The LIMUN Eye

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Saturday 20 February 2010

Optimism for future tempered by present shortcomings


Delegates' have been delegated. Keynote speakers have spoken. LIMUN is open. An over-arching theme of the keynote speeches seemed to be a concern about the current limitations of international bodies – the UN and International Criminal Court in particular – whilst maintaining a fierce optimism that such issues can be resolved in the future, and placing the ball firmly in the delegates court as the “leaders of tomorrow”, a nomenclature which was growing a little tired by the end of the ceremony.

Whilst Michael Rossi, the founding President of LIMUN, provided some historical context to the conference, and Dr Robert Fry from the Canadian High Commission, highlighted the major role Canada is likely to play in world affairs this year, it was Dr David Hallam from the Department for International Development and Dr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, who provided the more enlightening commentary on issues facing the United Nations community.

Dr Hallam was eager to highlight the United Kingdom's support for the UN in principal, for the potential it has given its “unique legitimacy and... convening powers”, but nonetheless asserted that “the UN is not all it could be...[that] it can and must be better”. He questioned how fit for purpose it was, given that it was founded in an era characterized by decolonization and the Cold War. The major shortcoming of the UN was that it was “unwieldy, poorly co-ordinated and inefficient”, he stated, and reaffirmed the UK's challenge to the UN to make 25% efficiency savings over the next five years, in line with targets set for UK governmental departments.

Dr Moreno-Ocampo demonstrated similar limitations in his own organization. He explained lucidly and entertainingly the workings of the International Criminal Court, but underlined the failure of a number of pertinent nations either to sign or to ratify the 1998 Rome Statute. The three leading areas in the ratification have been Europe, South America and non-Arab Africa, but his jurisdiction nonetheless does not cover controversial regions such as Burma, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Sri Lanka and the Sudan, nor have major players such as Russia, China and the USA ratified it. The ICC's stated aim “to uphold the rule of law and protect [member states'] citizens” is therefore extremely restricted. This became particularly clear during the questions, when references to particularly contentious players and heads of state became irrelevant, as they constantly fell outside of his authority. He reaffirmed the fact that he did not play a political role, but was restricted to his capacity as a prosecutor. Another limitation that arose was the nature of the crimes he can prosecute – he cited the example of Hugo Chavez, who has not committed any crime serious enough for ICC prosecution: genocide, for instance.

The future influence international justice is likely to have over international affairs was one of Moreno-Ocampo's major contentions, with one court ruling having an effect both on future cases, but also on how militaries and governments conduct themselves. However, responsibility for ensuring that international bodies are effective and have wide-reaching authority was again passed to the delegates to debate in the coming days.

Alizeh Kohari, the Secretary-General of LIMUN, summarized the sentiments expressed in the keynote speeches concisely as she declared the conference open, expressing her hope that, “No matter how tense the past may have been, the future can still be perfect.”

By Alex Webb

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