3-29-05, 8:31 am

From Prensa Latina

Sao Paulo(Prensa Latina) US President George W. Bush´s aggressive policy ironically contributed to boost the movement in favor of reforming the UN, one of the 16 'notables' that worked on the project, Brazilian Joao Baena Soares said.

The former Organization of American States (OAS) secretary general told Folha de Sao Paulo daily that 'unilateral actions, positions, and decisions' as those assumed by the US president are unacceptable.

'The UN was already trying to update,' he said, and stated that the US foreign policy did not cause, but contributed unease to the international community, leading to a more accentuated renovation movement.

The diplomat rejected the idea that the UN is becoming irrelevant, which he said is an accusation by 'those whose interests have been damaged by the UN,' in reference to Washington.

According to Baena Soares, 'it is obvious that the Bush government is carrying out a campaign to emphasize superiority of power, but the UN is not irrelevant, and it is proving it has renovation capacity.'

He also said the Secretary General´s document confirms the importance of multilateralism, which makes many people feel uncomfortable. There is a tendency to unilateralism that must be fought.

He partially admitted Folha de Sao Paulo daily´s opinion that the UN should have made concessions, as to recognize some ways of 'preventive' use of force, although he said that the monopoly of the use of force would continue being the Security Council´s concern.'

In relation to the proposal of creating a fund to support democracy, he said that more than a reaction to the so called Bush doctrine, it is about responding through the international community´s participation to challenges and new situations that come up.