Boutros Ghali to Al-Ahram: UN is in a crisis

In an exclusive interview with Al-Ahram, Boutros Ghali, the prominent Egyptian politician, and former Secretary General of the United Nations and La Francophonie dealt with the present status of the United Nations that was subject to political and military attacks this year.

Excerpts:

ÊÊÊ * The United Nations undergoes a crisis, but it is not true to say that such crisis started on 11 September. In fact, the crisis started after the fall of "Berlin Wall" and the end of the cold war.

* At the time, the world transformed from the dual-polarism to the uni-polarism, but the diplomats and experts didn't notice such change.

* The world understood the existence of a real crisis after the September 11 incidents, especially that Kosovo represented a serious precedence, and the European countries striked Belgrade without a UN resolution.

* The UN was established in 1945 because the then US President Roosevelt believed in plurality, dialogue and mutual consultation between the countries. In other words, he believed in democracy.

* However, with the passage of years, and the end of the cold war, and collapse of the Soviet giant, there was no plurality any more, and it was replaced by the uni-polar system.

* Now after 50 years of the creation of the United Nations, and the end of the cold war, and the victory of the United States over the Soviet Union, the uni-power prevailed, due to the absence of the counter-power.

* The United States seeks plurality in Iraq on condition that such plurality be under the US command.

* The real plurality needs the existence of two factors:

ÊÊÊ (1) that the US President believes in the principle of plurality, just like President Wilson or President Roosevelt, and (2) the emergence of a new superpower like China or Russia or the European Union to make balance with the US power.

* For the time-being, and until the near future, the UN role will remain to be marginal.

* In all cases some reforms must be made to the United Nations, and there are three basis principles namely:

* The necessity of making reforms to the UN. The UN must be more democratic.

* The reform must start from the Security Council.