Regret Is Not Enough 

September 13, 2005
Hartford Courant
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-unreport.artsep13,0,6979487.story?coll=hc-headlines-editorials


Secretary General Kofi Annan told the Security Council last week that he accepts the scathing criticism leveled at him in a report accusing the United Nations of illicit, unethical and corrupt practices in the Iraq oil-for-food program. Yet he audaciously refused to resign or fire subordinates implicated in the report.

Instead, Mr. Annan has hitched himself to the reform bandwagon, vowing to clean up the U.N. apparatus. Promises to do better next time aren't good enough. Relying on the old guard to change its stripes will not restore trust in the organization. 

Defenders of Mr. Annan note that he hasn't been accused of criminal behavior. But to argue that a forced resignation would be justified only if he were indicted would set a low ethical standard indeed. The Independent Inquiry Committee, headed by former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Paul Volcker, blasted Mr. Annan and key subordinates for their misadministration and maladministration of the $64 billion oil-for-food program.

After Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the United Nations imposed tough economic sanctions on Iraq. The regime in Baghdad was allowed to sell a limited supply of oil and use the money to buy food and medicine for the people. Supervision of the program was entrusted to the United Nations, which failed miserably, according to the Volcker report.

Several instances of apparent and real conflict involving U.N. officials and their families are described in the report. For example, a company that employed Mr. Annan's son profited from the oil-for-food program. 

Security Council members , including the United States, were also given a tongue-lashing for turning a blind eye to the smuggling of Iraqi oil worth $11 billion through Jordan and Turkey. Those two countries, which are allies of Washington, were quietly allowed to violate U.N. sanctions.

The United Nations also allowed Mr. Hussein to choose the companies he would deal with to buy his oil and sell food and medicine to Iraqis. That created a climate for kickbacks and illegal surcharges. 

Mr. Annan and his subordinates knew about the illegal deals but chose not to blow the whistle. Members of the U.N. Security Council joined him in a conspiracy of silence. 

In the embarrassing aftermath, the culprits are expressing regret for scandalizing the world body's most expensive undertaking. 

The Bush administration, its friends abroad and top U.N. bureaucrats are now engaging in reform pitter-patter. Ending abuses requires more than changing rules and procedures and rewriting manuals. Don't expect trust in this vital organization to be restored so long as the main cast of characters continues to run the U.N. administration. 
Copyright 2005, Hartford Courant