Europe after Maastricht : interim report : report, together with the Proceedings of Committee, Minutes of Evidence, and Appendices : first report [of the] Foreign Affairs Committee.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee.
Date:
1992
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Europe after Maastricht : interim report : report, together with the Proceedings of Committee, Minutes of Evidence, and Appendices : first report [of the] Foreign Affairs Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    32/96 (page 16)
    12 October 1992] [ Continued [Mr Lester Contd| laggard and when you think of the commitments we have particularly in Northern Ireland which are not parallelled in other countries, I think it is a very substantial effort. Chairman: Well, again it is not just a question of even peacemaking but increasing involvement in internal disputes as well. Mr Canavan 59. Secretary of State, I understand that during a recent television broadcast you said that the United Nations should play an “imperial” role. Was that not an unfortunate choice of phrase or what exactly do you mean by it and is your view shared by other members of the United Nations? (Mr Hurd) It was not a broadcast, but it was actually a speech to the Young Conservatives of West Oxfordshire and nor was it saying that this is what ought to happen. It was saying what is hap- pening and I deliberately used the word “imperial” in the hope, which was justified, that it would make people sit up a bit. That is what is happen- ing. If you go to Somalia today you find the col- lapse of everything which comes under the heading of “public service” and you find Ambassador Sahnoun, the representative of the Secretary- General, trying skilfully with a lot of non-govern- mental organisations to substitute for those services. No one will ever call him the Governor of Somalia or the High Commissioner and no one will ever call those others District Commissioners. Because the world has changed, these titles are no longer acceptable, but if you actually think about what he is attempting to do, he is perforce trying to provide some sort of government for that-coun- try. You could describe it in different ways, but it is what is traditionally called an “imperial” role. Now, that goes much wider, as you have said, Mr Chairman, than preventive diplomacy or indeed peacemaking. It involves the provision of every public service and that is what the different agen- cies of the UN with a lot of help from Member States are in fact going to do and that is what they are setting their hand to doing with the help of the NGOs in Somalia, which is the worst case. There are other cases which are teetering, but which have not yet fallen into that position. Preventive diplo- macy of the kind we have seen in Mozambique where it has been up to now, touch wood, success- ful may have rescued that country from some simi- lar situation. 60. Yes, but bearing in mind the exploitation and injustice associated with Britain’s imperial past, it would suggest, with respect, it is not the most diplomatic phrase for a British Foreign Secretary to use. (Mr Hurd) We will change places for the time being, Mr Canavan. You be an expert on that and I will be the expert on trying to stimulate discus- sion on something which is actually happening in the world and which I think is very important, so I do not regret that at all. Chairman 61. You are clearly succeeding in that, Foreign Secretary, but can I ask with this very interesting opening up of minds, does it lead to the thought of UN mandates and trusteeships? Are we beginning to look into a world where the only governing framework available, let us say for the Balkans or for Somalia, will be one which has a UN authority in it? (Mr Hurd) 1 think Mr Canavan is right to this extent: that as the UN perforce, when all other exercises have failed, perforce takes over this duty, it cannot actually be put back into either colonial — terms or even the mandate terms, and I think you are right in implying that. You have to find a new have to do it and you have to finance it. Someone has suggested a UN protectorate over Bosnia. Again I do not think that is the right way of describing it and there is a legitimate government in Bosnia, but it is going to need, on the humani- tarian side and on the diplomatic side, the kind of help from the international community which will go very far. Mr Canavan 62. Well, whatever justification there might be for intervening in certain situations, is there not a danger here of perceptions, for example, in the under-developed south that there is a new imperi- alism on the part of the rich north, albeit under the cloak of the United Nations and they might see it differently from us as, for example, many of the Arab peoples perceived the intervention during the Gulf war. (Mr Hurd) What the Arab peoples are urging is greater intervention in Yugoslavia, the Muslim people are urging that, so it varies of course case by case, but it is important that the Security Council, which is the key body here, should oper- ate in cases where the case is absolutely proven. There can be no adventurism on this front, I agree with you, but actually the reluctance of Member States to get involved is very great and they often get involved when the countries concerned, for example, Mozambique, Angola, and so on, actu- ally ask for such help. . Chairman: We have talked about peacekeeping, peacemaking, peacebuilding and interventions of the kind which may or may not have a imperialist flavour, but so much of the poor south is going to be driven by appalling suffering and humanitarian motives. Sir John Stanley 63. I would like to ask a question in terms of the specific context of Somalia. Foreign Secretary, I think that most people would acknowledge, you possibly may have a little difficulty in doing so, that the international community response to the Somalian tragedy was needlessly delayed, and that