DUCKPOND

The natural disasters that have befallen China and Burma have reached considerable magnitude in terms of lives and people made homeless. These will not be the last disasters faced by the world. The role that the Secretary-General of UN is significant, more so in Burma than China. Various ideologies have sought to downplay the role of the United Nations and of International Law.

Ban Ki-moon in China was in Sichuan Providence to give sympathy and encouragement. The BBC reports the death toll is expected to reach 80,000 people with five million made homeless. There are additional problems. For example, the Chinese Government is saying that 50 “sources” of nuclear radiation have been buried by the earthquake. Over thirty lakes have been created by landslides blocking rivers, which presumably means that they will have to be somehow unblocked.

In Burma, Ban Ki-moon may have played a more instrumental role in providing access for outside aid and assistance to the Burmese people. The dictatorship has still closed the countries borders three weeks after Cyclone Nargis. ABC News Online reports via AFP:

Cyclone disaster workers have said they still have no word on when they would get the promised full access to Burma, which wants the world to donate $11.4 billion to rebuild the country.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said he had persuaded military leader Than Shwe to relent on accepting all foreign aid workers, but it was unclear when they would get in – or how much they would be allowed to do once there.

Some aid groups warned that the international community was unlikely to give Burma all the money it will request at Sunday’s donor conference in the main city Rangoon.

The secretive regime has kept all but a handful of foreigners out of the disaster zone in the devastated Irrawaddy Delta since Cyclone Nargis hit three weeks ago, and time is running out for 2.4 million desperate survivors.

Mr Ban said he had confidence in the pledges he received from Than Shwe and his inner circle to let foreigners in to help with the slow-moving relief effort from the May 2-3 tragedy in Burma.

“I believe that they will keep and honour their commitment,” said Mr Ban, who has been in China to tour the earthquake zone there before returning to Rangoon on Sunday for the conference.

“They have all assured that they will fully co-operate.”

The suspicion must be that the delay in getting assistance to people has been too long increasing their suffering. However, it is significant that the United Nations Organization is playing the key role. Perhaps with a reorganization of the Security Council to reflect a contemporary world, and not that following the end of the Second World War, the UN may play the central role in other matters. If the UN grows in status and significance, so too will International Law, which will be a concern for war criminals everywhere.