John Scali, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, was lauded by Israeli Ambassador Yosef Tekoah and Labor Zionist Alliance President Dr. Judah J. Shapiro for his clear warning to the General Assembly that support for the world body in the Congress and among U.S. citizens was eroding because of the UN’s tendency to adopt “one-sided unrealistic resolutions that cannot be implemented.”
Scali, who issued a sharp attack Friday in the Assembly against what he termed the “tyranny of the majority” –the Arab, Afro-Asian and Communist countries–was joined by several Western nations in a rising chorus of criticism at the opening of the debate of an agenda item proposed by Rumania on “strengthening the role of the UN.” The debate. is scheduled to continue tomorrow.
The U.S. diplomat declared that resolutions were sometimes adopted which represented only a small fraction of the world’s people, wealth or territory and sometimes brutally disregarded the sensitivity of the minority. In addition. Scali noted that “there is now a new threat, an arbitrary disregard of United Nations rules, even of its Charter.” He stated that what was previously a “potential threat to this organization unhappily has today become a clear and present danger.”
ACTIONS CRITICIZED BY SCALI
Among the actions of the General Assembly session which Scali criticized was the deferential treatment accorded to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the reverse discrimination against Israel during the debate on the Palestine issue, the anti-Israel resolutions adopted by UNESCO, and the exclusion of South Africa from the remainder of the Assembly session. The majority which is tyrannizing the UN is that combination of Arab, Communist and nonaligned nations which, by their numerical superiority provides them with an automatic built-in power to adopt one-sided resolutions.
During the Palestine debate the General Assembly voted 75-23 to prevent Tekoah from speaking during the debate except for the nominal 10-minutes right to reply at the end of each session. Several days earlier the Assembly voted 91-22 to exclude South Africa. “In the wake of some of the examples of the Assembly, the General Conference of UNESCO has strayed down the same path with the predictable consequences of adverse reaction against the United Nations,” Scali said.
He noted that the minority in the Assembly “which is so often offended may in fact be a practical majority. in terms of its capacity to support this organization and Implement its decisions.” The U.S. and a number of other Western UN member states together pay the bulk of the UN bills.
Another target of unofficial Western criticism was Assembly President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Algeria’s Foreign Minister, who has used his position to mount slashing attacks against the U.S. and other Western powers and Israel while, at the same time, praising Third World nations and liberation movements. including the PLO. Bouteflika. was not in the chair during Scali’s address but said afterwards that time should be set aside this week to resume the discussion.
A CLUB OF SELF-INTEREST
Tekoah issued a strong endorsement of Scali’s position. He said: “By an act of distinct statesmanship. Ambassador Scali has succeeded to unmask the sad truth about the abysmal decline of the United Nations and its domination by the forces inimical to the spirit and purposes of the Charter.”
Dr. Shapiro stated that Scali “correctly assessed the growing revulsion in the U.S. to the irresponsible bloc of Arab, Communist and Afro-Asian nations.” Noting that this bloc has “converted a serious international body into a club of self-interest,” Dr. Shapiro declared: “The various sub-committees and agencies of the UN who depend for their major support on American funds have been put on notice by Mr. Scali that there is no intention to support actions which are against the UN Charter and member states. This position is a clear indication of America’s support of Israel against the artificial majority which has been mobilized against the Jewish State.”
Meanwhile, the 100-member United States National Commission for UNESCO which advises Washington on UNESCO programs, condemned the organization for excluding Israel from its programs. In a statement issued at the end of its four-day meeting Friday in Delavan, Wisconsin, released at the UN headquarters in New York, the commission also urged the U.S. government to maintain its financial support for UNESCO and for American scholars to continue to take part in UNESCO programs. The statement noted that the refusal by U.S. scholars and experts to participate in UNESCO programs could be counter-productive in the fight against illiteracy or efforts to preserve the cultural heritage of all peoples.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
