Only multilateralism can ensure peace and security
             Global problems such as terrorism can only be resolved through international cooperation based on multilateralism. As the experience of Israel has shown, the willingness to use disproportionate military strength against a weak, powerless people does not, in any way, enhance security, even if that strength is supposedly invoked in the name of fighting terror. Besides, the idea of national sovereignty does not absolve any nation from the obligation, particularly in today's globalised world, of respecting international law. The perils of muscular unilateralism are all too evident: From the deteriorating situation in Palestine to the current mess in Iraq. Cynics may question the relevance of the UN or the International Court of Justice, which has recently censured Israel for its construction of a security wall through Palestinian territory, but that is surely myopic. With the world becoming an ever more integrated - not to mention unipolar - place, it is vital that we have multilateral institutions in place to maintain the necessary checks and balances and to ensure cooperation on matters that affect all the nations.
             Israel's blatant disregard for international legal and public opinion has not paid off - today it faces the gravest ever threat to its security. Had it heeded the UN resolutions advocating a more even-handed deal for the Palestinians, it is certain that it would not find itself in such dire straits. Every effort must be made to strengthen global institutions like the ICJ and the UN. Without them, there is really no check on rogue states like Israel, or for that matter Sudan, where a genocide has been in progression for years. The challenge is to arm these bodies with the necessary teeth to act decisively when gross human rights violations take place. The international community has to band together and frame the rules of international conduct in a way which makes them
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