World Forum on Democracy

PLENARY DISCUSSION

"NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY, HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION AND DEMOCRACY"

Tadeusz Mazowiecki: former Special Rapporteur to the Former Yugoslavia, UN Commission on Human Rights (Poland)

Internal conflicts are what now pose the greatest threat to Democracy. Bosnia was an example of all the possible mistakes that the international community could make: there was no defense of an internationally recognized state, flagrant human rights abuses took place, and yet the UN had a limited mandate and so was unable to intervene successfully to stop a grave tragedy from taking place.

World public opinion should endeavor to change the UN Human Rights Charter and extend it, so that intervention is sanctioned not only when peace is threatened, but also when human rights abuses and genocide are occurring.

Jose Ramos-Horta: 1996 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (East Timor)

We are an increasingly connected community of countries, and in this era of increasing globalization, no government will be able to hold diplomacy as its exclusive domain any longer. Public opinion is becoming an increasingly powerful force to contend with - East Timor is an illustration of this, since public opinion was a driving force behind the decision to intervene. As millions of bytes of information fly in every direction every hour, decisions will increasingly be shaped by the ability of the victims to convey their story through the media, including the internet. Thus, if authoritarian regimes wish to modernize and participate in the global community, by doing so they erode their own power.

The UN - which is over-stretched and under-funded - cannot continue to operate in the way it has been. If the international community continues to press the UN to pass resolutions, it must also support the UN financially.

Veton Surroi: Publisher, Koha Ditore (Kosova)

Sovereignty is not a given: it must be earned. It is not given in order to oppress people. The guiding principle behind whether or not to intervene must be that if the international community does not take a measure against genocide, they are aiding it: the intervention in Kosovo was a decision not to participate in what was taking place. Domestic laws against being an accomplice to murder are superior to the current laws of the Security Council. Something similar should be created for international relations.

The international community can make huge changes through war but has relatively little energy to do so once peace arrives. Long term stability will not be delivered in Kosovo by the presence of international forces: it is of utmost importance to look at stability in terms of restructuring society. What is needed in Kosovo for a stable future is the capacity to create law and order, a clear devolution strategy for the hand-over to local actors, and a clear policy regarding integration with the rest of Europe.

Discussion - Major points:

The international community can be driven by the media and not only by the facts, and the media does not care to look at the smaller more obscure countries in equal need, such as Azerbaijan.

Michel Rocard called for the panelists who have won attention and dignity through their experiences, to deliberate publicly on how the UN Charter might be amended to protect human rights abuses in the future: their experiences legitimize such a contribution. He echoed the opinion that "it is our duty to contribute financially to the UN".

Cornelio Sommaruga proposed that the WFD discuss whether the UN veto is acceptable, and noted that intervention should not take the form of military intervention if it can be avoided. Aryeh Neier noted that, while there are limitations to the UN Charter for human rights, some scholars of international law make the argument that the Genocide Convention obliges its signatories to prevent and to punish genocide. As a document, the Genocide Convention does not stand at a lower level in international law than the UN charter. Tadeuz Mazoweicki stated that he sustains his proposal to amend the UN charter, but to do so by using the Genocide Convention, specifying conditions where intervention would be possible and not blocked by a veto. He echoed the call for greater resources being granted to the UN.

Veton Surroi asked whether the time is right for regional organizations to be represented at the UN Security Council, and whether such organizations would be capable of taking part?