A piece of white phosphorus burning at UNRWA's (UN Relief and Works Agency) primary school in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on January 24, 2009.
By: Kian Mokhtari
The above practice is one place where corruption becomes institutionalized at the earliest stage in societies worldwide. It may just be human nature to behave as such, however, laws are introduced to curb human excesses and prevent injustices.
But astonishingly the same principle has been carried over to govern the highest international body. The UN has a number of prefects in the form of the five nations with the right of veto at the Security Council. The five prefects have a number of pet nations who appear to be immune to international law.
Israel is the Western world’s most prominent pet in the current world order. The country’s ability to flaunt all international laws and conventions defies belief. Not only has Israel ignored dozens of UN resolutions to return Palestinian lands occupied since 1967, it continues to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank with complete immunity.
Israel stands out like a sore thumb again at a time when even the two top nuclear powers, the US and Russia, have opted to become signatories to the NPT and can legally be asked to reduce their nuclear arsenals. Israel has not signed the NPT, it steadfastly refuses to do so and possesses a terrifying array of nuclear weapons and ballistic delivery systems.
We live at an age when Bosnian Serb leaders accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity are located, extracted and brought to book before the International Criminal Court.
And yet Israel uses unconventional weapons against population centers in full view of the world media and has the nerve to scoff at the images of death and destruction caused by its actions.
Accountability is clearly amiss for certain nations at the highest international body. Instead of opting for a straight forward and just democratic majority vote system to decide on international concerns, the UN has a number of high school type bullies –with their pets- calling all the shots and attempting to create a world in their image.
The UN has to take account of all the local and regional concerns coupled with their ethnic and religious backgrounds in order to preserve flavor and diversity. Otherwise its list of endangered species will grow to include large numbers of human communities along with their cultures, beliefs and way of life.
A just international system must call for zero tolerance toward favoritism; there must be no illegal way out left for offenders.
The UN’s current procedure is woefully inadequate for world governance because it demands democratic due processes from all nations that are member states and yet it fails to implement democratic practices in its own workings.
This inadequacy continues to let the bullies literally get away with murder –because they can- and punishes the not so well connected for their aspirations.
The most successful human societies in today’s world are those that refuse to allow rank to determine destiny.
