The talking shop that can’t stop spewing lies and hypocrisy

Author of "Moscow Calling: A Personal Portrait of Russia from Communism to Putinism Hurrah, it’s time for the “UNGA games” – the week when world leaders converge on New York to praise themselves and lecture others at the United Nations General Assembly. The air will be thick with lies and hypocrisy as the world’s biggest political forum struggles to prove it still has relevance in a conflict-ridden world. This year’s talking shop comes at the end of a year when the post Second World War “rules-based international order” was declared dead. Donald Trump has not only decapitated governments in Venezuela and Iran but also turned on his own allies as well, notably Canada and Denmark/Greenland. In truth, its demise was mourned only by those who clearly benefited from it, namely the US and its allies. Much of the rest of the world had long ago perceived that the only real rule in the rules-based order was the one that gave America and its friends the right to do whatever they wanted, while the rest did whatever they were told. Shorts This meant that human rights abuses in a Nato member such as Turkey were conveniently overlooked, while similar abuses in places like Russia prompted outrage and sanctions. Earlier this century, the rules-based order allowed the US and UK to launch a massive illegal invasion against Iraq without the two countries’ leaders facing any reprisals. Yet, when Vladimir Putin thought he could pull off a similar stunt in Ukraine, he discovered the rules didn’t apply to him. It was sanctions and international arrest warrants, while George W Bush lives comfortably as an elder statesman and Tony Blair has a whole institute from which to lecture the world on how it should behave. Putin deserves all the criticism he gets, of course, for his unjustified attack on Ukraine. But do his accusers, some of them fresh-faced from their own exploits, not even blush at the irony? No wonder the majority of the leaders gathering in New York this week regard that kind of Western-dominated world order with a healthy dose of scepticism. Many also feel the UN’s supreme body, the Security Council, is a paper tiger, since its five permanent members – the original nuclear powers of France, Britain, China, Russia and the USA – regularly veto any resolution that goes against their own interests, allowing them and their allies to effectively do what they like with impunity. The ‘Non-Violence’ sculpture outside the United Nations headquarters in New York (Photo: Benoit Doppagne/Belga Mag/AFP) The US regularly vetoes any resolution that is critical of itself or of Israel. China and Russia do the same for their own actions. In the past, Andrei Gromyko, a Soviet foreign minister during the Cold War, issued so many vetoes he became known as Mr Nyet. Many wonder why countries like the UK and France have such an elevated and powerful status, when the world’s rising economic powers, such as Brazil and India, not to mention Japan or Korea, have to sit in the cheap seats politely applauding the old crumbling order. The hypocrisy and double standards will be on full view this week when Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech directly to delegates in the General Assembly hall, while the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, will give his speech by video link – because the US refused to grant him a visa. Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on the other hand, despite his country being at war with America, will be there in person. Can anyone explain the rules here, please? At least the escalators inside the UN building will definitely be working this year. The UN’s general secretary Antonio Guterres said “additional measures” have been taken to ensure that nobody will “interact negatively” with the moving staircases, after Trump accused the UN of sabotaging him last year when he was briefly left stranded on one. At least that’s one accomplishment that will come out of this year’s event. Angus Roxburgh is a former foreign correspondent and media consultant, and author of ‘Moscow Calling: A Personal Portrait of Russia from Communism to Putinism’