Tony Blair famously said his Labour government would, by way of a change from the Tories, have an ‘ethical foreign policy’. Then he joined President Bush’s illegal invasion of Iraq which left millions of Iraqi civilians injured, displaced and dead – hundreds of British soldiers killed or maimed. – billions of pounds spent. Iraq is now divided by sectarian bloodshed and the violence there gave birth to ISIS. An invasion that’s justification was all based on lies, as the UK government knew and helped garnish.
Then the UK joined in with President Bush’s occupation of Afghanistan. Fifteen years – hundreds of thousands of Afghans injured, displaced or dead and hundreds of British soldiers killed or maimed – billions of pounds spent – later the UK beat a chaotic retreat from the Taliban.
The Tories back in power, the UK bombed Libya. Libya is now a failed state under the control of various warlords and home to the people smugglers.
In contrast we have the contributions of our independent Scotland sized neighbours.
NORWAY
‘Promotion of the rule of law, peace, dialogue, reconciliation and respect for human rights are all fundamental pillars of Norwegian foreign policy. All these elements are also important components for countries in transition. Norway works on these issues alone or in cooperation with other countries, researchers, NGOs, and organizations within and outside the UN system. Until now, direct collaboration with international philanthropy has been rare. But in a new development, the Peace and Reconciliation Section of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry has joined with Carnegie Corporation of New York to fund innovation in the field of peacebuilding.‘ – from a piece by Tore Hattrem, when director general of Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Working closely with the Norwegian foreign affairs department is NOREF – The Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
‘Based on Norwegian experiences and practices, NOREF aims to professionalise the process (of conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and reconciliation), identify realistic opportunities for peace and nurture the potential for reconciliation in complex conflict situations. At times, our work resembles that of a start-up incubator: we explore fresh dialogue initiatives, and if we find them viable we spare no effort to help them take off. As a Norwegian organisation that occupies a clearly defined niche, NOREF is able to engage conflict parties across a wide range of issues and approaches.’
Examples of Norwegian efforts: Syria,- Venezuela, Colombia.- Philippines
Ireland
Ireland spends £2 billion less per year than Scotland on defence yet it has a proud record in UN peacekeeping efforts.
‘Ireland has an unbroken record of service with UN peacekeeping missions since our first deployment in 1958. Currently we are the sixth largest EU troop contributor to the UN.’ Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations | PMUN
Ireland has provided a Head of a UN Mission on twelve occasions, a remarkable achievement for a small country.
Irish Defence Forces personnel peacekeeping experience includes the Middle East – Lebanon and the Golan Heights – and in Africa. Like with the UN in South Sudan who are providing mine action training to the South Sudanese police.
‘Members of An Garda Síochána (Irish police) have served with UN peacekeeping missions since 1989, including in Namibia and the Western Balkans. Currently, Ireland has twelve Garda members deployed with UNFICYP in Cyprus.’ (source)
Meanwhile the UK government promoting the Union in 2014 with its usual vacuous rhetoric about being ‘powerful’… and a ‘force for good’.
“We can act as a powerful force for good in the world, but our strength lies in our unity. We are stronger and safer together.” William Hague (read more)
