ASEAN leaders stress multilateral diplomacy in talks with Annan
ASEAN leaders stress multilateral diplomacy in talks with Annan
P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse/New York
Leaders of southeast Asian nations, some of whom strongly opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, have underlined in talks with UN chief Kofi Annan the need to strengthen multilateral diplomacy.
"We expressed support for multilateralism with the United Nations at the core," read a joint statement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after a group meeting here on Tuesday.
ASEAN leaders gathered on the sidelines of the 60th anniversary of the UN's founding, as 170 world leaders prepared to kick off a landmark three-day summit expected to endorse a watered-down blueprint to restructure the embattled body.
The leaders of the 10 mostly developing ASEAN states backed Annan's efforts "in making the United Nations a more effective organization that will continue to underpin the multilateral system and to meet the challenges of the millennium," the statement added.
Some of the Southeast Asian leaders, while backing management reforms to bolster UN efficiency, cautioned against diluting the powers of the secretary general, officials said.
"We support reforms but . . . do not wish to diminish the role of the UN Secretary-General," a regional official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The association's predominantly Muslim nations -- Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei -- were among those opposed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
One UN reform proposal defining terrorism as deliberate killing of civilians was shelved after some developing nations insisted it be balanced by an explicit statement of the right to resist foreign occupation, the officials said.
The trade-off was an agreement to drop language exempting national liberation struggles, such as that of the Palestinians.
However, the right to self-determination of people under foreign occupation was included elsewhere in the text, the officials added.
"There was considerable debate on the language on terrorism and most of the discussion has been on how terrorism relates to the right of people to self determination," Indonesian government spokesman Marty Natalegawa told AFP.
"We will regret it very much if our concerns on terrorism lead to diluting of commitments by the international community to support the right of peoples to self determination," he said.
Marty said that even though Indonesia had faced terrorist attacks at home and maintained a "strong stand" against terrorism, it was mindful of civil liberties and understood the need to look at the root causes of terror.
ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong told AFP that ASEAN leaders supported proposed UN management reforms, but were especially pushing for improvements in "working methods" within the world body.
He cited the need, for example, for closer coordination between the United Nations and its specialized agencies, including in disaster management and prevention as well as control of diseases such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the Avian flu and HIV-AIDS.
On the avian or bird flu, which has killed at least 60 people in Southeast Asia, including 41 in Vietnam, the joint statement expressed concern over its "unprecedented spread."
Public health experts fear the avian flu virus is mutating and could spread to humans, potentially killing millions in a flu pandemic.
Annan and the ASEAN leaders agreed that "urgent steps" needed to be taken to implement local, regional and global initiatives -- including the private sector -- to reduce the present shortage of influenza vaccine.