"Where else would you go when you have an ax to grind?"

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

UNSC seats are not for sale

The Japanese government is pushing for a seat on the UN Security Council and making noises about how if they don't get one they will have to reconsider paying their dues. Japan has the second largest economy in the world and thus pays the second largest amount of UN dues.
Their finance minister this week chided Kofi Anan saying that contributions should reflect member nations authority and responsibility in the UN. You want a seat on the security council, make a contribution like this one and then come talk to me. More than 100,000 Canadians have served on UN peacekeeping missions since Lester Pearson thought up the idea, which frankly, to my way of thinking, is a larger contribution than just cutting a cheque and doing what the United States tell you to do.

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