Five Lessons I learnt

Transcription

1 Five Lessons I learnt Based on Mr. Kofi Annan s (Secretary-General of the United Nations) address at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library, Independence, Missouri, 11 December 2006

2 Lesson 1 In today s world, the security of everyone of us is linked to that of everyone else.

3 President Truman Understood that security for some could never again come or be achieved at the price of insecurity for others Determined to prevent, if human mind, heart ands hope can prevent it, the repetition of the disaster (meaning the world war) from which the entire world will suffer for years to come Insisted on bringing the issue to the United Nations and placing US troops under he UN flag when faced with North Korean aggression

4 In our open world today Deadly weapons obtained not only by rogue states but by extremist groups SARS or avian flu carried across oceans in a matter of hours Failed states in Asia or Africa havens for terrorists Climate change effecting the lives of everyone

5 Nations Cannot make themselves secure by seeking supremacy over all others Share responsibilities for each other s security Must make each other secure to achieve lasting security for themselves Be ready to come to each other s aid when attacked Must also protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity Should not use national sovereignty as a shield for massacring their own people or as an excuse for doing nothing when heinous crimes committed

6 If we should pay mere lip service to inspiring ideals, and later do violence to simple justice, we would draw down upon us the bitter wrath of generations yet unborn.

7 Responsibility to protect High-sounding doctrine In the case of Darfur, have not gone far beyond lip service Remains pure rhetoric unless those with the power to intervene effectively though political, economic or military means prepared to take action

8 Our Responsibility To preserve resources that belong to future generations as well as to our contemporaries Must do much more, and urgently, to prevent or slow down climate change The earth is not ours but something we hold in trust for future generations.

9 Lesson 2 We are not only responsible for each other s security, we are also, in some measure, responsible for each other s welfare. Global solidarity is both necessary and possible.

10 Global Solidarity Without it, no society can be truly stable and no one s prosperity truly secure Applies to national societies in the 20 th century as well as to the integrated global market economy of the 21 st century Some people cannot continue to derive great benefits from globalization while billion others left in abject poverty Fellow citizens in each nation and in the global community must share in the prosperity

11 2000 UN Millennium Summit Adopted a set of 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be reached by 2015 Efforts by governments and people in poor countries critical Richer countries too has a vital role to play through debt relief and increased foreign aid

12 Improving the chances of poor countries Foreign aid itself not enough Market access, fair terms of trade and nondiscriminator financial system equally vital Doha Round of trade negotiations US must put broader national interest above that of some powerful sectional lobbies and challenge Europe and the large developing countries to do the same

13 Lesson 3 Both security and development ultimately depend on respect for human rights and the rule of law.

14 The divided world Increasingly interdependent but divided by: Economics, Religion and, Culture Enriched by diversity Must stress what unite us: our common humanity, and our shared belief that human dignity and rights should be protected by law.

15 Development Promoted when the basic rights of foreign investors and own citizens protected and they feel confident of fair treatment under law Favourable policies more likely to be adopted if the voices of people most in need of development are heard

16 Human Rights and the rule of law Vital to global security and prosperity We must, once and for all, prove by our acts conclusively that Right Has Might Truman No community anywhere suffers from too much rule of law; many do suffer from too little, including the international community US must remain true to its principles, including in its struggle against terrorism

17 Nation States Need to play by the rules towards each other, as well as towards its own citizens Can sometimes be inconvenient What matters is not convenience but doing the right thing Cannot make its own actions legitimate in the eyes of others When military power is used, it must be used for the right purpose, for broadly shared aims, in accordance with broadly accepted norms

18 United States An example of democracy, in which everyone., including the post powerful, is subject to legal restraints Has a priceless opportunity to entrench the same principles at the global level We all have to recognize, no matter how great our strength, that we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we please. Truman

19 Lesson 4 Governments must be accountable for their actions in the international arena, as well as in the domestic one.

20 Accountability of states Actions of one state have a decisive effect on other states Highly skewed Poor and weak countries easily held to account because they need foreign assistance Large and powerful countries can only be constrained by their own people, working through domestic institutions

21 Non-State Actors Commercial corporations, charities and pressure groups, labour unions, philanthropic foundations, universities and think tank In powerful nation states has a special responsibility Capacity to influence political processes on the international as well as the national level States cannot confront global challenges alone Examples UN Global Compact with international business Worldwide fight against polio UN, the US Centers for Disease Control and Rotary International

22 Summary of four lessons 1. We are all responsible for each other s security 2. We can and must give everyone a chance to benefit from global prosperity 3. Both security and prosperity depend on human rights and the rule of law 4. States must be accountable to each other, and to a broad range of non-state actors, in their international conduct

23 Lesson 5 We can only do all these things by working through a multilateral system and making use of the unique instrument the United Nations.

24 Multilateral Institutions State can hold each other to account Must be organize in a fair and democratic way giving the poor and weak some influence over the rich and strong especially the IFIs IMF and the World Bank Developing countries should have a stronger voice in the IMF and the WB and also in the UN Security Council

25 UN Security Council Membership reflects the reality of 1945, not of today s world Not another stage to act out national interests A management committee of the collective security system

26 UN Security Council Reform Involves two separate issues 1. New members should be added on a permanent or long-term basis to give greater representation 2. Major powers members must accept the special responsibility that comes from the privilege The responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world. Truman

27 Five Lessons ~ Five Principles Collective security Global solidarity The rule of law Mutual accountability, and Multilaterism