DATE=7/20/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N-CONFLICT PREVENTION (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-264635
BYLINE=BRECK ARDERY
DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS
CONTENT=
INTRO: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
said today (Thursday) that the world organization must
become more involved in preventing armed conflicts
rather than just responding to them. VOA Correspondent
Breck Ardery reports from the United Nations.
TEXT: Speaking to the U-N Security Council, Mr. Annan
said that, in the last 10 years, more than five
million people have died in wars - mainly internal
ones. In places such as Kosovo, Sierra Leone and East
Timor, the United Nations is responding to the
devastation of those wars. But Mr. Annan believes the
world organization should pay more attention to
resolving conflicts before they erupt into shooting
wars.
He says such preventive action could include early
warning systems, preventive deployment of U-N troops
and sanctions. He cites recent research which
indicates that economic inequality combined with
ethnic hatreds often creates an explosive situation
within a country.
///Annan act///
It occurs when power and resources are unequally
distributed between groups that are also
differentiated in other ways, for instance by
race, religion or language. So-called "ethnic"
conflicts occur between groups which are
distinct in one or more of these ways, when one
of them feels it is being discriminated against,
or another enjoys privileges which it fears to
lose.
///end act///
Mr. Annan says the best long-term method of conflict
prevention is healthy and balanced economic
development.
///Rest opt///
United States representative James Cunningham told the
Security Council that the United Nations can not be
expected to prevent or resolve every conflict on its
own.
///Cunningham act///
To maximize effectiveness, we must augment our
use of the existing and capable resources
available, in particular the regional and sub-
regional groups in Africa, Europe, Asia and
Latin America that have successfully addressed
local crises and helped prevent the escalation
of violence.
///end act///
Other speakers, including China and Russia, said that
while conflict prevention is an important goal, the
United Nations must never take any steps that violate
national sovereignty.
At the end of the day-long meeting, the Security
Council issued a formal statement saying the Council
should be willing to authorize U-N missions to prevent
conflict but only with the consent of the host
country.(Signed)
NEB/UN/BA/LSF/ENE/PT
20-Jul-2000 17:21 PM EDT (20-Jul-2000 2121 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
