PressInfo 2002

This comprhensive peace proposal was submitted to Feature editor Robert Donahue, the International Herald Tribune on December 5. On December 19, Donahue accepted the article for publication by e-mail. Then nothing happened. On February 6, however, Mr. Donahue told us that he had let another editor read the article. This editor “didn’t like the article and thought that many of its points were unrealistic – and I respect my colleague,” he said over the phone. So the International Herald Tribune changed its mind and hoped we would accept their apology. On February 17, the European Council of the EU came together and began formulating a common foreign policy in relation to the Iraq crisis. The International Herald Tribune made a politically motivated turnaround and effectively wasted exactly two months of this proposal’s life in the public debate. We are proud to publish the original manuscript with all its “unrealistic” points...

Governments, editors, commentators and even supporters of the United Nations currently express the view that a war against Iraq is, or will be, acceptable if the United States and others “go back” to the Security Council and obtain a “UN mandate” before they attack. But, this is false logic and could spell the end of the UN as a peace organisation. If you think that the planned war is or entails a violation of international law, such a mandate does not make it more legal. If you think that the war is morally wrong or unfair, such a mandate won’t make it right or just. If you think that war has nothing to do with conflict-resolution but must be categorised as aggression, a resolution – inevitably the result of horse-trading among the Five Permanent (and nuclear) Security Council members and the other ten under the leadership of Columbia – does...

12 november 2002 Udenrigsminister Anna Lindhs tale for FN-dagen handlede bl. a. om Irak. For 12 år siden besluttede FNs sikkerhedsråd sig for afrustning af Iraks masseødelæggelsesvåben, inspektioner af denne afrustning og sanktioner for at fjerne den trussel mod international fred og sikkerhed, som Iraks angreb på og besættelse af Kuwait udgjorde. Dagens Irak er ingen trussel mod international fred og sikkerhed. Hvad er der sket i løbet af de 12 år? Under ledelse af den svenske ambassadør Rolf Ekéus gennemførtes frem til 1998 vellykkede inspektioner, som fjernede de fleste af Iraks biologiske og kemiske våben. Ingen troværdig ekspertise hævder, at Irak så meget som nærmer sig at have kernevåben. Sanktionerne har, sammen med de bombninger af Iraks infrastruktur, som i strid med folkeretten og uden FNmandat er foretaget af USA og England, ødelagt landets økonomi og skabt en katastrofal livssituation for dets 23 millioner indbyggere. Iraks militære kapacitet er,...

The speech by Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh for United Nations Day was to a great extent about Iraq. Twelve years ago, the Security Council of the UN decided to take measures to fully disarm Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, by applying sanctions and imposing inspections, in order to remove the threat to international peace and security posed by Iraq, a threat manifested by the nation’s aggression and occupation of Kuwait. What has happened during those twelve years? Highly successful inspections were conducted under the leadership of the Swedish ambassador Rolf Ekéus. Those inspections led to the destruction of most of Iraq’s biological and chemical weapons. No reliable expertise claims that Iraq is even close to possessing nuclear weapons. Along with the bombing of Iraq’s infrastructure by the United States and Britain (without UN mandate and in total discord with international human rights agreements), the sanctions have crushed the country’s...

Utrikesminister Anna Lindhs tal inför FN-dagen handlade bland annat om Irak-frågan. För 12 år sedan beslutade FN:s säkerhetsråd om nedrustning av Iraks massförstörande vapen, inspektioner av denna nedrustning och sanktioner för att undanröja det hot mot internationell fred och säkerhet som Iraks angrepp på och ockupation av Kuwait hade manifesterat. Dagens Irak utgör inget hot mot internationell fred och säkerhet Vad har hänt under dessa 12 år? Under ledning av den svenska ambassadören Rolf Ekéus genomfördes fram till 1998 framgångsrika inspektioner som undanröjde det meste av Iraks biologiska och kemiska vapen. Ingen tillförlitlig expertis hävdar att Irak ens är i närheten av att ha kärnvapen. Sanktionerna har, tillsammans med de bombningar av Iraks infrastruktur, som i strid med folkrätten och utan FN-mandat utförts av USA och Storbritannien, krossat landets ekonomi och skapat en katastrofal livssituation för dess 23 miljoner invånare. Iraks militära kapacitet är, oavsett en viss import av konventionella...

A presentation at the Zayed Centre for Coordination & Follow-upAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 26 November 2002 The Beginning of Sanctions 1. The 2 August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq led to UN Security Council resolution 661 of 6 August 1990 imposing military, economic and financial sanctions on Iraq with the objective of ending Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait. 2. Following the Gulf War and Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait, the UN Security Council on 3 April 1991 adopted resolution 687. This resolution extends comprehensive economic and financial sanctions to Iraq to be lifted only when the UN Security Council confirms that Iraq has carried out the destruction, removal or rendering harmless, under international supervision, of all chemical and biological weapons as well as ballistic missiles with a range of more than 150 kilometers. (a) 3. Resolution 661 demanded ‘withdrawal from Kuwait’; resolution 687 calls for Iraq’s disarmament as a condition...

The demonising of the enemy before the war is intense. The Swedish media, for instance, take for granted that a war against Iraq will take place. No alternatives to war are mentioned. Iraq has become a synonym for Saddam Hussein in the Swedish media, leaving 23 million human beings in oblivion. Iraq as a society and culture, from now on, belongs to the zone of silence. It is above all very important that not even the tiniest element of humanness affects our perception of the country. Iraqis must not be pictured as human beings, mothers, fathers, children with hopes and fears, poverty or wealth. We must only imagine Saddam and his palaces that we will pulverize in a technological inferno. None of the potential consequences of a full-fledged war are being discussed. Millions of refugees; tens of thousands of dead and injured (both Iraqis and Americans, especially if chemical weapons...

The demonising of the enemy before the war is intense. The Swedish media, for instance, take for granted that a war against Iraq will take place. No alternatives to war are mentioned. Iraq has become a synonym for Saddam Hussein in the Swedish media, leaving 23 million human beings in oblivion. Iraq as a society and culture, from now on, belongs to the zone of silence. It is above all very important that not even the tiniest element of humanness affects our perception of the country. Iraqis must not be pictured as human beings, mothers, fathers, children with hopes and fears, poverty or wealth. We must only imagine Saddam and his palaces that we will pulverize in a technological inferno. None of the potential consequences of a full-fledged war are being discussed. Millions of refugees; tens of thousands of dead and injured (both Iraqis and Americans, especially if chemical weapons...

As a healthy response to the Bush Administration’s war policies, the number of people taking to the streets in protest is increasing with each step toward war. These protesters realize that they do not want the United States to initiate a pre-emptive and illegal war, but perhaps they do not yet realize that they are also fighting to retain an international order based on multilateralism, the rule of law and the United Nations itself. To save the UN from the Administration’s destructive and radical unilateralism, other key nations will have to stand up to its bullying. France, Russia and China, because of their veto power in the Security Council, could withhold legal authority for America to proceed to war. Whether they will exercise this power, given the pressure they’re under from the Administration, remains to be seen. But if one or more of them does so, the Administration would be...

Fredsbevarande styrkor, Peacekeeping Operations, PKO har specifika mål, uppdrag och konsekvenser inriktade på att nedtrappa konflikter och återupprätta fred. Dessa mål undersöks ofta noggrant i forskningsrapporter och debatteras i media. Men det finns också mer eller mindre avsedda, indirekta, eller dolda mål och påföljder av PKOs som sällan blir belysta. Fredsbevarande civila och soldater som förflyttas till det oroliga området från ett antal FN- medlemsländer har med sig sina egna värderingar, normer, vanor och sätt att hantera och organisera saker och ting. I bästa fall har den förberedande träningen inför resan skapat någon slags medvetenhet hos de utskickade angående den här typen av “bagage” och hur dessa kan skilja sig från de värderingarna, normerna och vanorna i området där verksamheten ska pågå. Oberoende av detta så kan de ha ett enormt inflytande på det lokala samhället och kulturen. De olika förhandlingssätten som den lokala befolkningen använder i det sociala mötet...

Fredsbevarende operationer (FBO) har mål og mandater, der direkte sigter på at nedtrappe konflikter og skabe fred. Sådanne målsætninger analyseres for det meste i forskningsrapporter og diskuteres i media. Men der er også, mere eller mindre bevidst, indirekte eller skjulte mål og resultater af FBOs arbejde, som sjældent belyses. Mere precist handler det om de fredsbevarende styrker, der tages fra forskellige FN-lande til urohærgede områder. Med sig har det fredsbevarende mandskab sine vurderinger, normer, vaner og måder at gøre og organisere sager og ting på. I bedste fald vil deres forberedende studier og instruktioner have givet dem nogen fornemmelse af, hvad denne “bagage” indebærer, og hvordan den adskiller sig fra de lokale vurderinger, normer og adfærdsmønstre i den region, hvor de opererer. Men det er uundgåeligt, at deres påvirkning af lokalsamfundet og dets kultur kan være enorm. Det er afgørende for os, at kunne tolke måden hvorpå de lokale forhandler...

Peacekeeping operations, PKOs, have direct aims, mandates and consequences directed towards the de-escalation of conflict and the maintenance of peace. Such aims are usually analysed in research reports and discussed in the media. But there are also more or less intended, indirect or hidden objectives and consequences of PKOs which are seldom highlighted. More specifically, peacekeepers are transferred from a number of UN member states to the troubled area. They bring along values, norms, habits and ways of doing and organising things. In the best of cases, their training before departure creates some awareness among personnel about this type of “luggage” and how it may differ from the local values, norms, and habits in the region of operations. But, invariably, they can have a tremendous impact on local society and culture. The ways in which local people negotiate the social encounter with peacekeeping forces – a social process that brings...