United Nations
Secretary- General Kofi Annan today criticised the US-led war on
Iraq without explicit sanction of the world body, saying Baghdad
could have been disarmed peacefully if they had persevered for a
little longer, and urged all parties to ensure the safety of
civilians.
"The world could have taken action to solve this problem
by a collective decision, endowing it with greater legitimacy and,
therefore, commanding wider support than is now the case," he
told Washington on the morning after the attack began.
Showing his unhappiness over the Security Council's inability
to reach a consensus, Annan regretted that war has come to Iraq
for third time in a quarter of century despite the best of the
International community and the United Nations.
Stating that his thoughts are with Iraqi people, he asked all
parties to "scrupulously" observe the humanitarian law
and to do everything in their power to shield the civilian
population from "grim consequences of war.
"I hope that all parties will scrupulously observe the
requirements of international humanitarian law, and will do
everything in their power to shield the civilian population from
the grim consequences of war." "The United Nations, on
is part, would do whatever it can to bring them (Iraqi people)
assistance and support," he assured.
Urging the Council members to forget divisions of the past and
confront the "realities, however, harsh," Annan
expressed the hope that Iraqi people would have much
"brighter" future and would soon have the chance to
rebuild their country in "peace and freedom and under rule of
law." The people of the world, he said, have shown the great
importance they attach to the legitimacy conveyed by the authority
of the United Nations.
"They have made clear that, in confronting uncertainty and
danger, they want to see power harnessed to legitimacy. They want
their leaders to come together in the United Nations to resolve
the problems shared by all humanity," he said.
Annan said he would do his utmost to ensure that the United
Nations rises to the challenged posed.
