The Continuing Double Standard Will Lead the UN to a Sad End

The Continuing Double Standard Will Lead the UN to a Sad End Free Kashmir No Indian Army PAKISTAN – USA FREEDOM FORUM 82-44 243 St., Bellerose, NY 11426 Tel (718) 343-1653 or (718) 763-3543 E-mail: pakusaff@hotmail.com Stop Dividing Families End the Raids and Deportations Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, the 7th largest country in the world and first woman president of that country, postponed her state visit to the United States. This was in protest against the U.S. superpower snooping on people not only in her country but all over the world, as revealed by former NSA and CIA employee Edward Snowden. She reminded the[69th sesstion ,23-27 Sep ] United Nations General Assembly that under the UN Charter, every country is sovereign, regardless of its size, the amount of its contribution to the UN budget or how many weapons it has. It is important for the General Assembly to gather the courage to stand up to the big donor countries, and to take a stand for equality of all countries, particularly this year where the theme of the gathering is “Maintenance of International Peace and Security.” In the General Assembly, each member country has one vote, regardless of size. But it is rare that it has voted to censure the U.S., the Western colonial powers or Israel for their attacks on the sovereignty of other countries. Where was the criticism of the attacks on Afghanistan, on Iraq or on Libya? It must take a position against the U.S.’s use of drone attacks, torture, rendition, the establishment of bases in other countries, such as Abu Ghraib in Iraq, Bagram in Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, all of which have been used to torture people who have never been convicted of any crime. Where is the criticism of the U.S. that, under cover of the “war on drugs,” sells weapons to the governments of Mexico and Colombia, which use them against their own people, providing huge profits to the U.S. arms industry? At best, The General Assembly has taken positions against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank of Palestine, or against the U.S. embargo of Cuba, but it must do much more. Of course, even the progressive positions that the General Assembly has taken have no practical consequences, because only the UN Security Council has enforcement provisions. These have been used by the U.S. superpower against the sovereignty of other countries, beginning with the U.S. attack on Korea in 1950 carried out under the cover of the UN flag, to the invasion of Iraq when U.S. Secretary of State lied to the Security Council about Iraq having “weapons of mass destruction,” to the UN occupation of Haiti in 2004 with the establishment of MINUSTAH (and ironically Brazil is the country that has provided the most occupation troops), to the 2011 invasion of Libya carried out with a Security Council resolution. All of these resolutions in fact went against the express provisions of the UN Charter, which only allow UN intervention in the case of the direct invasion of one country by another. Clearly it was the United States itself that was the main violator of these provisions, without even a criticism by the General Assembly. And it is the U.S. that pushed the military to carry out their coup in Egypt, and has been threatening to use force against Syria. The General Assembly can only bring back a measure of respect for the United Nations if it has the courage to denounce the Western powers for the harm that they do to the economies of the dependent and even small European countries (such as Greece), particularly through the IMF and other supra-national institutions. It should call for the creation of a special fund, paid for by the Western powers, to aid these countries, and call for their respect for international law, for brotherhood and the Geneva Convention. In this way, the UN would not only be a tool of these powers, but could regain respect from the world’s people. We also would like to praise what has been done by UN workers, especially the youth, in helping to provide medical programs, aid to agriculture, campaigns against illiteracy, etc., which are respected by people the world over. Pakistan USA Freedom Forum demands that the U.S. close Guantanamo Bay and provide easy access to all detainees. Those who have lied to the UN should be barred from speaking to it, and those countries, such as the U.S., countries of the EU, Israel and India, that have refused to carry out UN resolutions should be censured. The UN should establish a timetable to put an end to the occupations, such as those of Kashmir, Palestine and Somalia, to comply with its resolutions. By 2030 the UN should establish educational programs so that governments should not base themselves on family rule, or rule by a minority, which makes it easy for the imperialist countries to use this as an excuse for intervention. clip_image002 clip_image004 clip_image006 Dr. Muhammad Shafique President Mr. Shahid Comrade General Secretary (917) 280-0840