Sunday Times 2
UN a ghost town without a single world leader in sight
The UN Security Council in session, with a virtually empty chamber and speeches via video conferencing due to the coronavirus lockdown
When the United Nations celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1995, every head of state visiting New York for the General Assembly sessions decided to stay behind to participate in celebrations later that week– but with one exception.
The then Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad — one of the most outspoken world leaders known to relentlessly accuse the big powers of manipulating the organisation to their advantage — decided to skip the high-level event where speakers were allocated five minutes to speak about the political virtues and the glorious successes of the UN – even as the world body at that time was mired in failures in three hotspots: Bosnia, Somalia and Rwanda.
Asked why he was skipping the much-ballyhooed event, Mahathir told reporters rather sarcastically: “In five minutes, you only have time to say how good things are. I am not good at saying how good things are, when things are bad.”
Mahathir, who at 94 made a political comeback as Prime Minister, May 2018-March 2020, said he was mindful of the “touching concern on the part of the West over human rights,” but when the West manipulates economic sanctions causing millions of people to suffer, their rights are not considered human.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is currently presiding over a world body, which has remained locked-down since last March because of the spreading coronavirus pandemic, with more than 3,000 staffers working mostly from home.
“In a world turned upside down, this General Assembly Hall is among the strangest sights of all,” said Guterres last month, describing the venue of the UN’s highest policy-making body.
At its 75th anniversary in mid-September, the UN resembled a ghost town, with not a single world leader in sight. But an overwhelming majority did address the UN—remotely via video conferencing, for the first time in the history of the 193-member Organization.
Still, the United States was notoriously missing in action (MIA). It was like staging Hamlet (in this instance) without a diabolical Prince of Denmark.
The US, which is traditionally given pride of place as host country to the UN, was not represented either by the President, the Secretary of State or the Permanent Representative to the UN (in that pecking order). The designated speaker for the commemorative meeting was a deputy US Permanent Representative—way done the political hierarchy.
Vijay Prashad, Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, told IPS the United States stands almost alone in its disdain for the UN and for the goals of the UN Charter of 1945.
Disrespect to the UN at the 75th anniversary meeting comes alongside US withdrawal or pledges to withdraw from UNESCO, UNICEF, UNRWA, and the WHO.
Keep in mind, he said, that the US government has sanctioned senior members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), while US unilateral sanctions against countries such as Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela are a violation of international law.
There is no surprise that no senior official came for the anniversary meeting; in fact, it is to be expected, he added.
The United Nations remains one of the most important institutions committed to international peace and development, declared Prashad, author of thirty books, including Washington Bullets, Red Star Over the Third World, The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World and The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South.
During the annual high-level debates at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), world leaders were usually limited to speak mostly within a 15-minute time frame. And there were occasions when a red light kept flashing, if the speaker exceeded the time limit.
But Sri Lanka’s then President Ranasinghe Premadasa apparently came prepared: no sooner the light started flashing, he covered it with his handkerchief and continued with his speech.
However, years later, Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro, known for his legendary mile-long speeches, went one better. As he walked up to the lectern, the first thing he did was to pull out his handkerchief and cover the light pre-empting it from flashing — triggering loud laughter among delegates.
Still, there are at least 5 well-known (or “notorious?”) world political leaders who did not ever address UNGA or even step into the UN, including President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Presidents Hafez al Assad and his son Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Kim il Sung and his grandson Kim Jong- un of North Korea and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
During the anniversary meeting last month, the entire proceedings took place via video conferencing — and with no in-person speakers due to the coronavirus lockdown at the UN – the speakers faced no restrictions in exceeding that time limit. Still, Bashar al-Assad and Kim Jong-un, current heads of state, opted out of the UN.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s Hassan al-Bashir, accused of war crimes, was refused a US visa to attend the high-level segment of the General Assembly sessions back in September 2013—perhaps one of the few or only head of government who was barred from attending a UN session.
Until last week, the US had imposed sanctions on Sudan labeling it “a state sponsor of terrorism”. The sanctions were lifted in return for diplomatic relations with Israel, among other demands. The only three countries still on the US list are North Korea, Syria and Iran.
A Sudanese delegate told the UN’s Legal Committee that “the democratically-elected president of Sudan had been deprived of the opportunity to participate in the General Assembly because the host country, the United States, had denied him a visa, in violation of the U.N.-U.S. Headquarters Agreement.”
And then there was the firebrand President of Venezuela, the late Hugo Chavez, who used the General Assembly to launch an attack on then US President George W. Bush.
In a rare personal attack from the podium, Chavez said: “The devil came here yesterday, right here. It still smells of sulphur today. Yesterday on this rostrum the President of the United States, whom I refer to as the devil, talked as if he owned the world.”
Bush now looks like a saint compared to the devilish antics of Trump.