Debate on UN relevance gathers momentum

here at a time debate on the relevance of the world body to the geo-political demands of the prevailing uni-polar world gathers momentum. This is due to the routine manner the Western countries dismiss succes­sive United Nations General Assembly resolutions and disregard due process in their engagement with other UN member states.
For Zimbabwe, it marks the 11th straight year the General Assembly convenes with Zimbabwe reeling from an illegal economic sanctions regime the West imposed outside the purview of the United Nations system.

The absurdity of the sanctions regime and the West’s flagrant viola­tion of international law was manifest in the manner the US embassy in Harare once again denied ZBC chief correspondent Reuben Barwe a visa to cover the General Assembly despite the fact that the UN Headquarters is inter­national territory where the US sanc­tions regime shouldn’t have any force or effect.
More so, the visa denial which was also extended to this writer and other members of the delegation in recent years violates the UN Host Agreement that the United States signed with the UN on June 26, 1947, and which was approved by the General Assembly on October 31, 1947. Section 11 Article IV of the Host Agreement that deals with Communications and Transit of per­sons to the UN Headquarters stip­ulates that: “the federal, state or local authori­ties of the United States shall not impose any impediments to tran­sit to or from the headquarters district of (1) representatives of Members or officials of the United Nations, or of specialised agencies as defined in Arti­cle 57, para­graph 2, of the Charter, or the families of such representatives or officials; (2) experts performing mis­sions for the United Nations or for such specialised agencies; (3) repre­sentatives of the Press, or of radio, film or other infor­mation agencies, who have been accredited by the United Nations.”

Section 12 holds that, “the provi­sions of Section 11 shall be applicable irrespective of the relations existing between the governments of the per­sons referred to in that section and the Government of the United States,”  with Section 13(a) saying, “laws and regulations in force in the United States regarding the entry of aliens shall not be applied in such manner as to inter­fere with the privileges referred to in Section 11.

“When visas are required for per­sons referred to in that Section, they shall be granted without charge and as promptly as possible.”
Despite these clear stipulations of the Host Agree­ment, members of the Zimbabwean delegation are routinely harassed and selectively denied visas, a develop­ment that observers said bids the Gov­ernment to summon the US ambassa­dor in Harare to register its displeas­ure over the continued wanton viola­tion of international law by Washing­ton. Zimbabwe’s Permanent Mission here has since lodged its com­plaint with the Office of UN secretary gen­eral, Ban Ki-moon over Reuben Barwe’s case.

This year one of the figures that enthralled the grand debate with his antics and progressive voice, former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi will be missing, murdered in cold blood on October 20 last year dur­ing an illegal NATO invasion of Libya launched on the back of viola­tion of Security Council Resolution 1973 that was passed to impose a No-Fly Zone over Libya.
It remains to be seen if it will be busi­ness as usual in the General Assembly or whether the world body will have the scourge of its convictions in taking NATO members to account over the Libyan fiasco.

The 67th session also convenes at a time the Cuban embargo that has been condemned by successive UN resolu­tions over the past 21 years enters its 50th year next month.
The commercial, economic and financial embargo was imposed on Cuba in October 1960, almost two years after the US-backed Batista regime was deposed by the Cuban rev­olution led by Commandant Fidel Cas­tro, before being extended to a total embargo on February 7, 1962.

The General Assembly whose theme this year dwells on peaceful res­olution of international disputes is expected to be seized with the Syrian conflict and an efficient global co-ordinated response to terrorism are among other important issues.

Western-sponsored rebels are engaged in a bloody conflagration with the Assad government in Syria. The US and Europe are calling for sanctions against the Assad govern­ment as a prelude to invasion while Russia and China are resisting inter­vention.
Last month — a day after former UN chief Kofi Annan quit his post as special envoy to Syria — the General Assembly voted 133 to 12 to condemn the Security Council for failing to stem the Syrian crisis, and Mr Ban  slammed the Western powers for turning the conflict into a “proxy war”.

The Syrian crisis is expected to dom­inate debate along with the loom­ing showdown between the US and its proxy, Israel against Iran over the lat­ter’s civilian nuclear programme.  Pres­ident Mugabe is scheduled to address the General Assembly during the annual grand debate that begins on  September 25 and runs until Octo­ber 1.

And his address is always eagerly anticipated as he, along with Venezualan president Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, is one of the few leaders with the courage to call the global situation as he sees it.