Annan: UN at crossroads

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, September 24, 2003

Annan: UN at crossroads

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United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday told world leaders that the split at the UN over the war in Iraq which went without UN backing has brought the world body to a crossroads that could determine its fate.

Opening the general debate of the 58th session of the UN General Assembly this morning, Annan said, "We have come to a fork in the road. This may be a moment no less decisive than 1945 itself, when the United Nations was founded."

"The last 12 months have been painful for those of us who believe in collective answers to our common problems and challenges," Annan said.

"Now we must decide whether it is possible to continue on the basis agreed then, or whether radical changes are needed," he said.

Annan said, "We must not shy away from questions about the adequacy, and effectiveness of the rules and instruments at our disposal."

The UN chief also said the doctrine of preemptive action posed a fundamental challenge to the principles on which world peace and stability have rested for the past 58 years since the UN was founded.

"This logic represents a fundamental challenge to the principles on which, however, imperfectly, world peace and stability have rested for the last 58 years," Annan said.

He said the UN Charter allows states to defend itself if attacked. "But until now it has been understood that when states go beyond that, and decide to use force to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, they need the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations."

"Now, some say this understanding is no longer tenable, since an 'armed attack' with weapons of mass destruction could be launched at any time, without warning, or by a clandestine group," he said.

"Rather than wait for that to happen, they argue, states have the right and obligation to use force preemptively, even on the territory of other states, and even while weapons systems that might be used to attack them are still be developed," Annan said.

He questioned this argument, saying, "My concern is that, if it were to be adopted, it could set precedents that resulted in a proliferation of the unilateral and lawless use of force, with or without credible justification."

But he also said it is not enough to denounce unilateralism. The international community must show that those concerns which drive some states to take unilateral action can and will be addressed effectively through collective action.

In his speech, Annan urged all nations to put aside their views on events surrounding the Iraq war and unite to ensure that the result is a stable and democratic nation "at peace with itself and with its neighbors."

"Let me reaffirm the great importance I attach to a successful outcome in Iraq. Whatever view each of us may take of the events of recent months, it is vital for all of us that the outcome is a stable and democratic Iraq, at peace with itself and with its neighbors, and contributing to stability in the region," Annan told world leaders at the start of the general debate of the 58th session of the UN General Assembly.

The UN chief called on world nations to take "the extra time and patience" to reach a coherent and workable consensus on Iraq.

"Subject to security considerations, the United Nations system is prepared to play its full part in working for a satisfactory outcome in Iraq, and to do so as part of an effort by the whole international community," Annan said.

He also said he intends to establish a high-level panel of eminent personalities, to examine current challenges to peace and security, consider the contribution which collective action can make in addressing these challenges, review the functioning of the major organs of the United Nations and recommend ways of strengthening the world body.

He urged world leaders to seek agreement on ways of improving the United Nations, "but above all of using it as its founders intended -- to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, to establish the basic conditions for justice and the rule law, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom."

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