"No one at the United Nations doubts that big change is necessary for the institution to regain its footing and restore its name. Mark Malloch Brown, the new trouble-shooting chief of staff, speaks of the need for "another San Francisco moment," a reference to the founding conference of the United Nations in 1945.... Mr. [Edward] Luck, a former president of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, said it was just as customary for Washington to accommodate itself to the United Nations. He recalled that President Ronald Reagan came into office skeptical of the United Nations but left with an appreciation of its importance. "I think the same thing is happening with Bush," he said. "Like Reagan, they've found that they need to do business with the U.N." Read the rest...
"Tragically, the [Oil-for-Food] scandal comes at a time when the world body is needed more than ever to care for millions of refugees, keep the peace in places where it can be kept and stabilize countries prostrate from civil war." Read the editorial...
In today's WSJ (subscription required):
Our Mission Remains Vital
By KOFI A. ANNAN
February 22, 2005
In the past year I have read many attacks on the United Nations -- quite a few, but by no means all, in the pages of this newspaper.
That pains me, because I have served the U.N. all my life. I have done, and am still doing, everything I can to correct its imperfections, and to improve and strengthen it. And I believe profoundly in the importance of that task, because a strong U.N. is of vital importance to humanity.
TRANSCRIPT:
BLITZER: All right. Let's move on and talk about the oil-for- food program that existed until Saddam Hussein's demise almost two years ago. Senator Coleman, your subcommittee's been holding hearings.
What have you learned that's new? Give us one little nugget that you came away with from your latest investigation this week.
In a New Republic commentary (subscription required), James Traub writes about the UN's role in the Oil-for-Food Program: "Oil-for-Food was a conscious act of diplomacy. And it was, on balance, a successful one: The program saved the sanctions, and the sanctions made possible the disarmament of Iraq."
From Saturday's NY Times: "A commission investigating the United Nations' oil-for-food program in Iraq has issued an interim report that sheds some light, but not much, on the nature and scope of this much-ballyhooed scandal."
Washington, DC - "What we have learned from yesterday's report from the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) is that Paul Volcker will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of the problems with the Oil for Food Program. From Secretary-General Kofi Annan's response we learned that he will hold UN staff accountable and fix any and all problems Mr. Volcker identifies. The Secretary-General is using the opportunity of this independent evaluation of UN process and procedures to enact serious and wide ranging reforms. It is a testament to his dedication and determination to reform the UN that he is seizing this moment.
"Not only has the Secretary-General ordered immediate initiation of disciplinary action against two UN officials named in the report as having violated the institution's rules but he has also begun to adopt recommendations that the IIC has made in its two interim reports. These include new management leadership to strengthen the capability and effectiveness of the OIOS [the UN's Inspector General's office]; the creation of an Oversight Committee to ensure action is taken when recommendations are made by the Board of Auditors and Joint Inspection Unit; and making internal audits and reports available to member states."
21st Century Vision: "At a time when the United States is trying to forge a global coalition against terrorism and garner more international support in Iraq, the United States should be trying to fix the United Nations system, rather than destroy it. In an article in "Common Dream," Michael Pan, Senior Analyst for National Security at the Center for American Progress lists ten points about the Oil For Food programme that we should consider."
STATEMENT BY UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION PRESIDENT TIMOTHY E. WIRTH ON THE RELEASE OF THE UNITED NATIONS OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAM REPORT
WASHINGTON, D.C. - "Mr. Volcker's interim report on the Oil-For-Food Program will bring us a step closer to identifying the problems in the program and will give the UN a blueprint to fix them. The Secretary-General took responsibility to ensure the investigation is independent, thorough and public. The Secretary-General has also stated he will hold any wrong-doers fully accountable, and to fix the problems identified by Mr. Volcker as quickly as possible. And, he already has begun to make the necessary changes. As 70 Nobel Laureates recently stated, 'Kofi Annan has never failed to take a critical look at the UN to examine its weaknesses and recommended improvements.'"
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