Sir, The United Nations has been badly damaged by the invasion of Iraq. Having to deal in a high-profile way with the American Government’s determination to control the Middle East, its attention has been drawn away from the terrible war in the Congo, where earlier attention might have saved many hundreds of thousands.

Nothing in the UN Charter supported the attack on Iraq. However, the US and UK Governments now have control of Iraq and its resources though a new UN resolution (report, May 23). This turns them from an illegal "occupying force" into the "Authority", operated by the US and the UK "until an internationally recognised, representative government is established by the people of Iraq and assumes the responsibilities of the Authority".

The German, French and Russian Governments have avoided a continued, damaging rift. They have chosen, this time at least, to accept the concept that one superpower makes the big decisions about war and peace, and it is better to be onside than outside.

The best outcome for the people of Iraq was the cancellation of sanctions, which have killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people and denied them food and medicine and materials required to rebuild their infrastructure. We must hope that the UN will recover from this and go on to strengthen the rule of international law and observance of the Charter.

Yours faithfully,

JIM ADDINGTON

(Chair, Action for UN Renewal),