What routinely happens when a UN Security Council resolution is violated?
Very little. The Council repeatedly calls for states or non-state groups to stop violating international norms of civilized behavior, often in the context of civil wars. Usually the members of the United Nations do no more than act diplomatically, unless the strategic interests of a major power are involved. Morocco has, for example, been obstructing a UN-ordered referendum in the Western Sahara for over 10 years, without any action taken. In the former Yugoslavia, all sides repeatedly ignored UN resolutions calling for cease-fires or negotiations. Q: Are other states guilty of acts similar to those of which Bush has accused Iraq? A: Yes. Many states both support international terrorism and persecute their civilian populations in some way. There are now 190 members of the United Nations, and a few states that are not members, such as Taiwan. In 2000, Freedom House listed only 121 democracies, some of which act in ways that could easily be seen as persecution of their civilian populatio
