The UN High-Level Reports and Implications for Africa

Part of a symposium on the report, A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility, issued 14 Dec 2004 by the UN's High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges & Change, discusses this report in comparison with that issued in 2005 by UN Secretary-General, Kofi A. Annan, In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All. It is argued that both reports, though claiming to "offer something for everyone," privilege the interests of the developed world over those of developing countries. Specific problems with each report are delineated, highlighting (1) the lack of attention to human security issues & to the problems of poverty & underdevelopment as security threats, (2) the need to tighten provisions for humanitarian intervention, & (3) problems with suggestions for reforming the Security Council & the power of the veto. The African Union's response to the reports as contained in the Ezulwini Consensus (2005) is reviewed. 5 References. K. Hyatt-Stewart