VATICAN CITY, FEB. 24, 2003 (Zenit.org).- A unilateral war against Iraq, without the approval of the U.N. Security Council, would be a "crime against peace," says a Vatican official.
At a conference on peace held today in Rome, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, Vatican secretary for relations with states, referred to Paragraph 4 of Article 2 of the U.N. Charter, which states that nations must not engage in war as a means to resolve international differences.
The Holy See's position is that every action "must be undertaken and decided in the context of the United Nations. Only the U.N. Council has the power to decide on an armed attack as legitimate defense, which presupposes the existence of a previous aggression," the archbishop said.
Thus, the U.N. inspectors "must be able to continue their work," the Vatican official said.
Archbishop Tauran said he thinks that there is still room for "peace and hope, although if this is to be so, it is necessary that Iraqi leaders know how to comply with the code of conduct and of membership in the society of nations."
The Vatican official made these statements at a conference organized by the Dermo-pathological Institute of the Immaculate, which specializes in skin diseases.
ZE03022403 - 2003-02-24
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-6623?l=english
Unilateral War Would Be a "Crime Against Peace," Says Archbishop
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