USA/Africa Dialogue, No 545: Kofi Annan's World

Annan 'bows to US pressure'

Thalif Deen

25 March 2005 09:59

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's radical blueprint to restructure
the world body has received mixed reviews from diplomats, human rights
activists and NGOs.

“Millions of people are dying because of conflict and poverty while rich
countries are busy jostling for Security Council seats,” said Nicola Reindorp,
head of Oxfam's New York office.

A South East Asian diplomat said Annan “seems to be bending over backwards” to
please the United States — as evidenced in his call for a new council on human
rights, a fund to promote democracy worldwide and his plans to rid the
organisation of “traditionalist” senior staffers by “buying out” their
contracts. “The hidden hand of the United States is missing,” he said, “but the
fingerprints are visible.”

“Key aspects of the report reflect UN efforts to comply with US pressures,” said
Phyllis Bennis, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for Policy
Studies. She said there is obviously some focus on recent US attacks on the UN
for allegations of misconduct, including calls for a large-scale “buy-out” of
UN staff.

In discussions of the need to settle on a definition of terrorism, Bennis said,
Annan's report calls for abandoning even the discussion of “state terrorism”,
most often identified with military strikes by Israel and the US, and sometimes
Russia.

“Although the report refers to existing international law being sufficient for
dealing with the actions of states, the reality is that those existing
international treaties and UN resolutions have proved insufficient to hold
Israel, the US or Russia accountable for their violations,” said Bennis, author
of Calling the Shots: How the US Dominates Today's World.

“The fact that the report begins with the self-imposed limitation to only deal
with reforms that can be accomplished, reflects the unwillingness of the UN
leadership to issue a wholesale call for the UN to reject the domination of the
US and to take sides with the ‘second superpower' in challenging Washington's
drive towards empire,” she added.

Reindorp's fears about an over-emphasis on the expansion of the Security Council
have been reinforced in the report, where Annan said: “Two years ago, I declared
that in my view no reform of the United Nations would be complete without reform
of the Security Council. That is still my belief.”

But, for the first time, he attempted to link development aid with the expansion
of the Council. He said that developed countries running for permanent seats
should “achieve or make substantial progress” towards the internationally
agreed level of 0,7% of gross national product (GNP) for official development
assistance (ODA).

This is the 35th year since the UN General Assembly first affirmed the target of
0,7 of GNP as ODA. But, so far, only five countries have met or surpassed it:
Denmark, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Six others have
committed themselves to specific timetables to achieving the target before
2015: Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Spain and Britain.

Still, the remaining 11 of the world's 22 rich nations have failed to make any
commitment to meet this target.

Although Annan did not say that this should be a condition for Council
membership by rich nations, he argued that those participating in major UN
decision-making should contribute most to the UN financially, militarily and
diplomatically.

Bennis said this “highlights the stark reality that only wealthy countries are
likely to gain new permanent seats.”

Annan said new permanent Council members should include those who make
significant contributions to UN-assessed budgets, participate in mandated peace
operations, contribute to voluntary activities of the UN in areas of security
and development, and participate in diplomatic activities in support of UN
objectives and mandates.

The report backed a proposal made by a high-level panel on UN reform, which
earlier this year called for two alternative models: Model A provides for six
new permanent seats, with no veto being created, and three new two-year,

non-permanent seats, divided among Africa, Asia and Pacific, Europe and the
Americas. Model B provides for no new permanent seats, but creates a new
category of eight four-year, renewable-term seats and one new two-year
non-permanent seat, divided among the four regional groups.

Currently, the Council has 10 rotating, two-year, non-permanent seats and five
veto-wielding permanent seats held by the US, Britain, France, China and
Russia.

Responding to Annan's proposal, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura
said, despite the fact that Tokyo had fallen short of the 0,7 target, it was
still “a major development aid donor shouldering close to one-fifth of the
total volume of worldwide development assistance over the last 10 years.

“Japan will continue to make such a resolved effort to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals and, to that end, will strive to increase the level of ODA,”
he added.

The goals include a 50% reduction in poverty and hunger; universal primary
education; reduction of child mortality by two-thirds; cutbacks in maternal
mortality by three-quarters; the promotion of gender equality; and the reversal
of the spread of HIV/Aids and other diseases.

A summit of 189 world leaders in September 2000 pledged to meet all of these
goals by 2015. But their implementation has depended primarily on increased
development aid by Western donors. A second summit, scheduled to take place in
New York in September, will review the progress made and set the world's

development agenda for the next decade. — IPS

Annan 'faulted' over oil-for-food

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to face criticism of his judgement in a new report on the UN's oil-for-food programme in Iraq.

An independent panel has investigated claims Mr Annan ignored a conflict of interest over his son's work with a company with a key UN Iraq contract.

Mr Annan says his son's work with Cotecna did not help the company win weapons inspection contracts.

Correspondents say the report may fault Mr Annan but clear him of corruption.

The report, to be published on Tuesday, is expected to criticise Mr Annan for failing to prevent or foresee a potential conflict of interest over his son's role with Cotecna.

Kojo Annan, who was a trainee with the Swiss firm from 1995 to 1998, continued to be paid a $2,500 monthly salary until February 2004, Reuters news agency reports.

The former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, who has headed the inquiry, is understood to have been highly critical of Kojo Annan for concealing his connection with Cotecna from his father.

The report comes at a delicate time for the UN and its secretary general.

Last week Mr Annan announced plans for the largest reform of the organisation in its 60-year history.

And allegations of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers and financial mismanagement by senior staff have tarnished the reputation of the global watchdog.

Despite the expectation of criticism, Mr Annan is also widely reported to have escaped serious censure and dangerous accusations of corruption.

France has already backed Mr Annan, offering him "full support".

The oil-for-food programme allowed Saddam Hussein to trade oil for civilian goods during the UN-imposed sanctions regime of the 1990s.

Documents released since the US-led invasion deposed Saddam in 2003 have revealed a string of high-ranking officials and political groups offered bribes and vouchers by the Saddam Hussein regime.

Annan cleared over oil-for-food

A report has cleared UN Secretary General Kofi Annan of wrongdoing over an Iraq oil deal involving his son, but queries his handling of the affair.

The UN inquiry led by former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker was tasked with examining the UN's oil-for-food programme for Iraq.

It found not enough evidence to show Mr Annan was aware of his son Kojo's work with Swiss contractor Cotecna.

But the interim report faulted him over an "inadequate" inquiry into the case.

The report by the independent inquiry was read out by Mr Volcker himself at the UN in New York.

"There is no evidence that the selection of Cotecna in 1998 was subject to any affirmative or improper influence of the secretary-general in the bidding or selection process," according to the document.

Cotecna was hired by the UN to verify goods coming into Iraq.

Kojo Annan, who was a trainee with the firm from 1995 to 1998, continued to be paid a $2,500 monthly salary until February 2004, Reuters news agency reports.

The report comes at a delicate time for the UN and its secretary general.

Last week Mr Annan announced plans for the largest reform of the organisation in its 60-year history.

And allegations of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers and financial mismanagement by senior staff have tarnished the reputation of the global watchdog.

France earlier backed Mr Annan, offering him "full support".

The oil-for-food programme allowed Saddam Hussein to trade oil for civilian goods during the UN-imposed sanctions regime of the 1990s.

Documents released since the US-led invasion deposed Saddam in 2003 have revealed a string of high-ranking officials and political groups offered bribes and vouchers by Saddam Hussein's regime.-------