September 18, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 17, 1429

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17: The new president of UN General Assembly opened the 63rd annual session on Tuesday by accusing some of the world body’s most powerful members of serious breaches of the peace and threats to international peace and security.

“It is a sad but undeniable fact that serious breaches of the peace and threats to international peace and security are being perpetrated by some members of the Security Council that seem unable to break what appears like an addiction to war,” said Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, a former foreign minister of Nicaragua, in his opening address to the assembly literally shaking the diplomats and delegates.

The United States, Britain, Russia, France and China have veto power and are the five permanent members of the 15-member Security Council.

Mr Brockmann said he would try to transform what he called the prevailing exclusionary logic of selfishness which had crippled the ability of the general assembly to fulfil its mandate.

“The state of our world today is deplorable, inexcusable and, therefore, shameful. What Tolstoy denounced as ‘mad selfishness’ explains why, as trillions of dollars are spent on wars of aggression, more than half the world’s people languish in hunger and destitution. Our priorities, sisters and brothers, could hardly be more confused,” he added.

“I am aware of the great expectations which the vast majority of the dispossessed inhabitants of our threatened planet have placed in the United Nations to bring them peace, security and to defend their right to life and to full development,” he said. “We must not fail them.”

Mr Brockmann said during the session the assembly would focus on examining the root causes of major problems, such as the current crisis caused by soaring prices of many basic food items and its effect on hunger and poverty.

He pressed the members to make all resolutions of the General Assembly binding, warning that all too often the resolutions were ignored by member states.

He told delegates that he had taken up the post at a difficult time for humanity and cited a series of deep problems, including widespread hunger and poverty, the impact of climate change and unequal access to water.

He also said a high-level dialogue would be held next year on the subject of democratising the UN. The event will be split into three sessions that consider the Bretton Woods and other international finance institutions, the role of the General Assembly, and the size and format of the Security Council.

He said that climate change, access to water, terrorism and human rights, nuclear control and disarmament and human trafficking are among the other priority themes during the 63rd session.