On
Monday in Parliament I moved a motion stressing the superiority of collective
security through the United Nations over unilateral action. In my speech I drew
attention to the increasing level of global violence and asked the question,
why doesn't the United Nations do more to make civilians safe?
The
answer I gave was that the permanent members of the UN Security Council, who
have a veto power over UN action, are prepared to turn a blind eye to, to cover
up, the sins and misdeeds of their allies and supporters. I urged that we be
less fatalistic about the conduct of the big powers, and demand that they allow
the United Nations to do its job of protecting civilians.
I
therefore welcome the call by Amnesty International's Secretary-General, Salil
Shetty, in Amnesty's Annual Report for the UN Security Council to adopt a code
of conduct agreeing to voluntarily refrain from using the Veto in a way which
would block Security Council action in situations of genocide, war crimes and
crimes against humanity. The Secretary-General notes that such a step could
save many lives, and that the proposal is now backed by 40 governments. He said
the Security Council’s permanent members were using their power of veto to
“promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above the
interest of protecting civilians”.
Amnesty
International's 2014/15 Report documents a frightening catalogue of human
rights abuses and increasing global violence. It describes 2014 as a
devastating year for those seeking to stand up for human rights, and those
caught up in war zones. It's findings are consistent with those of the
Institute for Economics and Peace, which found that since 2000 there has been a
five-fold increase in the number of people killed by terrorism.
We
can do better than this. The permanent members of the UN Security Council
should stop using their veto to try to gain strategic advantage for their
country, and start using the United Nations for the purpose for which it was
established - to protect civilians and prevent conflict.
The Hon. Kelvin Thomson
Federal Member for Wills
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