Saudi Arabia Gets First Ever Seat on UN Security Council – Then Says It Doesn’t Want It
After campaigning for its first ever seat on the U.N. Security Council and winning it in an election Thursday, Saudi Arabia in an astonishing move Friday said it would not take up the position.
In a statement published by the official SPA news agency the foreign ministry said while the kingdom was grateful for having won a two-year term on the council beginning on January 1 it had decided not to join.
It said the council’s mechanisms and “double standards” meant it was incapable of preserving international peace and security, citing failure to resolve the Palestinian issue after 65 years; failure to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in the region; and “allowing the ruling regime in Syria to kill and burn its people by the chemical weapons, while the world stands idly [by].”
http://rt.com/news/saudi-arabia-un-seat-refuse-360/
Saudi Arabia rejects UNSC seat over ‘failure to deal with conflicts’
Published time: October 18, 2013 08:26
Edited time: October 18, 2013 19:46
Edited time: October 18, 2013 19:46
Saudi Arabia, an advocate of foreign military intervention against Syria’s government, has rejected its rotating seat on the UN Security Council, saying the body cannot deal with international conflicts.
The Gulf kingdom for the first time won on Thursday a place among non-permanent members of the top international security body, along with Chad, Chile, Lithuania and Nigeria.
But a day after an election at the UN General Assembly awarded the position, Saudi Arabia rejected the honor.
"The kingdom sees that the method and work mechanism and the double standards in the Security Council prevent it from properly shouldering its responsibilities towards world peace," Saudi foreign ministry explained the move in a statement.
Riyadh mentioned the Syrian conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as examples of the UNSC’s failures to ensure world peace. It also cited its inability to transform the Middle East into a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, an apparent reference to Israel’s alleged stockpile of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
However, UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that he has not yet been officially notified of the decision, adding that it would be up to UN member states to decide how to replace Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi move has caused mixed reaction around the globe, with some nations criticizing the Gulf state, while others are finding some harsh words to say about the way the Security Council operates.
By rejecting its rotating seat on the UN Security Council, Saudi Arabia has removed itself from collective work on maintaining international peace and security, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Moscow stressed that it’s “puzzled” by the argument, which the Gulf state provided in order to justify its“unprecedented” move.
“Reproaches to the UN Security Council in context of the Syrian crisis sound particularly strange as the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2118, which forms the legal framework for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in Syria,” the foreign ministry explained.
France, on the other hand, has backed Saudi Arabia's stance on “double-standards” in resolving conflicts around the world, similar to the one in Syria, in the UN Security Council.
The Saudi move has caused mixed reaction around the globe, with some nations criticizing the Gulf state, while others are finding some harsh words to say about the way the Security Council operates.
By rejecting its rotating seat on the UN Security Council, Saudi Arabia has removed itself from collective work on maintaining international peace and security, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Moscow stressed that it’s “puzzled” by the argument, which the Gulf state provided in order to justify its“unprecedented” move.
“Reproaches to the UN Security Council in context of the Syrian crisis sound particularly strange as the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2118, which forms the legal framework for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in Syria,” the foreign ministry explained.
France, on the other hand, has backed Saudi Arabia's stance on “double-standards” in resolving conflicts around the world, similar to the one in Syria, in the UN Security Council.
"We have an ongoing dialogue on the subject of Syria with Saudi Arabia. We share its frustration after the Security Council's paralysis," said French foreign ministry spokesman, Romain Nadal, adding that Paris is proposing reforms to the council's veto rights.
Turkey also used the Saudi withdrawal to lash out at the UN, accusing the international organization of being ineffective.
"The United Nations are losing quite a lot of their credibility," Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, is cited as saying by the Dogan news agency.
"I understand that Saudi Arabia's decision aims to draw the international community's attention to this situation ... We must respect their decision," he added.
Meanwhile, the UN is beginning an accelerated process of finding a replacement for Saudi Arabia in the UNSC, which will also come from the Asia-Pacific region.
The General Assembly would have to approve the new Security Council member before January 1, 2014, when the occupying rotating seats will begin executing their duties, Afaf Konja, Spokesperson for the President of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly, said.
Turkey also used the Saudi withdrawal to lash out at the UN, accusing the international organization of being ineffective.
"The United Nations are losing quite a lot of their credibility," Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, is cited as saying by the Dogan news agency.
"I understand that Saudi Arabia's decision aims to draw the international community's attention to this situation ... We must respect their decision," he added.
Meanwhile, the UN is beginning an accelerated process of finding a replacement for Saudi Arabia in the UNSC, which will also come from the Asia-Pacific region.
The General Assembly would have to approve the new Security Council member before January 1, 2014, when the occupying rotating seats will begin executing their duties, Afaf Konja, Spokesperson for the President of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly, said.
The Saudi diplomatic demarche comes weeks after the Security Council passed a resolution which supports a Russia-brokered deal under which Syria revealed its chemical weapons stockpiles and agreed to destroy them.
The disarmament put on hold US plans to use force against Damascus in response to the use of chemical weapons near the capital in August.
A group of international inspectors is currently working in Syria, destroying its chemical weapons capabilities. It has so far verified half of Damascus’ information on its stockpile. The process of destruction of the arsenal is already underway.
Saudi Arabia, which sponsors rebel forces trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, has criticized the development. Earlier it rejected its right to address the UN General Assembly in a protest against inaction in Syria.
The UN Security Council is authorized to allow use of force on behalf of the international community for the sake of global security and preservation of peace. There are five permanent members of the council – the US, the UK, China, Russia and France, which hold veto power on the council decisions.
Ten non-permanent members, which cannot block UNSC draft resolutions, are elected to serve two-year terms.
Critics of the body, which was formed after World War II, has long accused it of inability to act in situations where interests of permanent members are in conflict with each other. In the Syrian crisis the US, Britain and France all advocated supporting the rebels, while Russia and China opposed them.
Hmmm ............
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-02-181013.html
'Our' weaponized Wahhabi bastards
By Pepe Escobar
Life is good if you're a member of the Gulf Counter-revolution Club, officially known as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). You can crush the Arab Spring at will. You can hire goons all across dar-al-Islam to advance a sectarian Sunni-Shi'ite divide. You can be deeply implicated in the destruction of Syria. You can treat a significant part of your own population as third-class citizens.
Not only you get away with it; you get rewarded with expensive toys. And in one particular case - Saudi Arabia - even with a two-year seat at the UN Security Council.
Not to mention that the House of Saud expertly gets away with manipulating Islam as the pillar of its "legitimacy". The House of Saud controls the Hajj - which took place this week; an enormous logistical operation that "legitimizes" its role as leader of Sunni
By Pepe Escobar
Life is good if you're a member of the Gulf Counter-revolution Club, officially known as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). You can crush the Arab Spring at will. You can hire goons all across dar-al-Islam to advance a sectarian Sunni-Shi'ite divide. You can be deeply implicated in the destruction of Syria. You can treat a significant part of your own population as third-class citizens.
Not only you get away with it; you get rewarded with expensive toys. And in one particular case - Saudi Arabia - even with a two-year seat at the UN Security Council.
Not to mention that the House of Saud expertly gets away with manipulating Islam as the pillar of its "legitimacy". The House of Saud controls the Hajj - which took place this week; an enormous logistical operation that "legitimizes" its role as leader of Sunni
Islam, and automatically, the whole Islamic world. Well-informed Muslims though are very much aware of the fallacy - as much as they're aware of how the House of Saud is fast transforming Mecca into a Vegas-style pay-per-prayer luxury resort. Who's profiting? Certainly not the pilgrims.
This week, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced it had notified congress about selling more state-of-the-art heavy metal for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). That breaks down into "various munitions and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support" to Riyadh for US$6.8 billion and to Abu Dhabi for $4 billion.
Weaponizing "our" Wahhabi bastards is the sweetest deal for the industrial-military-Orwellian Panopticon complex. Sequestration? Tight budgets? Who cares? There's a never-ending contractor bonanza in the Gulf - inbuilt in the narrative of the benign superpower "benefactor" of those helpless oil and gas monarchic monopolies defending them against assorted evildoers; one day the evildoer is Iraq, the next day Iran, the next day could be their own people, so one's gotta be prepared.
Once in a while Israel exhibits the requisite raised eyebrow, but that's just for show. Israel and the GCC have a de facto alliance against the bloc regionally known as the axis of resistance - Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah. Israel would not prevent the GCC from gorging on F-15 Eagles, F-16 Desert Falcons, assorted air-launched cruise missiles, satellite-guided bombs and plenty of high-tech communication gear. Just your average, innocent "military and defense cooperation".
There are glitches in this cozy relationship, of course. Currently, the House of Saud is livid facing the possibility of a negotiated solution for the Iran nuclear dossier - immediately after the Russian-US deal on Syria's chemical weapons. Yet now the House of Saud has even managed to find a pulpit to voice its anger; Saudi Arabia has just won a two-year, rotating UN Security Council seat for the first time - taking over from Pakistan as an Asia-Pacific representative.
The House of Saud has always refrained from competing for a Security Council seat in the past. But now - facing its fabricated version of an "existential threat", which is not only Iran but also Assad in Syria - it's time to act.
So get ready to watch an angry, fearful, medievalist oil kingdom notorious for its spectacular record on human rights and women's rights, and so fond of lashings and beheadings, pontificating on the global stage about…human rights. This is what US Think Tankland describes as "seeking a more active role in key international bodies". When that applies to "our" bastards, of course; otherwise it's about "terror states" trying to subvert the international order.
A number of House of Saud princes are now engulfed in a lethal battle for the Saudi succession - as King Abdullah is about to meet his maker. Are these princes worthy of Machiavelli? Don't hold your breath.
Machiavelli taught us that individual will is as crucial as international power play in determining foreign policy decisions. The Florentine stressed how fortuna (fortune) can be capricious, and how history can be contingent. So how does a great Prince steer his state? By deploying virtu (virtue).
Oh no, this has nothing to do with the guilt-ridden Christian mish-mash, which also happens to be a crucial pillar of the "American exceptionalism" concept. It's all got to do with classical values predominant in the Ancient World - from Greece to Persia. Virtue as in knowledge, strength, courage, and cunning.
So under this gold standard, Vladimir Putin certainly qualifies as a worthy Prince. Deng Xiaoping certainly did. Hassan Rouhani in Iran may reveal himself to be of the same caliber. But what about those angry, fearful, intolerant, yet heavily weaponized Arab princes? You don't need to be a pilgrim to Mecca-as-Disneyland to find your answer.
This week, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced it had notified congress about selling more state-of-the-art heavy metal for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). That breaks down into "various munitions and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support" to Riyadh for US$6.8 billion and to Abu Dhabi for $4 billion.
Weaponizing "our" Wahhabi bastards is the sweetest deal for the industrial-military-Orwellian Panopticon complex. Sequestration? Tight budgets? Who cares? There's a never-ending contractor bonanza in the Gulf - inbuilt in the narrative of the benign superpower "benefactor" of those helpless oil and gas monarchic monopolies defending them against assorted evildoers; one day the evildoer is Iraq, the next day Iran, the next day could be their own people, so one's gotta be prepared.
Once in a while Israel exhibits the requisite raised eyebrow, but that's just for show. Israel and the GCC have a de facto alliance against the bloc regionally known as the axis of resistance - Iran, Iraq, Syria and Hezbollah. Israel would not prevent the GCC from gorging on F-15 Eagles, F-16 Desert Falcons, assorted air-launched cruise missiles, satellite-guided bombs and plenty of high-tech communication gear. Just your average, innocent "military and defense cooperation".
There are glitches in this cozy relationship, of course. Currently, the House of Saud is livid facing the possibility of a negotiated solution for the Iran nuclear dossier - immediately after the Russian-US deal on Syria's chemical weapons. Yet now the House of Saud has even managed to find a pulpit to voice its anger; Saudi Arabia has just won a two-year, rotating UN Security Council seat for the first time - taking over from Pakistan as an Asia-Pacific representative.
The House of Saud has always refrained from competing for a Security Council seat in the past. But now - facing its fabricated version of an "existential threat", which is not only Iran but also Assad in Syria - it's time to act.
So get ready to watch an angry, fearful, medievalist oil kingdom notorious for its spectacular record on human rights and women's rights, and so fond of lashings and beheadings, pontificating on the global stage about…human rights. This is what US Think Tankland describes as "seeking a more active role in key international bodies". When that applies to "our" bastards, of course; otherwise it's about "terror states" trying to subvert the international order.
A number of House of Saud princes are now engulfed in a lethal battle for the Saudi succession - as King Abdullah is about to meet his maker. Are these princes worthy of Machiavelli? Don't hold your breath.
Machiavelli taught us that individual will is as crucial as international power play in determining foreign policy decisions. The Florentine stressed how fortuna (fortune) can be capricious, and how history can be contingent. So how does a great Prince steer his state? By deploying virtu (virtue).
Oh no, this has nothing to do with the guilt-ridden Christian mish-mash, which also happens to be a crucial pillar of the "American exceptionalism" concept. It's all got to do with classical values predominant in the Ancient World - from Greece to Persia. Virtue as in knowledge, strength, courage, and cunning.
So under this gold standard, Vladimir Putin certainly qualifies as a worthy Prince. Deng Xiaoping certainly did. Hassan Rouhani in Iran may reveal himself to be of the same caliber. But what about those angry, fearful, intolerant, yet heavily weaponized Arab princes? You don't need to be a pilgrim to Mecca-as-Disneyland to find your answer.
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