Leaders Urge Bigger U.N. Role
World leaders nearing the end of a three-day summit urged the United Nations to play a bigger role on the world stage — in everything from the fight against terrorism to protecting immigrant rights to easing the crunch caused by high oil prices.
After the last speeches on Friday, the 191 U.N. member states will adopt a document that takes a step toward revamping the United Nations to meet the challenges of the 21st century and adds new impetus to the fight against poverty. But bitter disagreements meant most substantive measures had to be left out.
While those disagreements were playing out in the General Assembly chamber, attention was largely focused elsewhere: Iran's president said his country was willing to provide nuclear technology to other Muslim states. Arab-Israeli relations took another positive step. And a U.N. treaty to fight global corruption got its 30th ratification, triggering its entry into force in 90 days.
"This dream has become a reality," said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime.
Between news conferences by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and various nongovernmental organizations, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez scolded evangelist Pat Robertson for calling for his assassination and criticized the U.S. government for the Iraq war, which he called illegal.
Chavez suggested moving the United Nations headquarters to Jerusalem because President Bush attacked Saddam Hussein's government without U.N. authorization.
"The proposal has the merit of providing a response to the conflict experienced by Palestine, but it may be difficult to bring about," Chavez said in a speech that earned him the heartiest applause of the 80 leaders to speak so far.
If Chavez' fiery speech showed a disdain for the United States, it also showed his fondness for the United Nations, something many other leaders readily shared.
The president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, went further than most when she suggested the United Nations take the lead in easing the effects of high oil prices. She said it should study oil rationing and conservation, as well as consider initiatives to fuel engines with coconut oil and convert cane sugar to ethanol.
China's President Hu Jintao and Russia's President Vladimir Putin made clear they want the United Nations to help coordinate the fight against terrorism.
"The United Nations, as the core of the collective security mechanism, plays an irreplaceable role in international cooperation to ensure global security," Hu said. "Such a role can only be strengthened and must not in any way be weakened."
Those demands highlighted that, while Washington and others want serious reform before the U.N. tackles new challenges, the United Nations' image is still strong in much of the world.
Yet while many leaders extolled the world body, they also dwelt on their diplomats' failure to achieve eight goals to alleviate poverty and illness worldwide.
Leaders stressed repeatedly that more needs to be done toward progress on the Millennium Development Goals, though major differences remained on what to do, and who should pay.
Calls for U.N. Security Council reform also were a constant refrain. The demands came from both counties that want permanent seats on the council — including Brazil and Japan — as well as those that have no aspirations for full-time representation.
"The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan would like to emphasize the long-due needed reform of the Council, both in terms of its composition and working methods," Afghan Vice President Ahmad-Zia Massoud said.
And while several leaders made oblique references to the United States by saying no nation should act alone and outside the United Nations, the tone was far more sympathetic than after the Iraq war.
Speaker after speaker in the General Assembly expressed sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and offered the United States help recovering from the disaster.