THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE CURRENT furore over Iraq's 'weapons of mass destruction' has once again shown the utter disdain that the United States has for the United Nations organisation.
In his zeal to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iraq, the bellicose America President, George W. Bush, has issued an ultimatum to the United Nations: "Enforce the Security Council Resolution against Iraq, or risk becoming irrelevant."
But what Mr. Bush has failed to realise is that the United States has already rendered the UN an irrelevant organisation. There is no doubt that this state of affairs has been brought about by the duplicity of his country's foreign policy.
October 25, 1971 will long be remembered as one of the most eventful days in the history of the United Nations. For on this day, Ambassadors of the Third World used their voting power in the General Assembly to make communist China a member of the world body of nations. And on this day, the US dominance in the UN ended.
It is no secret that the United States regarded the vote to admit communist China to the UN, and the subsequent rejoicing of Third World countries as a personal slap in the face. The US perceiving itself to be besieged by what was commonly referred to as the 'tyranny of the majority,' meaning Third World countries, fought back with the potent weapon of the purse-strings.
The withholding of funds from vital UN agencies such as the Population Fund, the reduction and withholding of payments to the world body, and the total withdrawal from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation) in 1984 were all purse-strings measures used to punish Third World countries for their recalcitrance.
From that historic moment on October 25, 1971 when the decisive vote was cast, the fragile UN started its precipitous slide into the abyss of despair and ineffectiveness. It was then quite evident that the world body of nations was rendered irrelevant by the US.
One only has to look at the supplanting of the UN by NATO during the military crisis in Kosovo to see the utter contempt that the US holds for the UN.
It is a sad, ironic tale that the nation responsible for the creation of the United Nations is also responsible for its irrelevance.
I am etc.,
RUPERT JOHNSON
r.b.johnson@sympatico.ca
Scarborough, Ontario
Canada, M1C 3M7
