World body’s blueprint for reform will address the terrorism issue, from AP, with thanks to Skeet Street.
UNITED NATIONS – U.N. diplomats have revised their blueprint for reforming the world body to include a definition of terrorism, indicating nations are moving toward consensus on a contentious global issue.
World leaders are to consider the plan at their summit in September and, if approved, the definition could break the impasse over a comprehensive treaty against terrorism.
The United States strongly supports such a treaty, which has been stalled for years over the question of what constitutes a terrorist. The debate has focused on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the argument that one nation’s terrorists are another’s freedom fighters.
Jean Ping, president of the U.N. General Assembly avoided the topic of terrorism in a reform plan he drew up in early June, calling on governments to do more to alleviate poverty and ensure human rights.
His revised plan issued Friday would commit world leaders to adopting a comprehensive convention against terrorism by September 2006.
Ping’s new blueprint not only gives a political definition of terrorism but spells out how two new U.N. bodies would be established; the Peacebuilding Commission to ensure countries emerging from conflict don’t start fighting again and a Human Rights Council to replace the discredited Commission on Human Rights.
The Geneva-based commission has been criticized for allowing the worst-offending countries to use their membership to protect each other from condemnation for human rights abuses. The latest draft said members of the new council should be elected on the basis of regional balance and their contribution “to the promotion and protection of human rights.”
The document also outlines a series of U.N. management reforms “” a key U.S. demand “” and elaborates on what to do to stop genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity…