More of the Same?

U.S. federal investigators have formally charged the brother-in-law of former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whose UN administration launched the $64B aid scheme for Iraq, with corruption. The oil-for-food programme was a UN-based aid effort to alleviate the suffering of Iraqis as the UN imposed economy-crippling sanctions against Iraq as a result of Saddam Hussein's unwillingness to accept the presence of weapons inspectors.

And it was Kofi Annan, at the start of his own tenure at the helm of the UN, who hand-picked Benon Sevan to run the programme. Mr. Sevan was a highly-esteemed and trusted colleague, for among other matters, he had worked for the agency for 40 years. He stands accused of bribery and conspiracy to help Saddam Hussein evade UN Sanctions, along with Mr. Boutros-Ghali's brother-in-law.

And then, of course, there was the instance of Kofi Annan's son also involved in kick-back schemes for personal gain, while he was in the employ of another company that did business with the United Nations. Of course the net has to spread a lot wider, to include American and British businessmen, all of whom profited greatly through this corrupted scheme meant to aid ordinary Iraqis through the dire economic straits they were living in.

There have always been cronies of those in power being able to live high off the hog through the ins-and-outs of the United Nations. Nepotism, favouritism, self-entitlement, jaundiced politics and a total lack of accountability run rampant throughout this cumbersomely weighty organization. Criticism has always been levelled at the organization while at the same time it was being credited as the only, the last and best opportunity for world peace through critical negotiation between country-delegates.

Each succeeding UN secretary-general has acknowledged pro forma that the agency has a problem that needs to be addressed and that they fully intended to come to grips with the problem to ensure that the world body operates more effectively, efficiently and bias-free. Now here we have a new secretary-general, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, and he is sweeping the corridors of power clean of his predecessor's hand-picked representatives.

In the business of installing his own selections in choice positions within the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon's strategy of identifying the most capable individuals, interviewing and making final selections has some puzzled onlookers. At the casual manner in which he has gone about the process. Somewhat like picking a name out of a hat. He explained that he was "secretely interviewing/scrutinizing potential candidates without their knowlege, during his own campaign for the position of secretary-general.

"To tell you frankly during the campaign, I was interviewed by [very senior people]," he said. "They might not have known I was also interviewing them." Certainly if they had suspected any such thing their later having been chosen by him to fill top positions under his administration might well be viewed as collusion. That doesn't, however, appear to be the case. Mr. Ban has simply instituted a puzzlingly bizarre method-without-a-method of selection. Let's call it casually opportune.

He has also been keen on handing out sterling advice to business and public dignitaries, along with UN diplomats; part of a speech at a high-profile meeting lately, that they should consider taking the subway in favour of chauffeur-driven cars. Then he stepped into his Mercedes to be driven the 8 blocks to his official luxury apartment in Manhattan. During his speech, his chauffeur had parked his limousine beneath a "no standing" sign, obstructing traffic.

We can see large changes ahead at that august body.