WASHINGTON, Aug 2: The United States sharply rebuked the No. 2 UN official on Wednesday for criticising Washington anew after he said America should allow other nations to share the lead in Middle East diplomacy.
“We are seeing a troubling pattern of a high official of the UN who seems to be making it his business to criticise member states and, frankly, with misplaced and misguided criticisms,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
McCormack’s criticism of Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown was sharp, deviating from the typically measured diplomatic exchanges between the State Department and the United Nations.
His remarks were in response to a question over an interview published in the Financial Times on Wednesday.
It was the second time in the last few weeks that Malloch Brown has drawn US ire after he accused the Bush administration of failing to stand up to domestic critics of the United Nations.
In that instance, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan resisted US calls that he repudiate his deputy.
Malloch Brown has also said in the last few days US policy had made recruitment for an international force in Lebanon difficult. There was an immediate defence of Malloch Brown from the United Nations on Wednesday.
“I think that the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations does have a responsibility and a duty to speak out on issues that are of grave concern to member states,” said Ahmad Fawzi, a UN public affairs director.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE: The 46-nation Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly added its voice to world condemnation of the war in Lebanon and ceasefire calls, in a statement on Wednesday by its president.
“The continuing disproportionate use of force by Israel, in particular indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets, is completely unacceptable and in violation of the most basic norms of international law,” said Rene van der Linden, president of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.
“Such a policy only plays into the hands of the terrorists and their extremist supporters,” he said in a statement in the north-eastern French city of Strasbourg, where the European democracy and rights political body is based.
“I also strongly condemn the terrorist acts of Hezbollah and its policy of violence,” he said.
“Nevertheless, the fight against terrorism must always be conducted with full respect for international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law.”
Israel’s killing of more than 50 civilians, mostly children, in a bombing raid on the southern Lebanon village of Qana on Sunday drew worldwide condemnation and calls for a ceasefire.
The condemnations included a statement on Tuesday from the head of the Council of Europe’s other top governing branch, the Committee of Ministers.
The president of the decision-making committee, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, branded the Qana raid “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law”.
Van der Linden on Wednesday added the assembly’s voice to international calls for an end to the fighting.
“Public opinion now expects the international community to agree on a strong common approach to stopping the violence and finding a durable solution to the conflict,” he said.
The UN Security Council’s permanent members said that a resolution on a possible settlement of the crisis was close, but Israeli leaders have vowed to fight as long as it takes to break Hezbollah’s military force.
The Council of Europe’s assembly echoed calls from the European Union and other countries for a swift ceasefire — calls which the United States has declined to back.
“Any further delay will only impede the chances of finding such a solution and risks compromising the credibility of the international community,” Van der Linden said.—Reuters/AFP
