The Tribune

THE capacity of the United Nations to take meaningful action in dealing with a world crisis is all too often hampered by the veto system in the Security Council. After examining this in a recent column and discussing the need for UN reform, it may be helpful now to follow up with information about two new developments concerning the organisation’s involvement in Ukraine. These are a visit to the region by the Secretary-General and a new report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) about civilian casualties and war crimes committed by Russia’s armed forces.

First, it was announced last week that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would be visiting Moscow on April 26 (today) for talks with President Putin and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov followed by a trip to Kyiv where he will meet President Zelensky and his colleagues. It is generally agreed that the war in Ukraine is the biggest crisis for the organisation’s authority since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003; and Guterres has called it one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order and “global peace architecture”.

So some would say that, more than two months since the Russian invasion, his visit to Moscow is overdue, not least because in the view of many the UN has become toothless in dealing with global crises and needs to reinvent itself. While in Moscow, he will discuss “steps that can be taken right now” to stop the fighting and get people to safety. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson preceded him in visiting Kyiv earlier this month and the US Secretary of State and Defense Secretary were there on Sunday. This was the first high-level US visit to Ukraine since the start of the crisis and they are reported to have pledged further aid and support, including the re-opening of the American embassy following the return of the British embassy that was announced last week.

Even though the UN has been hamstrung over the war because of the Russian veto, it is claimed that the Secretary-General has “significant moral power” to bring to bear. But many are sceptical that he can even persuade Putin to cease attacks on civilians let alone to bring an end to hostilities, mainly because of Russia’s declared intention to dominate the eastern region of Donbas, where conflict has been going on since 2014, and to create a land corridor to Crimea -- and possibly threaten Moldova. This would require control over the south including the port of Odesa and the besieged city of Mariupol, which has been almost totally destroyed and where mass graves have been discovered, and it would largely cut off the rest of Ukraine from the Black Sea.

Secondly, it has also been reported that Guterres will discuss with UN staff on the ground the scaling-up of humanitarian assistance and the monitoring of human rights abuses. In respect of the latter, the HRMMU was deployed to Ukraine in 2014 to monitor and report on the human rights situation with particular focus on the area of conflict in the east – and, since the invasion on February 24, the mission has been monitoring violations of humanitarian law across the whole country.

Commenting on last week’s HRMMU report updating information about civilian casualties, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, is quoted as saying Russia’s “indiscriminate” actions in Ukraine may amount to war crimes.

There is growing evidence of such crimes, she said, as Russian armed forces have shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools, apartment blocks and other infrastructure in a bid to destroy the indomitable spirit of Ukrainians.

Humanitarian law has not only been ignored but tossed aside with no attempt by the Russians to distinguish between civilian and military targets; and the lives of civilians throughout the country have been devastated. As more atrocities, including mass summary executions, come to light, the horrors inflicted – particularly in places such as Mariupol – were described by Zelensky in his address to the UN Security Council as the worst crimes since the Second World War.

Clearly, it is too early to say how and when the perpetrators of this unspeakable evil will be held accountable. But many people will be glad to know what the UN is doing to gather evidence of genocide. I have seen no further reports about the recent petition, backed by former British Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Sir John Major, calling for the creation of an international tribunal similar to the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after the Second World War. But the International Criminal Court is reported also to be collecting evidence in support of its probe into war crimes, and the Metropolitan Police in London announced recently that in support of the ICC it was gathering testimony – in particular from refugees fleeing the conflict -- which would be tested against UK evidential standards and could be used in support of a charge of genocide.

So, as this terrible, cruel, wasteful and unnecessary war continues, at least it is encouraging to know that the evidence of war crimes is being accumulated and that the UN is playing an important role in that. Meanwhile, it is reported that the heavy sanctions imposed on Russia are beginning to bite. As Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted recently, “Russia must be designated a state sponsor of terrorism and treated accordingly. No business, no contacts, no cultural projects. We need a wall between civilisation and barbarism”.

A ROYAL HAPPY BIRTHDAY

A NEW portrait of The Queen standing with her two beloved white Fell ponies – called Bybeck Nightingale and Bybeck Katie – was released by the Royal Windsor Horse Show to mark her 96th birthday on April 21; and what a delight it was to see her looking so well. Vast numbers of people in Britain have sent her birthday wishes and expressed the earnest hope she will remain in good health. Many were also glad to see the lovely message of birthday greetings from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who said how particularly special it was to be celebrating her birthday in this Platinum Jubilee year, calling her an inspiration to so many across the UK, the Commonwealth and the world.

Some people are puzzled about the difference between the Queen’s actual or real birthday and her official birthday. The latter is normally held on the second Saturday of June and celebrated with the ceremony of the Trooping of the Colour on Horse Guards Parade in central London. This brings together hundreds of soldiers, musicians and horses and represents the army’s allegiance to the Crown. Because the Monarch’s actual birthday might be during the winter months this traditional annual parade is held as an official birthday in June since the weather is likely to be better at that time of year. In this Platinum Jubilee year, celebration of the official birthday has been brought forward to Thursday, June 2 to kick-start the four-day bank holiday weekend during which a series of public events and community activities will be held to mark Her Majesty’s seventy years on the throne.

Against this happy background, how dispiriting it was to see a headline in the UK press last week -- screaming off the page -- saying “Sussexes now a greater threat to Britain’s monarchy than an army of republicans”. This referred, of course, to Prince Harry’s interview for NBC’s morning show aired on April 19. Having called on his grandmother at Windsor on his way to attending the Invictus Games for wounded veterans in the Netherlands, he praised her sense of humour and laid claim to a special relationship with her. But he accompanied that with a dig at the Royal Family, saying that he was “just making sure she’s protected and got the right people around her” and thereby implying those looking after her could be doing a better job.

Reportedly, royal staff are now saying that Harry is delusional and they accuse him of “breathtaking arrogance”. He declined to attend his grandfather’s memorial service on what many feel were spurious grounds of a lack of security and he is continuing to undermine the institution of the Royal Family which The Queen holds so dear. He clearly learnt nothing from last year’s damaging interview with Oprah Winfrey when, in trashing his own family, he also made allegations of racism.

As far as I can see from a study of the UK press, more and more members of the public regard him as a somewhat shallow loose cannon who blurts out ill-considered remarks without understanding the effect they may have on others – and now his so-called memoirs due to be published in the autumn are awaited with some trepidation as further barbs and criticism from him are said to be widely expected.

Be all that as it may, the evidence shows that the majority of the British people agree with the sentiments expressed -- at the time of Prince Philip’s passing last year -- by the Prime Minister who spoke of the Monarchy remaining “an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life.” It is reasonable to conclude that most people consider it reinforces the nation’s sense of identity and belief in its history. Moreover, as political leaders have increasingly forfeited public trust and anyway come and go with increasing regularity, The Queen as Head of State is a symbol of stability, unity and continuity in an uncertain and troubled world. So, despite the disruptive antics of Harry, she remains a much loved and revered figure – and surely most people will have been glad to learn that she apparently spent her 96th birthday happily at her treasured Sandringham estate in Norfolk where she and Prince Philip spent so much time together over many, many years.

BORIS UNDER RENEWED PRESURE TO RESIGN

LITTLE over a month ago, I drew attention to an article in the UK press entitled “Boris’ woes are ancient history”. This was based mainly on his impressive handling of the Ukraine crisis and his effective leadership in relation to it on the international stage. There was a general feeling that political unity was important at such a time and that he should be left alone to get on with the job. “Partygate” was therefore put on the back burner even though the police were investigating his office’s party culture during last year’s coronavirus lockdown. I write about this again today because from feedback in relation to earlier articles about him there appears to be continuing interest in the British Prime Minister’s activities.

How the situation has changed for him since March. This is not because he has suddenly failed to perform as the nation’s leader – for example, not only did he himself make a successful visit to Kyiv earlier this month but he has also just returned from a fruitful trip to India, with the two countries aiming for a free trade deal and signing a new defence cooperation agreement. But events have moved on quickly -- as one of his predecessors, the former Labour Party leader Harold Wilson, was reputed to have said, a week is a long time in politics, meaning that political fortunes can change drastically in the course of a single week.

The saga of “Partygate” has come to a head. The Metropolitan Police have determined that the coronavirus laws were flouted at No 10 Downing Street and Boris Johnson has become the first British Prime Minister to be fined for breaking the law while in office. He faces further possible fines as the police continue their probe in to rules-breaking events. He and his colleagues were attending parties while the rest of the country was on a strict lockdown, and opinion polls show the extent of public fury at this behaviour. That is widely considered to be a failure of leadership and judgment at the heart of government and would normally be curtains for a political career. But, although he has apologised to Parliament for his error of judgment and made wholesale changes to his staff, Boris Johnson appears to be brazening it out while a “privileges committee” considers the separate issue of whether he misled the House of Commons by maintaining there were no parties at No 10. If he is found guilty of knowingly misleading Parliament, that would be a breach of the ministerial code which would normally result in resignation. His future may also depend on how his Tory Party fares in local elections in early May.

There is no space today to comment further beyond observing that the coming days and weeks will be fraught with danger for Mr Johnson, as his critics say that irreparable damage may have already been done and his grip on power broken since he has lost the moral authority to lead. But he was elected in 2019 with a huge majority and he seems as determined as ever to stay in office.