Neither Bush nor Tony Blair has provided any evidence that such weapons exist. But what we know is that Israel has weapons of mass destruction. Nobody talks about that. Why should there be one standard for one country, especially because it is black, and another one for another country, Israel, that is white. ... Many people say quietly, but they don't have the courage to stand up and say publicly, that when there were white secretary generals you didn't find this question of the United States and Britain going out of the United Nations. But now that you've had black secretary generals like Boutros Boutros Ghali, like Kofi Annan, they do not respect the United Nations. They have contempt for it. This is not my view, but that is what is being said by many people.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Mandela questions double standards on weapons and criticizes contempt for the UN under black secretaries general.
- In plain terms
- There are double standards on weapons and contempt for the UN from powerful states.
- What can you take from it?
- Watch for double standards in international security and UN respect.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you challenge double standards?
- Why should nations respect the UN?
Another view
Claims of double standards may be contested by national security arguments.
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