September 25, 2007
Bush's Other Legacy On Display At U.N.
President Bush called on the U.N. General Assembly to renew its focus on human rights, as he reminded increasingly distant member nations of America's outsized role in humanitarian work around the globe.
Placing the spotlight on the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Bush told the audience, "The nations in this chamber have our differences. Yet there are some areas where we can all agree."
The president ticked off a laundry list of ills, some of them ancient, still plaguing the globe, from malaria to HIV/AIDS, starvation to closed markets, impositions on the freedom of speech and assembly, and "tyranny and violence."
The Universal Declaration is not being upheld, Bush said, "when innocent people are trapped in a life of murder and fear" or "when millions of children starve to death or die from a mosquito bite."
"Changing these underlying conditions is what the declaration calls the work of underlying freedom," he said.
Bush then turned his attention to the representatives of Myanmar.
"The Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma," the president said, using the Southeast Asian country's original name, as much of the world still does in protest of the military dictatorship there. "Ethnic minorities are persecuted. Forced child labor, human trafficking and rape are common."
Thousands of Buddhist monks and civilians have been protesting the military junta and calling for democracy on the streets of Rangoon for the past week, as the international community anxiously looks on for the government's reaction. Myanmar's military has violently crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in the past, but the government seems keenly aware the world is watching.
In 2000, then-President Clinton and others went before the General Assembly and called on Myanmar to release Aung San Suu Kyi, whom the government arrested shortly after throwing out her National League for Democracy party's landslide 1990 electoral victory. Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, remains under house arrest. She is regarded by many in her country as their rightful leader.
Today, an American president again invoked Suu Kyi's name as he criticized Myanmar's military junta for imprisoning political dissidents. "The people's desire for freedom is unmistakable," Bush said, before announcing that the U.S. would expand economic sanctions on Myanmar's government leaders and "financial backers," and would also broaden a visa ban on officials as well as their family members.
"We urge all United Nations [members] to use their economic and diplomatic leverage to help the Burmese people reclaim their freedom," Bush said.
The president had to know he wasn't the most popular guy in the room, and several member nations clearly did not take to his scolding over human rights violations. When he called for U.N. peacekeeping forces to be sent to Darfur, for instance, the Sudanese representatives could be seen leaning back and smirking. Bush also reprimanded the body for its efforts to sanction Israel over the treatment of Palestinians.
While he may attract scorn in the U.N. for the war in Iraq and for his handling of the broader war on terror, Bush in recent years has focused his energy on humanitarian efforts. His surprising announcement of a $15 billion global HIV/AIDS initiative predates the Iraq war, but he sought to prove earlier this year that he was serious about taking on that disease by doubling the fund to $30 billion.
That amount, yet to be approved by Congress, dwarfs similar efforts by other nations. President Bush is something of a pariah in the U.N., even as the U.S. remains the biggest contributor to the international body's budget as well as to humanitarian efforts around the world. Reminding member nations of this, Bush said that "more than half of [all] food aid comes from the United States." Turning to malaria, a pedestrian but deadly disease that does not affect the United States, Bush invoked his $1.2 billion global malaria initiative to "call on every member state to maintain" a focus on that disease.
The president stressed that the U.S. intended to tackle the world's problems "in partnership," and not unilaterally. Referring to the Millennium Challenge Corporation, established by his administration, he stressed that efforts to promote responsible government and economic prosperity were "not paternalism." Open markets and investment "strengthen the rule of law and help nations help themselves," he said, calling on nations to finally reach a World Trade Organization deal in the so-called Doha negotiations.
As for global warming, the theme of this year's assembly, Bush said, he appreciated the talks on climate change -- the word "appreciate" generally meaning polite disagreement on the president's part. Bush was more pointed with other American criticisms of the U.N.
Reminding the body that it has been blemished by scandals in recent years, Bush called for the U.N. to become an "institution that adheres to strict ethical standards." The president also advocated for Japan's bid to become a permanent, veto-wielding member of the Security Council, and said "other nations" -- a likely reference to Germany and India -- should also be considered.
The White House strongly backs expansion of the P-5 as it finds itself increasingly at odds with members Russia and China. Bush did not broach the topic of Iran, probably as a snub to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was present. His bid for a new round of sanctions on Iran has been complicated by China's and Russia's alliances with that country.
In contrast to previous years, Bush's address did not lay out a dark vision of the world. "America will lead toward this vision where all are created equal and free to pursue their dreams," he said in closing. "This is the founding conviction of my country. It is the promise that established this body. And with all determination, it can be the future of our world."
Posted at 12:17 PM
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Asia, Bill Clinton, Bush Administration, China, Climate Change, HIV/AIDS, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, President Bush, Russia, Terrorism, U.N.
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