Boutros-Ghali Assesses U.N.’s Role

On the West Coast to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter, U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali painted a frank and pessimistic picture Friday of the world’s interest in solving raging ethnic conflicts.

“The international community [doesn’t] want to get involved in international affairs,” said Boutros-Ghali during a 45-minute discussion with Los Angeles Times editors Friday afternoon. “They are fed up with international affairs. Why? They were under the impression that we had won the war, the Cold War, now we can relax. . . . And suddenly they discovered that the situation is even more complicated during the post-Cold War than during the Cold War.”

At times, Boutros-Ghali conceded with a laugh, he is forced to employ a time-honored solution to get to sleep after yet another long day at the office attempting to solve the world’s problems: “A Scotch whiskey.

“And if very depressed,” he added, with a louder chuckle, “two Scotch whiskeys.”

The Egyptian professor and diplomat, who took over leadership of the United Nations three years ago, is scheduled to participate Monday with President Clinton in San Francisco ceremonies to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the world body. The charter was signed in San Francisco by 50 nations as World War II was coming to a close.

Boutros-Ghali’s ascendancy has come at a unique time of opportunity: He was the first secretary general elected since the collapse of Soviet Communism and the end of the Cold War. But his activist approach in an era marked by a multitude of ethnic brush fires has been marred by several highly publicized debacles.

In March, the final U.N. peacekeepers retreated from impoverished Somalia--at a final cost of more than 100 lives and $2 billion in what began as a U.S.-led, U.N.-sponsored mission in late 1992 to feed hungry Somalis. And despite the presence of U.N. peacekeepers, observers remain worried that Rwanda is headed toward a resumption of its vicious civil war.

In war-ravaged Bosnia-Herzegovina, most signs indicate that the international U.N. peacekeeping mission can no longer fulfill its mission, including monitoring the warring factions and feeding civilians in the midst of the conflict.

Early this week, Bosnian Serbs finally released the last of more than 370 U.N. peacekeepers they had taken hostage. But the United Nations essentially gave in to the rebel Serbs’ demands. Later in the week, an additional 550 U.N. peacekeepers were trapped in their camp near Sarajevo by the Serbs’ opponents, the Bosnian army.

Regardless, life at the United Nations is far from hopeless, Boutros-Ghali emphasized.

Outside of TV camera range, he said, the United Nations continues to make incremental progress in coping with such longstanding world problems as disease control and deterioration of the environment.

Moreover, U.N. peacekeeping forces have had a relatively quiet, but positive, impact in Haiti and Angola.

“I believe that patience is the key to diplomacy,” said Boutros-Ghali, adding that the alternative in hot spots such as Bosnia would be far worse.

“The problem is that the fatigue is there and the criticism encourages fatigue,” he said. If the United Nations withdraws, “then it will be a real problem.

“Then, the United Nations will be accused,” he concluded, tapping a table for emphasis, “that it is because of the failure of the United Nations that everybody was compelled to pull out.”