UN role in Iraq needed more than ever<\/p>\n
Desra Percaya, Diplomat, Indonesian Mission
\nto the United Nations, New York<\/p>\n
The primary responsibility of the United Nations (UN), as
\nunderlined in its Charter, is maintaining international peace and
\nsecurity. Despite its many successes, the organization has also
\nhad its failures. The reasons for these setbacks and the
\nattendant, unprecedented criticisms of the UN have ranged from
\nits hegemony by the major powers to its inability to resolve
\nconflicts peacefully in various parts of the world.<\/p>\n
The post-Cold War era offered a favorable environment
\nconducive to the political settlement of most conflicts that were
\naided and abetted by the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. Their
\nproxy wars in Africa, Asia and Latin America were coming to an
\nend along with their military and ideological competition.<\/p>\n
The concept of a New World Order soon followed. Although its
\ncontours were not precisely defined at that time, it was
\ngenerally understood as a world in which all nations would be
\nassured of greater equality and justice and an equal voice in
\ndecision-making on issues of concern and interest. However, by
\nany yardstick and for all practical purposes, the U.S. emerged as
\nthe sole super power on the global scene, given its massive
\nmilitary power and economic clout.<\/p>\n
It was at this critical juncture that the first Gulf War broke
\nout in 1991. The UN Security Council was united in authorizing
\nthe coalition forces, led by the U.S., to repel Iraq's invasion
\nof Kuwait. Events soon made it clear that it was a coalition of
\nconvenience, as the unity among major powers began to crack when
\nthe perceived common enemy was defeated. Consequently, the end of
\nthe Cold War has created more instability in the revival of
\ntraditional, historical sources of tension and international
\nconflict.<\/p>\n
The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. changed the
\ninternational landscape almost overnight, and combating
\ninternational terrorism has become the dominant issue on the
\nglobal agenda. Sympathizing with the U.S. for its human losses
\nand material devastation, an unprecedented unity among nations
\nbegan to prevail in working with the U.S. to eliminate the threat
\nof terrorism.<\/p>\n
The focus was eventually directed at uprooting terrorist
\nelements from Afghanistan, particularly the Taliban and al-Qaeda,
\nas well as Osama bin Laden's associates. In this effort, the role
\nof the Security Council was also significantly strengthened
\nthrough the creation of new mechanisms, namely the Counter-
\nTerrorism Committee and the Sanction Committee.<\/p>\n
While endeavors to finish the task in Afghanistan are still
\nongoing, the Iraq issue resurfaced in 2002, this time with the
\nspotlight on its alleged development and acquisition of weapons
\nof mass destruction (WMD). The U.S.' insistence that Saddam
\nHussein possessed WMD and its impatience as the United Nations
\nMonitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC)
\ncompleted its work tested the UN for months.<\/p>\n
Because the U.S.' attempts to legitimize its policy through
\nthe Security Council did not bring a positive response from other
\nmajor powers, the U.S., with the full backing of the UK, finally
\nlaunched a unilateral attack on Iraq, followed by the ousting of
\nSaddam Hussein's regime. This unilateral action deeply undermined
\nthe credibility and authority of the UN.<\/p>\n
Many UN member states raised severe criticisms of Washington's
\nsecond war on Iraq for at least three reasons: First, UN
\ninspectors did not find any WMD in Iraq; second, the unilateral
\nattack was illegal, as it ignored the competence of the UN; and
\nthird, the attack was primarily political in its motivation of
\nchanging the Iraqi regime rather than to find and dismantle WMD,
\nthe claims of which have been proven false even by American
\ninspectors.<\/p>\n
While winning some key battles, the U.S. is still far from
\nwinning the war. A daily report of U.S. soldiers killed and
\nwounded has forced the Bush administration to think hard and
\nreassess its policy on its continuing occupation of Iraq.
\nRebuilding Iraq seems to be much more difficult than occupying
\nit, particularly without the support of the UN, which had
\nwithdrawn its staff after the tragic killing of the Secretary-
\nGeneral's Representative, Sergio de Mello, in August last year.<\/p>\n
The return to peace and stability a doubtful prospect in Iraq,
\ncombined with the imminent U.S. presidential election in
\nNovember, the Bush administration has been compelled to
\naccelerate the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqis by June 30.<\/p>\n
This was arranged in the signing of the Nov. 15, 2003
\nagreement between the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and
\nthe Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), and it was initially expected
\nthat a general election could be held before that date. However,
\nproblems soon arose over the choice of caucus-style elections
\nproposed by the U.S., which opposed the majority Shia that called
\nfor direct elections.<\/p>\n
Responding to a request from the IGC and the CPA, the UN
\nSecretary-General dispatched a fact-finding mission to Iraq this
\nyear from Feb. 6 to Feb. 13, led by respected and experienced
\ndiplomat Lakhdar Brahimi. The ensuing report, publicized on Feb.
\n23, illustrates the overwhelming complexity and difficulty of
\nrebuilding Iraq.<\/p>\n
The report suggests that, among other things, credible
\nelections cannot take place by June 30, as substantial
\npreparations are needed. It also underlines that, in the case
\nthat political agreement on the legal framework is secured by May
\nand provided that other conditions are met, elections could be
\nheld by the end of 2004 or shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n
Indeed, holding elections according to the original plan could
\nbring more problems than solutions to an already divided society
\nthat has long been under an undemocratic regime. Broad support
\nand cooperation from a wide range of factions in Iraq is a
\nprerequisite for smooth, credible elections, to which end the
\noccupying power is simply lacking in capability and capacity.<\/p>\n
An election is not a panacea to the problems in Iraq, as it is
\nrather a process to establish democratic governance based on the
\nrule of law. There are other pressing issues to be resolved, as
\nstated by the Secretary-General in his letter to the Security
\nCouncil, such as the choice of a transitional mechanism that
\nwould enjoy the broadest support among Iraqi constituencies and
\nhow to implement such a mechanism.<\/p>\n
This is certainly the area in which the UN could help the
\nIraqi people to regain their sovereignty and build a peaceful and
\nstable country. The UN has all the necessary attributes, such as
\nexperience, expertise and credibility. In fact, the report of the
\nUN fact-mission to Iraq has also offered a complete road map
\ntowards returning the sovereignty, unity and integrity of Iraq.<\/p>\n
Hence, it has become obvious that only the UN could assume a
\nvital role and guide the Iraqis to become masters of their own
\nfuture. Nevertheless, the Secretary-General has pointed out
\nrightly that a precondition for the UN to succeed in Iraq is the
\nclear and unambiguous support of a united Security Council and
\nthe establishment of a secure environment.<\/p>\n
Finally, the latest developments regarding Iraq have proven
\nonce again that no matter how strong and big a country, it cannot
\ngo it alone in maintaining international peace and security.<\/p>\n
Unilateralism belongs to a bygone era; multilateral
\ncooperation has become a basic principle of international
\nrelations that can no longer be sidelined.<\/p>\n
The UN, as the embodiment of multilateralism, has an
\nundeniable and central role than ever before in rebuilding Iraq.<\/p>\n
The views expressed above are those of the writer and do not
\nin any way reflect the position of the Government of Indonesia.<\/p>",
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