INDEPTH: THE UNITED NATIONS
Changing the UN:
Kofi Annan's recipe to revamp the world body
CBC News Online | March 21, 2005
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan
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The United Nations enters its seventh decade of life in 2005, badly in need of a makeover. And Kofi Annan wants to be the architect of that change.
When Annan began his first term as United Nations secretary general in 1997, hopes were high that he would be a leader that would restore the reputation of the world body. The United States was one of his strongest backers for the job – as it vetoed a second term for Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
Boutros-Ghali had faced criticism over the UN's failure to prevent the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and his inability to gain support for intervening in Angola's ongoing civil war. His reputation took a severe hit as the world debated whether the UN was effective and Americans argued about whether they really had a role to play within the UN.
Annan was renewed as secretary general for a second term on Jan. 1, 2002, less than a month after he and the world body were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee said Annan "had been pre-eminent in bringing new life to the Organization." In also conferring the prize on the UN, the committee said that it wished "to proclaim that the only negotiable road to global peace and co-operation goes by way of the United Nations."
But as 2002 progressed, the road got rockier for Annan. Once again, the United States would question the relevance of the UN, as well as its role within it. The debate over what to do about Saddam Hussein consumed the UN for most of the year. By the end of the year, the Americans made it clear that they did not need the blessing of the Security Council to invade Iraq and topple Saddam.
Annan insisted that any military action would have to be authorized by the UN to be legitimate. He would later call the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq illegal.
Then the financial scandals began to unfold. In June 2003, an accountant found that someone was embezzling money from the World Meteorological Organization. In January 2004, reports surfaced of corruption in the UN-administered oil-for-food program for Iraq.
Internal auditors found UN officials repeatedly overpaid contractors and inadequately monitored the program, which was set up to let Iraq export oil despite economic sanctions and use the proceeds to buy food, medicine and other supplies.
Annan's son, Kojo, was implicated, accused of taking payments while he worked in Africa for a company that had an oil-for-food contract.
As well, there are allegations that UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo raped some of the women they were sent in to protect.
In the United States, there have been calls for Annan to resign before his term expires at the end of the 2006. In December 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush – while stopping well short of calling for Annan's resignation – refused to express confidence in Annan remaining in office.
Bush linked American financial support of the UN to a full accounting of the oil-for-food program, and investigation of reports that Saddam was able to divert more than $20 billion while UN sanctions were supposed to be in effect.
And as Bush settled in for a second term as U.S. president, his appointment of a new ambassador to the UN was a major surprise. John Bolton has been described as a combative neo-conservative who once called the UN "a great, rusting hulk of a bureaucratic superstructure." He also claimed that Washington has no legal obligation to pay its UN dues.
ANNAN'S PROPOSALS:
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| Report of the Secretary-General [pdf format]
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Annan has vowed to update the world body. On March 21, 2005, he unveiled a sweeping agenda for change, paying particular attention to a shakeup of the Geneva-based Human Rights Commission "whose capacity to perform its task has been undermined by its declining credibility and professionalism," he said.
Annan wants to replace the commission with a Human Rights Council made up of members elected by the UN General Assembly with a two-thirds majority.
This would end the current practice of regional groups nominating their own members and then having them protect the regional groups at the commission. That is how Sudan escaped criticism of its handling of the Darfur crisis in the 2004 session.
He also wants to expand the Security Council from 15 members to 24, to make it more representative.
Annan has also proposed:
- That the Security Council should adopt a set of clear principles on use of force, such as whether the military option is proportional to the threat at hand, and whether there is a reasonable chance of success.
- A "responsibility to protect,'' even by force, against atrocities against civilians when a state is unwilling or unable to do so.
- Quick adoption of a resolution calling for a comprehensive treaty against terrorism, including suicide bombers or anyone who deliberately harms civilians.
- Establishing a voluntary "strategic reserve force'' that can move into crisis situations quickly and create a peace-building commission to help stabilize post-conflict societies.
- That rich countries should establish a timetable to reach a 35-year-old goal of earmarking 0.7 per cent of gross national income for development aid by 2015. They should establish a lending facility to kick-start development and embrace debt forgiveness.
- Creating a democracy fund to help countries seeking to bolster a democratic society.
- Revitalizing the 191-member General Assembly by streamlining its agenda, committee structure and debating procedures.
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The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization created during the
First World War. The league was established under the Treaty of Versailles to promote international co-operation and peace and security. The league stopped operating after failing to prevent the Second World War.
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