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Issue: July 20th 2003

NWI Insights - Canadian Prime Minister proposes guidelines for the response of the international community to countries in need

Last week a story on NWI by the CBC reported that Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has developed a proposal to give permanent guidelines for the response of the international community to countries in need. Fourteen governments met in Bagshot, England and agreed in principle to the proposal.

The report explains that the Canadian proposal was created at the request of Kofi Annan and that there are three main precepts. Firstly the international community has to be more responsible to protect people from harm when the government of that country does not or is unable to prevent it. Secondly, there are specific rules regarding military intervention. Thirdly, peacekeeping and rebuilding are undertaken in any country where intervention is deemed necessary.

If Chrétien's proposal was in force now it could have been used for many situations such as Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Liberia.

The report asserts that the proposal also outlines reformation of the Security Council at the UN to make it more inclusive and thus reflective of international will. It would eliminate the use of the veto and thus prevent repeats of Kosovo when Russia vetoed UN intervention and NATO had to step in to prevent further attrocities.

The UN is expected to consider the policies in the autumn and it is hoped that the full international community will support the changes. Chrétien argues that even if the US are not prepared to sign the proposal it can still work. The landmine treaty was never signed by the US but this has not stopped the rest of the international community undertaking the clearing of landmines throughout the world.

This extract forms part of just one of the many insightful news features presented on the 24 hour news network Newsworld International (NWI). If you would like further information or are interested in subscribing to NWI, visit their website at http://www.nwitv.com or telephone their subscription service on 1-800-280-4388.

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