec., the french is propo..."

Powell interupts and answers "The US reserves the right to VETO any action taken by the UN Security Council, so let them eat cake."

[Arkie2]

"Let's not forget that Iraq is already subject to a number of Security Council resolutions that remain valid."


After reading this laugh line I have to agree.

[Southack]

"The UN is desperately arguing that they're relevant, dammit, relevant!"

It took the UN 7 weeks to debate, consider, compromise, and finally pass a single resolution (1441) on Iraq.

But now that the UN has finally figured out that it has left itself out of the most pressing international issue of the moment, it takes scant seconds for the UN to issue statement after statement on Iraq.

Well, let them talk. It's what they seem to do best.

Also, I don't remember the UN being very concerned about whatever government the U.S. set up in postwar Afghanistan last year, or even in postwar Germany circa 1946.

But now all of a sudden, they sure seem interested in having a hand in shaping postwar Iraq, and it isn't even "postwar" yet...

[SirAllen]

*bird* UN

[Oldeconomybuyer]

I-R-R-E-L-E-V-A-N-T

[Roughneck]

The U.N. cant do sqwat without US financial support.

The UN (whats left of it) does not even have their own clubhouse so they must take up space on prime real estate in New York.


Lets kick them out - soon.

[finnman69]

HEY KOFI, don't you have bigger things to worry about, like the 1000's getting massacred in the Congo?

Oh that's right, the UN is a joke.

[kpp_kpp]

i nominate baghdad bob for next secretary general of the U.N. he'd fit right in... "The U.N. is legitimate and relevant... Of course we promote human rights equally among all nations..."

[ARCADIA]

United Nations chiefs have warned America and Britain today

It's just so much intestinal gas from the decomposing corpse of the UN.

[eleni121]

Hey Kofi---Bottom line: You better start worrying about the US "Street"! Lots of US Americans in the "street" are fed up with UN high falootin high living and high lies of the United Nitwits.

If the UN wants to stay solvent they can play a distribution role just like the victorious President said they could. That's about it.

[Mr. K]

Can you picture W listening to anything by a guy names 'Sashi'...?

I think they better shut up before they Pi$$ W off...

[legman]

the one and only word that the US ambassador or Sec. Colin Powell should use from this point forward shoulb be VETO.

See what you started, France?