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In New York this week, addressing the UN General Assembly, David Cameron said of Syria: “The blood of these young children is a terrible stain on the reputation of the United Nations.” This is too glib. The reputation that is being damaged is not that of the UN, but of the five permanent members of the Security Council: China, …
Kofi Annan, the UN special envoy to Syria, did not mince his words when the security council met yesterday. “If things do not change, the future is likely to be one of brutal repression, massacres, sectarian violence and
When Governments look to the UN it is usually because they have decided that they themselves cannot solve the conflict. This means that the UN starts, almost by definition, with an immensely difficult, often unsolvable, problem. Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary-General, in calling upon his predecessor Kofi Annan to deal with Syria, chose very wisely. …
Published in the Daily Mirror Friday, 18 March 2011
If you are watching the crises unfold throughout the Middle East, Britain’s approach might seem schizophrenic.
While the UK’s official response to crackdown in Libya was vocal against the Libyan authorities and in favour of the rebels, in Bahrain the response has been almost mute by comparison.
In part this is becauseof vested reasons Britain has deep interests in maintaining links …