Asia, Europe oppose unilateralism
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
The countries attending the Asia and Europe Meeting (ASEM) reaffirmed on Thursday their commitment to the multilateral approach to defusing international conflicts and the empowerment of the United Nations (UN) in resolving disputes.
At the end of the one-day ministerial meeting here on Thursday, the 25 member countries from the two continents reaffirmed the importance of respecting international law, including the UN Charter.
"On the new international situation, the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the multilateral approach in international relations and to strictly abide by the principles of international law, including the UN Charter," the chairman's statement said.
"In this regard the ministers underlined the central and vital role of the UN in the maintenance of peace and security, and the strengthening of international cooperation."
The recognition of the multilateral approach and of the UN's pivotal role by the ASEM countries came in response to the recent trend of unilateralism around the globe.
The attack on Iraq by the United States and its allies, and the establishment of a new Iraqi council without the involvement of the UN has continued to draw criticism from some parts of the world.
Many have expressed worries that unilateralism is threatening the relevance of the UN, which was established in 1945 to prevent future wars.
The international body and the global community has, however, been unable to do much to prevent acts of unilateralism, or even to keep the peace in conflict regions.
A consensus on mentioning multilateralism and the UN's role among the ASEM member countries was reached after a long debate during the senior officials' and ministerial meeting, which was also attended by the United Kingdom and Japan, close allies of the U.S.
Opened by Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Thursday, the ministerial meeting concluded that the multilateral approach should be the only way to deal with conflicts around the world.
The grouping also underlined the importance of the UN role in building a new Iraq after the U.S.-led attack toppled long-time ruler Saddam Hussein earlier this year.
"On the Iraq post-war arrangement, the ministers reaffirmed their support for the vital role of the United Nations in the reconstruction and development of Iraq in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Iraq," the ministers agreed.
The grouping also stressed the importance of quickly restoring peace and security in Iraq for the sake of the Iraqi people.
To address the North Korean nuclear crisis, the ASEM member countries agreed that the stand-off should be resolved through dialog and should be followed by denuclearization on the part of Pyongyang.
"The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue through dialog and negotiation would contribute to peace and stability in the region and beyond," the statement said.
To support its stance, ASEM also issued a separate document on weapons of mass destruction, which underlined the importance of disarmament in respect of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction in the world.
The document also underlined that agreements on the non- proliferation of nuclear weapons needed to be fully complied with by all member states.
On the enlargement issue, the ministers decided to discuss this at the ASEM summit next year in Hanoi, as the European countries persisted with their stance of reserving the right to exclude Myanmar due to the current situation in that country.
Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini, as the president of the EU, proposed a separate meeting in October to further discuss the enlargement of ASEM.