 "Photo: Kim Burnstad")
The spread of nuclear weapons and terrorism are the greatest threats to global security, according to a keynote speech by a United Nations secretary-general nominee at the UT School of Law Friday.
The two-day symposium on human rights closed Friday afternoon with a speech by Surakiart Sathirathai, Thailand's nominee. The event brought together human rights activists, leading academics and policy makers from all over the world.
Surakiart, who is the deputy prime minister of Thailand, spoke about the need to reform the U.N. to meet the security challenges of today's globalized world order.
U.N.-member countries are deciding which candidate to endorse to replace Kofi Annan, who will step down at the end of 2006. In order to become U.N. secretary-general, Surakiart must garner votes from two-thirds of the member countries.
In a speech that lasted over an hour, Surakiart called the University "one of the world's leading institutions for research and learning" and expressed the need to bring "new ideas, new approaches and new visions" to the debate about U.N. reform.
Surakiart called for the end of poverty to be part of the U.N's global security strategy.
"The links between economic and military security are clear," he said. "Military conflict can wipe out a generation of economic progress in an afternoon."
Karen Engle, UT law professor and director of the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, said Surakiart came to Texas as part of a "learning tour" to meet with both local leaders and world policy makers. She said the purpose of the two-day summit was to provide a multidisciplinary discussion about human rights and culture.
"One of the things we try to do in the conference is bring people who have specific experiences in other parts of the world, and we're framing them in an international setting," Engle said.
Surakiart acknowledged some of the U.N's shortcomings and said that peacekeeping missions have not always lived up to the standards of international law. He pointed to the recent inquiry by U.N. chairman Paul Volcker into the Oil-for-Food controversy and said the report reflects "a broad culture of mismanagement" within the U.N.
"There has been so much in the news recently about the United Nations and talk about reform and since he is a nominee to be the next [secretary] general, it's very relevant to hear what are his priorities," said Parisa Fatehi, a law student specializing in human rights.
Surakiart said debates among member countries about how to define terrorism cloud efforts to achieve solutions. He also called for a more effective and representative Security Council, and the need to embrace a culture of diversity and interfaith dialogue to confront issues plaguing global society. Member countries disagree vigorously on when force is appropriate to meet security concerns, he said.
"Without reform, serious, long-term reform, the United Nations cannot and should not be entrusted with our common hope for a more secure and just global order," he said.
Surakiart's candidacy is endorsed by the Royal Thai Government and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
"I would say that Dr. [Surakiart] was very forthcoming about the need to reform the United Nations," said Jeremy Freeman, a third-year law student. "He didn't try to hide the ball. He didn't say the U.N. is the perfect answer for every problem."
The two-day symposium was co-sponsored by the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice and the Texas International Law Journal, which will publish Surakiart's remarks.
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