Libya slipped a nice bit of diplomacy past the posts in the most recent UN resolution on Iran’s nuclear program by getting a half sentence inserted about creating a regional nuclear free zone – that, of course, would require Israel to give up her nuclear weapons. Of course nothing will happen about it anytime soon, but it is the thin end of a wedge which allows the Libyans to feel they earned their keep on the Security Council, and to show that their spots haven’t entirely changed.
The resolution was to go to a vote before the weekend, but was held up as some members sought amendments to the wording. Libya was one of the hold-outs, and I was wondering what they were looking for and why they came round to voting for the resolution. I didn’t have time to watch the entire webcast of the meeting which comes up on the UN website fairly quickly so I had to wait to read the ‘provisional verbal’ transcript this morning to read the speeches – it is faster to read 17 pages than to watch 2 hours of speeches. The phrase inserted in one of the preambulatory clauses of the resolution: “to realizing the objective of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, including their means of delivery.” was the little diplomatic victory. How could anyone object to those words? Especially since they led to the headline win for the US of Libya voting for the resolution, which is about as deeply as most people would look?
The UN Security Council often seems to exist in an alternate reality where words and diplomacy diverge sharply from the reality of the world we see on TV and in the media. However, as I often remind my students, a great many developments arise from sneaking a few words into a resolution or a report. Once they get into an official document, there is a momentum to be able to report progress on those issues. This is how many issues have crept up the UN agenda, often to the open dismay of US neo-cons who want to play a short term, winner takes all and tough on the losers strategy. Perhaps that constrained perspective is why they decided to buy the additional clause, not seeing the speedbump it lays out for their ally. Sometime before the end of the year, I imagine the Libyan representative on the council will cough politely and ask what progress has been made to securing IAEA access to Israeli nuclear facilities?
For those who want to practice their Security Council watching, the webcasts are online here, and the PV can be read here The webcast uses Realplayer, which is a nuisance since I can’t install it on PCs in lecture rooms, and it requires a workaround to save it so I can use it in class.
Leave a Reply