Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Pussyfooting Around Palestine

What's wrong with the United Nations?

This from ex-PM Kevin Rudd, who threw a 60th birthday bash for Israel in federal parliament in 2008*:

"Those of us who are proud to be life-long friends of the UN today will defend the institution to the hilt. But the uncomfortable truth is that while the UN today is not broken, it is in trouble. The danger is that it is starting to drift into 'irrelevance' as states increasingly 'walk around' the UN on the most important questions facing the international community, seeking substantive solutions elsewhere, increasingly seeing the UN as a pleasant diplomatic afterthought. We see this, for example, on the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, terrorism, cyber security, global pandemics, and refugees." (My 10 principles to reform the United Nations, before it's too latetheguardian.com, 8/8/16)

Notice how Iran and North Korea figure "among [his] most important questions facing the international community," but not, of course, Israel's 78-year occupation of Palestine. Fascinating how he always "walks around" this issue.

Maybe now, after his failure to secure government backing for his bid to become UN secretary-general, he'll "drift into irrelevance."

We live in hope.

[*See my posts, 1-5, on the subject, under the label Israel's 60th.]

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