Security Council calls on all UN members to help build justice in war-torn states

The Security Council today appealed to all 191 United Nations Member States for input into further enhancing the world body’s efforts to establish justice and the rule of law as essential elements of its peacekeeping operations in countries recovering from the crimes and brutalities of civil war and violence.

A ministerial meeting of the 15-member body on the role of the United Nations in justice and the rule of law welcomed an offer from Secretary-General Kofi Annan to provide a report "which could guide and inform further consideration of these matters."

"The Council invites all members of the United Nations, and other parts of the United Nations system with relevant expertise, to contribute to this process of reflection and analysis on these matters," said a Council statement read out by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of the United Kingdom, which currently holds the rotating Presidency.

A further meeting on the same subject is scheduled for 30 September.

In his opening address, Mr. Annan stressed that there could be no real peace without justice, but also underlined the dilemma of balancing need for punishment with the need for reconciliation in war-riven nations.

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