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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam Citron who wrote (68518)	3/11/2003 10:33:29 PM
From: Fred Levine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Sam--Here's from the UN Charter: The Purposes of the United Nations are: 1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace; 2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace; 3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and 4. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends. Perhaps I'm naive, but I read this as clearly encouraging peace, but the statement that:>>To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace<< to include genocide as as an act of aggression. Certainly, as stated in the Charter, peaceful methods are preferred. Given that peaceful methods fail, force is a viable alternative. "Take effective collective measures..." Also, Sam, international law and morality is basically a concept that followed WW II. Before WW II and the UN, the traditional establishment of borders included force--hence the changes in Alsace-Lorraine, etc. etc. International law had a slow beginning and both European and Asian boundries were determined by the victors. The USSR took Japanese Islands, france (re)took Alsace-Lorraine etc. etc. The notion of crimes against humanity essentially didn't exist. I like to think we, and the UN, are more advanced now. We were appalled and we did intervene in the Balkans and Rwanda. I wonder if we would intervene if oil contracts were threatened. Since we all agree that genocide is an atrocity, I cannot see sitting and waiting passively for morality to sink in. Genocide must be prevented, stopped, and punished and my reading of the UN Charter is that it is the duty of the UN to intervene and I condemn it for not doing so. As for your statement:"But I think it is facile to condemn the UN for not stopping it or to overly praise Bush for paying lip service to a cause that just happens to coincide with his own agenda." I know you cannot be referring to my overly praising Bush, since I think he only looks good in contrast to the indifference of the UN. In fact, kindly find one statement of mine even mildly praising Bush. I am sorry that you think it is facile to condemn the UN for not stopping genocide. I think it is fundamental for the UN to stop genocide. If you, and others, think that the UN is merely a forum, why then get exorcised when the forum is ignored by Bush. Forums have never had the ability to compel, merely to illuminate. If, however, you think the UN should approach having powers of law, then they must relate the law to morality and that mandates stopping genocide. I do think the UN, sadly, has acted like a forum. fred