Global citizens want to see United Nations supported with real commitment, says President Michael D. Higgins
Date: Thu 11th Aug, 2016 | 12:04
11 August 2016
In a statement today, President Michael D. Higgins suggested that the United Nations were being undermined and prevented from living up to the expectations that members of the public hold, and from taking the steps necessary for an effective response to the conflict in Syria.
The President was commenting on recent reports, including some sent to him from those who are providing medical assistance under conditions of bombardment in the city of Aleppo.
“Among all those I have spoken to there is a deep dismay at what appears to be the endless and unremitting human suffering in the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo.
Members of the public the world over are particularly outraged at the deliberate and unacceptable attacks on hospitals and health clinics and the reported violations of international and humanitarian law.
Heads of State must be concerned at the failure of diplomacy that these events represent. The presence of the threat of war as a lead instrument in the international relations discourse of the most powerful nations constitutes a great failure for all humanity. We are living with the defeat of our best instincts and its instrument, the United Nations.
Building an enduring peace requires not only support for the United Nations but a realistic, effective and morally informed multilateral architecture.
Next month, members of the United Nations will meet in New York to select a new Secretary-General. It must be a concern to us all that this meeting will take place in a context of this apparent failure of the international community to anticipate and prevent violent conflict and to protect the civilian population of Syria.
While significant achievements can be pointed to in relation to sustainable development and responding to climate change, the forthcoming meeting in New York has to address these appalling continuing threats to humanity as a matter of urgency.”