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| International-UN-NGOs |
| UN rotten says Australian diplomat |
| 2006-02-16 |
| A TOP Australian diplomat says the United Nations is rotten to the core and is mishandling the threat of nuclear weapons. Australia's ambassador to the United Nations John Dauth has returned to Canberra after four-and-a-half years in the role. Mr Dauth said that while bodies such as the UN's food program and children's fund UNICEF were working, the General Assembly was not. "The General Assembly is defunct," Mr Dauth said. "No debate there carries with it any practical action or decision or agreement or compromise. "And if the heart of the body, if the core of the apple, is rotten, eventually the rest of the apple will be rotten too." Mr Dauth said he was particularly concerned over the UN's mishandling of the issue of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). He said an increasing number of nation states believed that owning WMDs enhanced their security. But the UN had failed to tackle the growing problem. "The evidence at the UN in the last year has been pretty bleak on WMD, on arms control," Mr Dauth said. "We had the nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference in May that failed to come up with an agenda – a month of negotiations that failed to come up with an agenda. "We had the summit in September that despite vigorous negotiation, most of which I chaired, achieved nothing – not a single reference in the outcome document on issues relating to arms control and proliferation. "That is an indictment of a global inter-governmental negotiating process that has gone badly wrong in New York." He said many of the UN's institutions had become "empty shells". Mr Dauth is widely tipped to be replaced by former defence minister Robert Hill. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #9 Why don't we put a KFC sign in front of the UN so they asshats will burn it down? That would work if the UN building was in Pakistan... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2006-02-16 10:31 |
| #8 Why don't we put a KFC sign in front of the UN so they asshats will burn it down ? |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-02-16 10:30 |
| #7 Australia continues to prove it is a great ally to truth and the fight against facism. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2006-02-16 10:23 |
| #6 If it was Austrian diplomat, it'd be news. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-02-16 10:13 |
| #5 A TOP Australian diplomat says the United Nations is rotten to the core and is mishandling the threat of nuclear weapons. "I mean, what'ya expect us to do? I held a press conference and think we need a summit on Cheney's so-called accidental shooting of an attorney and we've condemned the anti-muslim cartoons! Iran, wha, oh yeah, that country. Not a good place to hold a summit in the near future." |
| Posted by: Koffee Anon 2006-02-16 09:42 |
| #4 Agreed. Can we get a 'Master of the Obvious' pic here? Looks like Darth Bolton may get an ally..... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-02-16 08:28 |
| #3 Blinding flash of the Obvious! |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-02-16 08:08 |
| #2 Water B. Hot, let me introduce you to Stars B. Bright. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-02-16 08:01 |
| #1 Dauth 'n Darth. Melike, heh. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-02-16 07:24 |