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UN Performance Problems UN Management Accountability Struggles Where is the Rule of Law? Inadequate UN Oversight Recent Developments
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C.
Secretariat mismanagement scandals revive the management
accountability emphasis -- or not? -- late 2004 ff.
Subsections A and B presented
the Secretariat's "free the managers" efforts and the countervailing
warnings about the dangers of a faltering management accountability effort
during the 1993-2004 period, This IO Watch subsection adds the tumultuous
events and mismanagement scandals which have occurred since late
2004. The Secretariat was at first
contrite about all the mismanagement problems suddenly being
revealed. However, as
pressures for real management reform continued to mount, Mr. Annan and the
senior leadership quickly launched a renewed and belligerent leadership
effort to "free the managers" once and for all. It took place despite mounting
evidence that a mismanaged UN was facing a fundamental leadership,
credibility and performance crisis. The following key quotes give a
chronology of these recent events. "[Secretary-General Kofi
Annan]
has rejected calls for his resignation over allegations about the
UN's Iraq oil for food programme. 'I think resignation is
comparatively easy', he [said]
'It is much more difficult to
stay on and do the job you are elected to do and focus on the important
agenda of the organization and the membership'
Mr. Annan conceded that there
were grounds for criticism of the way the UN is managed
'which we take
very seriously,' he said.
Also, while there were many
bright UN employees, 'we need to improve our management of our human
resources: there's no doubt we can do a better job in identifying,
attracting and retaining the best talent.'" [December
2004]
"Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said Tuesday [at his year-end news conference] that allegations
of corruption in the oil-for-food programme had 'cast a shadow' over the
United Nations and made 2004 an especially troubled year for the
international organization.
'There
has been lots of criticism against the UN, particularly with allegations
surrounding the oil-for-food program,' he said.
'On the question of my possible
resignation,' he said, 'let me say that I have quite a lot of work to do
and, as you have indicated, I have the confidence and the support of the
member states."
[December 2004]
"Imagine if U.S. troops were
accused of sexually exploiting children in impoverished nations
a U.S. Cabinet Secretary were
accused of groping a female subordinate, [but then exonerated]
by the
president
. [an agency head]
and the president's own offspring stood accused of complicity in [a
massive embezzlement racket]
[These things happened in the UN this year.] Where's the outrage?
Why
didn't the mainstream
devote more attention to these scandals? Far from
demanding high-level resignations, they are circling the
wagons. The U.N.'s friends are doing
no favors with this knee-jerk defense.
Leaving the U.N.
is
unrealistic. But it will
never live up to the grandiose expectations of its starry-eyed supporters,
unless they get mad enough to demand real change. So far there's no sign of that
happening."
[December 2004] "Isolated diplomatically over
Iraq, beset with financial and sexual scandals and manifestly failing to
halt genocide in Sudan, the UN must prove its mettle in dealing with the
humanitarian crisis [the tsunami in South-east Asia] or face a threat to
its very existence.
The 9/11 attacks
created a
new kind of threat to world order
The other new crisis is the
descent of the permanent UN bureaucracy into wholesale corruption. There has always been petty
sleaze, but it was accelerated vastly by the UN's oil-for-food programme
Annan is the first secretary
general to be recruited from the ranks of the UN permanent staff. As such, he
is more prone to
defend his bureaucrats from outside criticism.
" [January
2005] "Reaffirming
his pledge to act resolutely on any findings of staff misconduct in
connection with the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq,
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced
disciplinary proceedings against
officials involved in the operation and
broader management measures in
response to the [release of the interim Volcker panel report on ]
the management of the
now-defunct relief effort. [Spokesman
Mark] Malloch Brown acknowledged that 'we're dealing with critical and
vital breakdowns in the management of the UN'
" [February
2005]
"[When the interim Volcker
report on the oil-for-food program was released, Mr. Annan's chief of
staff]
was asked if the report should be read as 'an indictment of
United Nations culture.'
[Mark] Malloch Brown was candid enough to concede that 'the culture
of political complicity' was a serious problem. Members, he said, should 'back
off and allow us to manage this organization.'
Powerlessness
breeds passivity. UN
officials rail against their dependent status while at the same time
taking refuge in it.
[This]
fosters a culture in which no one feels personally accountable. Is
it possible to foster a culture of accountability and professionalism [in
such an organization?]
People who care about the United Nations will have to demand a
change in culture, but also permit a change in culture. The members will, in fact, have
to back off on managerial issues.
"
[February
2005, emphasis added, a pro "free the managers" analysis, but see also the
May and September 2005 items below]
"In February 1998
[Kofi
Annan flew] to Iraq, met with Saddam, and announced, 'I think I can do
business with him.' [It was good business as well]
for the U.N.
which eventually entailed more than $1 billion merely in
U.N. overhead.
In swelling and rotting to a
degree that in the end the world could not ignore, Oil-for-Food offers an
unprecedented view into the inner workings of the United Nations.
The
work ahead should be
to take a long, hard look at what's wrong with the
foundations and to rebuild the place from the ground up. Far greater transparency would be
an immense help in keeping the place honest. But reform has to start with
the Secretariat and proceed along lines that will produce
secretaries-general willing to work vigorously not to save themselves, or
please their pals, but to protect the integrity of the institution." [February
2005]
"The resignation of Ruud
Lubbers
over allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour brought
sighs of relief yesterday from UN officials in New
York. After allegations surfaced
last year, Mr. Lubbers mounted a vigorous defence. Mr. Annan chose to issue a
stern warning but take no further action. Since then, the UN has struggled
to convince an increasingly skeptical audience that it is serious about
addressing mismanagement.
{It is clear that]
something
of a revolution is also needed. For a start, [UN senior
officials] believe that the UN can no longer hand out 'jobs for the
boys' behind closed doors.
According to [an adviser to
Mr. Annan], the UN faces 'a real crisis
an architectural crisis.' " [February
2005]
"
There is a culture of
secrecy that characterizes not only the World Bank, but most of the vital
international organizations -- including the United Nations. Unless these public entities
establish independent oversight, external auditing of managerial and
financial controls and safe channels for reporting wrongdoing, scandalous
harm will continue to weaken them and only compound the grief suffered by
the billions of needy people they are mandated to serve." [February
2005]
"C. The
Secretariat 184.
A capable and effective Secretariat is indispensable to the work of the
United Nations.
In 1997 I
launched a package of structural reforms
and followed up with a further
set of managerial and technical improvements in 2002
185.
But these reforms do not go
far enough. If the United
Nations is to be truly effective the Secretariat will have to be
completely transformed. 186.
The Secretary-General and his or her managers must be given the
discretion, the means, the authority and the expert assistance that they
need to manage [the] organization
Similarly, Member States
must have the oversight tools they need to hold the Secretary-General
truly accountable for his/her strategy and leadership."
[March 2005, emphasis added, Mr. Annan's "In larger freedom"
report] "[In my view,]
the UN is
constitutionally incapable of conducting any operation efficiently or
honestly. Ideally the UN
ought to be run by a global meritocracy -- rule by the best. In practice, it is the opposite.
Any state that can be legally defined as one can join the UN -- it is a club having no rules of
probity or morals.
The result is failure and
graft. UN officials are
not answerable to bodies like Congress or the U.K.'s Parliament, which
would be sure to track down, expose and punish gross abuses and manifest
failures. No senior UN
official has ever gone to jail.
It's rare for anyone to be sacked or removed. The top brass resist any kind of
investigation, on principle.
The oil-for-food inquiry is unique in that it has taken place at
all and seems to be garnering results." [March
2005, emphasis added] "Kofi
Annan, the United Nations' embattled secretary general, claims to have
been 'exonerated' by the Volcker committee's second report into the
organisation's oil-for-food scandal.
He was not. The
committee
did indeed find no evidence of impropriety by Mr. Annan in the
UN giving a hefty contact to Cotecna, a Swiss firm that employed his son
Kojo. But the report is
riddled with unanswered questions and ambiguities. Kojo,
in particular, comes in for damning criticism
This
is hardly the full exoneration that Mr. Annan wanted. Some of his many American critics
are once again baying for his blood.
Asked this week if he would resign, Mr. Annan's answer was
clear: 'Hell, no!' But his reputation has been besmirched, his
credibility undermined and his moral authority badly
eroded."
[April 2005, emphasis added]
"Anyone
who was shocked by the most recent revelations of sexual misconduct by [UN
staff has never been]
in a U.N.-sponsored refugee camp.
The [UN] and its staff lack
accountability.
This
lack of accountability is the central blemish on today's United Nations,
and it lies behind most of the recent headlines. Whether
taking advantage of a malnourished refugee or of a lucrative oil-for-food
contract, the temptation is there, the act is easy and the risk of
punishment is nil.
I arrived in Sierra Leone as a legal aid worker in
2003, one year after
Kofi Annan issue[d] a
'zero-tolerance' policy
[But] I found abuse of a sexual nature almost every day
The
recent stonewalling
[in multiple UN scandals is]
typical of a
bureaucracy dedicated to self-preservation.
The message is: Cover your
tracks and the United Nations will obstruct your prosecution." [April 2005,
emphasis added]
"The General Assembly
"
Regretting that the
present system of administration of justice in the Secretariat continues
to be slow, cumbersome, and costly
14. Notes that staff rule 112.3, which
relates to the financial liability of managers, has yet to be
implemented
" "47. Decides that the
Secretary-General shall form a panel
[49.(a)
to] propose a new
model for resolving staff grievances
that is independent,
transparent, effective, efficient and adequately resourced and that
ensures managerial accountability;
" [April 2005]
"'Unprecedented challenges'
faced by the UN have shown that the world body must immediately
reform'
'The UN must take real action
now, where it is in the Secretary-General's authority to do so directly,
particularly in the critical areas of management, oversight and
accountability'
'Perhaps the most obvious
shortcomings identified by the Volcker Inquiry and other crises are in the
area of oversight and accountability. The current 'control' systems for monitoring management
performance and preventing fraud and corruption are insufficient and must
be significantly enhanced'
" [May 2005, Deputy
Secretary-General's briefing, emphasis added] "The
main conclusions are unambiguous. The
[United Nations] requires stronger executive leadership, thoroughgoing
administrative reform, and more reliable controls and auditing.
There
was corruption within the United Nations at a critical management
point. There was exposure of
important administrative and control weaknesses
The consequences? An
avoidable loss of assistance to Iraq's population and a grievous loss of
credibility to the United Nations.
The
Committee believes: first, 'professional disciplines' at the
United Nations are weak and eroded
; second, there appears to be a
pervasive culture of responsibility avoidance and resistance to
accountability; third, there was
an absence of
suitable administrative infrastructure; and fourth, there was an absence
of adequate and independent control and auditing capacity." [September 2005,
emphasis added, Volcker panel
report]
"Based
on the evidence set forth in Chapters 1 through 5 of Volume III
the
Committee finds as follows: As
the Chief Administrative Officer of the United Nations, the
Secretary-General carried oversight and management responsibilities for
the entire Secretariat.
The record amply demonstrates a number of instances where there was a lack
of support for and oversight of the Programme by the
Secretary-General.
In
sum, in light of these circumstances, the cumulative management
performance of the Secretary-General fell short of the standards that the
[UN] should strive to maintain." [September 2005,
emphasis added, Volcker panel
report] "[Secretary-General Kofi Annan
at his year-end press conference said]
The year about to end has been a
really difficult one -- from the tsunami to events in Lebanon and Darfur
and beyond.
Let us look
forward
I hope [Member States]
. will
agree on a package of management reforms that I shall put before them in
February.
If there's one thing I would
like to hand over to my successor when I leave office next year, it is
that it should be a UN that is fit for the many varied tasks and
challenges that we are asked to take on today." [December
2005]
"In a sense, the alleged
irregularities in peacekeeping procurement [recently reported], involving
possible waste and fraud of up to $300 [million], do more damage to the
UN's reputation than the larger abuse of the UN oil-for-food programme for
Iraq.
The UN Secretariat could rightly put some of the blame on the
Security Council [in oil-for-food]
The secretariat has no such plausible
scapegoat in its mismanagement of peacekeeping procurement." [January 2006,
emphasis added]
"The Group of 77 [132
developing countries plus China] has complained to Secretary-General Kofi
Annan that some of his senior officials continue to recklessly leak
privileged information and to undermine the world body in public.
Asked about the charges of
'management failings' in the U.N. Secretariat, [Mark] Malloch Brown told a
TV interviewer last year: 'We have a hell of a structural problem. The Security Council and member
states generally interfere in the management of this
organization. They've not
given the secretary-general the authority or the resources or the means to
run a modern organization that can be held properly accountable to its
membership.' 'We instead have a highly
politicized interference in the day-to-day decision-making by ambassadors
and their minions,' he said.
The G 77 letter says
'Such
actions, in our view, are a clear contravention of
[UN staff rules and
regulations and UN Charter provisions], which require the staff of the
Secretariat
to be politically neutral
" [The Group] urges him 'to
ensure
that the officials concerned
desist from such practices with
immediate effect.'" [February 2006,
emphasis added]
"A radically expanded range of
activities calls for a radical overhaul of the United Nations Secretariat
-- its rules, structure, systems, and culture. Up to now, that has not happened.
The staff members of the Organization -- its most valuable resource -- are
increasingly stretched. Our
management systems simply do not do them justice.
Previous reform efforts
have
failed to adequately address new needs and requirements
We have too few skilled
managers and a system that does not
integrate field-based staff
The present top management structure of the
Secretariat is not well equipped to manage large and complex operations
Our management system
lacks the
capacity, controls, flexibility, robustness and indeed transparency to
handle multi-billion-dollar global operations, which often
have to be deployed at great speed
In several key areas --
and
perhaps above all the management culture -- the operating model has not
changed significantly since at least the 1970s. Indeed, systems have continued to
weaken as challenges have
grown."
[March 2006, emphasis
added -- Note: This unusual expression of
contrition and candor in the midst of all the aggressiveness, in Mr.
Annan's "Investing in the UN" report, was too late by far in his 10-year
term of leadership]
"On his first working day,
[new UN Deputy Secretary-General] Mark Malloch Brown locked horns with
[UN staff], calling their rhetoric 'toxic' and 'cancerous' and accusing
them of back-stabbing.
Yesterday's meeting, designed
to clear the air at the time of attempted staff cuts, ended
[with
disagreements about] his portrayal of himself as 'one of us.'
[In a March interview he had]
called U.N. staffers 'the people in New York, on these tax-free
salaries,' and accused them of being 'a privileged, tenured minority'
among UN workers.
Last year, as the oil-for-food
scandal prompted reporters to seek information damaging to the U.N., he
said, some staffers cooperated with Turtle Bay enemies, striking yet 'one
more nail in the organization.' ... "We don't enjoy the privileges
he enjoys"
[said a lower-level staffer, referring to Malloch Brown's
reported rental] of a mansion from [billionaire George] Soros at a
below-market rate of $10,000 a month. Separately, contrary to Mr.
Malloch Brown's announced
'zero tolerance policy', 10 [security officials left the UN with severance
pay], although some of them were involved in [an attempted cover up of an
Israeli guard assaulted by fellow workers.]"
[April 2006]
"The United Nations confirmed
yesterday the U.S. Attorney's Office [for the Southern District of New
York] is investigating suspected wrongdoing in
procurement for U.N.
peacekeeping operations. In a further blow
a [new]
report by the [US] Government Accountability Office
describes the
procurement office [that spent about $1.6 billion last year] as
understaffed, poorly trained and badly lacking the oversight that would
uncover corruption, fraud and waste.
'U.N. resources are
unnecessarily vulnerable to mismanagement, waste, fraud and abuse' the GAO
report says, 'because the procurement process is improperly managed
[and] has not committed to
maintaining a professional, trained work force."
[April 2006, emphasis added]
"The United Nations was bracing itself [yesterday] for
a potentially major budget crisis, after the developing world rejected
entreaties by rich countries and the UN secretariat, and was expected to
press ahead with a resolution many fear could sink efforts to reform the
organization. A highly charged meeting of the UN's budget committee
descended on Thursday evening into angry rhetoric
At the
heart of the showdown lay a power struggle for control of the UN, between
developing nations, which constitute the majority of its membership, the
developed world, which pays most of the UN's bills, and the UN
Secretariat, which wants more autonomy."
[April 2006, emphasis added] "Aspiring
to fix top international crises, the United Nations is unable to fix its
own home.
In a resignation statement
, the man
charged with removing asbestos from the [New York headquarters]
building
and bringing it up to current safety codes, Louis Frederick Reuter,
[concluded that] the United Nations is too busy talking
to take care
[of] the crumbling of its own house.
A
'management reform' attempt, aspiring to transfer key powers from the
hands of member states to the secretary general, failed spectacularly at
the assembly recently.
Following such goings on, anyone claiming to care
about the United Nations would be hard pressed to say leaving Mr. Annan
intact was a good bet." [May 2006, emphasis
added]
"The General
Assembly this afternoon adopted resolutions on a number of
major issues, including the Secretary-General's management reform
proposals
While welcoming [Mr. Annan's] commitment to
strengthening the Organization and taking note of his report Investing in the
United Nations
, the Assembly reaffirmed its oversight role and that
of the Fifth Committee in administrative and budgetary matters
The Assembly also highlighted the importance of strengthened
accountability in the Organization and of ensuring greater accountability
of the Secretary-General to Member States. It requested the Secretary-General to
specifically define accountability, as well as
clear accountability mechanisms, in the context of a series of
reports requested in the resolution, and to propose clear parameters for its applications
and instruments for its rigorous enforcement -- without exception -- at
all levels." [May 2006, emphasis
added]
"[Kofi] Annan came into office as a reform advocate
with an insider's eye. [But] many at the United Nations now
believe that new blood is essential if the organization is ever to make
the revolutionary changes necessary for the body to be effective. [UN senior officials] all were appointed by Mr. Annan,
some as late as a few months ago. UN rules call for the deputy and [all
undersecretary-generals to leave office when] the U.N. chief leaves
[But assistant secretary-generals]
are not required
to leave.
In many cases,
[they] carry the institutional memory
The United Nations staff union
recently resisted
reform measures pushed by Mr. Annan's top management
[as] 'bottom heavy'
with [deep lower-level staff cuts,] while leaving many at the top of the
bureaucracy intact.
'" [June 2006 Note: What happens to
his entourage of more than 90 special and personal representatives and
envoys, and his many goodwill ambassadors?]
"On Tuesday,
[Kofi Annan's deputy, Mr. Mark] Malloch
Brown, told a Manhattan audience, "The U.N.'s role is in effect a secret
in Middle America",
He then accused the US 'of being the
only government not fully supporting' [UN headquarters' renovation, not
surprising since the US must provide the huge loan for it],
[and]
opposing the new Human Rights Council.
To cap it off, he interjected himself into the U.S.
political debate: 'Who will campaign in 2008 for a new multilateral
national security?'
We were a little surprised by the absence of any
reference in the speech to [the very recent UN oil-for-food,
peacekeeper sexual abuse, bribery, and major procurement scandals.]
If Mr. Malloch Brown's speech serves any purpose, it
is to remind American taxpayers of everything they don't like about the
U.N."
[June 2006, see however
the second September 2006 item below]
"Not to be outdone by his own ruckus-raising deputy,
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan himself is now instructing the
U.S. on how to treat the corruption-plagued, unreformed and unrepentant
U.N.
Apparently, America's power of the purse is quite
acceptable if it entails forking out money with no reforms required. If the US will only [cooperate]
says Annan, everyone
can 'turn down their rhetoric' and 'engage in serious negotiations'
which will be used 'as a basis for more fundamental change,' which will
happen 'later.' For Kofi
Annan, of course, there's not a lot of 'later' left. He is due to
retire at the end of this year.
The [many UN] scandals are still with
us.
But there has been no major reform.
Mark Malloch Brown referred in his speech
to
'unchecked U.N. bashing'
which has become U.N. jargon for dismissing all
criticisms.
But [the scandals] are sourced and documented, in some cases
by Annan-appointed investigators. The U.N.'s real problem today
is
that one after another, allegations of U.N. misconduct,
mismanagement, conflicts of interest, and corruption have turned out to be
true." What happens next is now up for grabs
" [June 2006, emphasis
added]
"Far from being a beacon of justice to the countries
of the world, the United Nations is 'in breach of
its own human rights standards because of the unfair way it treats its own
employees,' according to a
[new] report by an independent panel of
three international jurists
The [panel]
was appointed after staffers repeatedly
complained about abuse by their superiors in the organization and the lack
of accountable bodies in which to air their grievances. [The panel head described]
a system where everything
is conducted 'under wraps and in secret,'.
[and] said justice is all but impossible for [UN] employees. The existing
structure 'is a sclerotic system that dates back to the League of
Nations' he said, adding that he doubted it could be reformed under
the current leadership of Secretary-General Annan."
[June 2006, emphasis added, the UN staff union's independent panel]
"
As usual both Kofi Annan
and his English boxer,
Mark Maloch Brown, have missed the point in personally attacking the US
and other nations demanding results in UN reforms. Mr. Annan has
had two terms to fix the bureaucracy of the UN
As a product of the UN system, the secretary-general
is incapable of making the changes and reforms required.
Mr. Annan and especially Mr. Brown would be doing a
far better service to the UN if they spent their time fixing the system
rather than attacking their major contributors personally. That does not
seem like a very clever strategy." [June 2006]
"In an
ideal world, it would be good for significant structural changes to be
made to the [UN]
But failing
seismic amendments to the [UN] Charter, there is
still a lot that can be done to improve today's rather sorry state of
affairs: the further reduction of overlapping agencies; a greater
insistence on the quality of incoming UN officials; less rigid emphasis on
rotation; and greater consistency regarding standards when applying
UN
policies.
The same recommendations also apply to the Secretary General's office itself; like Caesar's
wife, it has to be above
suspicion, a house of rectitude, efficiency, and
fairness. Much has been done in this respect, but
the larger point is that, because of unfriendly and disdainful feelings
toward the world organization in some quarters, the Secretariat needs to have a record that is
spotless and unchallengeable." [June
2006, emphasis added, a new in-depth book on UN performance over six
decades]
"Oil-for-Food has had its first airing in [a US
federal court in New York, and a South Korean businessman was found guilty]
The U.N. itself operates immune to any system of
justice ... but at least
[its] location puts within reach of the law some of the private players who feed illicitly off the
U.N. stew of money, secrecy, diplomatic immunity, and privilege.
The jury saw
[exhibits and heard witnesses
questioned] in open court -- unlike the [private interviews conducted] by
Paul Volcker's secretive probe, commissioned by the U.N.
We now have
a verdict that begins to cut through the massive haze that has surrounded
the U.N. Oil-for-Food scandal, in which, at the
U.N. itself, not a single official has even been fired, let alone required
to face a prosecutor in open court. The next trial
is scheduled for November, before the
same federal judge." [July 2006, emphasis
added]
"
An independent panel of experts today issued a
series of recommendations for overhauling the
[United Nations'] system of internal justice.
The Redesign Panel
[said] a
'fundamental overhaul' is needed for managerial reform at the UN to
succeed.
[A]
panel member said the experts had found that
staff members in the field had 'no clue' about their rights about internal
justice. 'A lot of frustrations, but nobody knows where to go, what to
do.' The new system, if adequately resourced, will offer
redress to staff grievances and deal with staff or managerial misconduct
far more quickly and effectively than the
[current system], the experts said
'which is
costly, in terms of time, staff dissatisfaction and the reputation of the
Organization.'" [July 2006, emphasis added,
Mr. Annan's "independent" panel]
"The
prospect of large new peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and Darfur would
push the number of troops under United Nations command to an all-time
high, officials have warned, posing a daunting logistical
challenge as the world body seeks to restore its battered reputation.
But officials are also nervous
In the early 1990s,
early optimism over a big new role for the UN was shattered by its
ill-prepared response to disasters in Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia. ... .[A] UN official said the new
missions were a powerful example of why the UN needed far-reaching
management reforms. 'Unless you get broader reforms firmed up, it will be
very difficult,' he said.'" [August 2006, emphasis
added] "'The United Nations has failed
to
[act on some] key recommendations of an investigation into corruption
in its oil-for-food program in Iraq,
[Mark Pieth, a member of the
inquiry team, said.]
'They're not really taking us seriously'.
Volcker's
probe
castigated top U.N. officials for tolerating
corruption and the Security Council for ignoring $11 billion in
smuggled oil and other illicit earnings outside the program
The
Volcker inquiry said the United Nations needed a truly independent audit
committee. It has established a panel, but it has only one independent member.
The
inquiry also said the United Nations needed to weed out and remove
incompetent employees, but this has not been done. 'Its very
difficult, it goes against the spirit of the institution, but that's what
we are demanding,' Pieth said.
[He also observed that] some 500-1,000 cases mentioned
in the Volcker Inquiry's final report are clear-cut cases of corruption
"
[September 2006, emphasis added]
"A
majority of Americans (57%) now believe the United Nations should be
scrapped and replaced if it cannot be reformed and made more
effective
[according to] an extensive national benchmark
survey
about the UN
While a large majority (73%) want the United States to
'take a much more active role
to influence world affairs',
75% believe
the UN is no longer "effective" and "needs to be held more accountable"
[and] 67% believe "there are too many undemocratic nations in the UN that
do not care about promoting democracy and freedom."
The rejection of the UN is bi-partisan.
It is
therefore not surprising that 71% of the population
want America to cut its financial contribution to the UN. A majority
from every geographic, demographic, attitudinal and political subgroup wants to see reductions
[Asked about reform for the future]
49% first want
to see an end to the corruption and mismanagement." [September 2006,
emphasis added]
"[As the UN chooses a new
Secretary General]
we need someone who will be the un-Kofi
Kofi Annan spent virtually his
[entire
career in the UN establishment and]
he has looked out for the interests
of the Secretariat bureaucracy before the interests of the member
states.] Two
patterns
exemplify what is wrong with the United Nations culture --
self-protection and self-importance.
Failure during Kofi Annan's regime has been rewarded
with promotions as long as the UN insiders
protect the UN organization
where they work from the real consequences of each others' actions. Corruption and
mismanagement have been regular features
The Oil for Food scandal
is
the most obvious example.
The next
Secretary-General
must be a role model, who has zero tolerance for
corruption, nepotism and mismanagement. Kofi Annan's entire UN career has also demonstrated
his arrogance
in Annan's own words, the UN is vested with 'unique
legitimacy.'
[Yet] the UN represents nothing more than the collective will of
a group of disparate states with varied interests, including many
authoritarian regimes that make up the majority of the General Assembly's
membership." [September 2006, emphasis
added]
"As Kofi Annan
[leaves] the United Nations, admirers
say the soft-spoken Ghanian
[has expanded] the secretary-general's role
into 'the world's top diplomat.' Critics are more apt to point to the deteriorating
esteem that much of the world holds for its largest international
organization, or to the scandals that have rocked its walls, and conclude
that a truer moniker might be 'world's worst manager.'
Many analysts
conclude that what the UN needs most
now
is a [strong] manager.
'What is
needed
is someone who is tremendously focused on reforming a highly
flawed institution', says
[an] expert.
'You need someone who won't just preside over a deep well of
corruption but will dig in and do something about it.' 'Fiscal management, patronage,
those are issues that
the next secretary-general will have to pick up,' says another." [September 2006,
emphasis added] "The U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services"
(OIOS)
has uncovered a rash of financial irregularities, including
misappropriation of funds, waste, breaches of regulations, wire fraud and
conspiracy to commit money laundering.
At least five
[of the more than 60 UN entities] pose
'particular oversight challenges'
[the management department, the
humanitarian affairs office, the refugee office, the UN staff pension
fund, and the UN compensation commission.]"
[September 2006]
Note: IO Watch will add a few more quotes up through
December 2006 to close out the "Annan chapter" of this UN management
accountability battle. It will then begin a new subsection here
to cover any meaningful developments (again, mere rhetoric and good
intentions do not count) in 2007. * *
*
*
The General Assembly has demanded management
accountability from the UN Secretariat for more than a dozen years, and
the Secretariat has fought it off for just as long, despite severe recent
mismanagement and misconduct scandals. International organizations are in many
respects like all others in their behavior and culture, particularly in
resisting change and in seeking to preserve their comfortable
routines.
In organizations like the UN, however, outsiders tend to see the
noble aims and aspirations, rather than the day-to-day, benind-the-scenes activities
and realities.
This can be a serious hazard, as summarized by the following
analysis. "The halo that
appears to float over non-profit
institutions -
providing them with an aura of altruism - distracts attention from the
basic fact that non-profits are, first and foremost, economic institutions
Managers of non-profit institutions understand that
the organizations' survival depends on the managers' ability to secure a
generous constituency.
The perception that non-profit organizations are
non-threatening enterprises
conceals their actual size, power, and
competitive determination. [Their mythology and self-portrayal as solely altruistic] misinform the public and allow non-profits to ensure a continued flow of salary and benefits for their managers and the preservation of the managers' power and status. Typically, in a marketplace transaction, one receives something tangible in return. But most [people interact] with non-profit organizations based entirely on faith. Such transactions are lamentable when one party is talking altruism but seeking self-interest. Who will protect generous - and gullible - donors?" | |||
