Annan UN Succession Pits Big Powers Against Developing Nations 

Bill Varner
June 22, 2006
Bloomberg
Original Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=awyC_wI8Gx6c&refer=japan

June 22 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and other major powers that pay most of the United Nations' budget are on a collision course with developing nations over selecting a successor to Secretary- General Kofi Annan. 
The Security Council's permanent members -- China, France, Russia, U.K. and the U.S. -- begin talks next month on who they will back to succeed Annan, 68, whose term expires Dec. 31. In the past, the Security Council's choice has been routinely approved by the General Assembly. This time, though, a coalition of 120 developing nations is demanding a real choice among the candidates, saying they are unwilling to simply ratify the favorite of the big powers. 
``We don't like the permanent members sending us a candidate out of the blue and expecting a rubber-stamp,'' said Egyptian Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz, a leader of the coalition of developing nations. ``We want a greater say. The General Assembly made a mistake by never turning down a candidate from the Security Council. It might happen this year.'' 
The debate comes at a time when the U.S., European Union and Japan are pushing to give more authority to Annan's successor, who will be faced with an agenda that includes curtailing nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, trying to avert a global bird-flu epidemic and ending mass violence in Sudan's Darfur region. 
Unofficial Rotation 
Under the unofficial regional-rotation system the Security Council has followed since the world body was formed in 1945, the next secretary-general would likely come from Asia. Declared candidates for the post so far include South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon, 62; Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, 47; UN Undersecretary-General Shashi Tharoor, 50, of India; and Jayantha Dhanapala, 67, Sri Lanka's former ambassador to the U.S. 
Other names mentioned have included U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, 53; former U.S. President Bill Clinton, 59; and East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta, 56, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. 
Blair, asked at a June 8 press conference whether he was running for secretary-general, said he is ``not going for the UN job.'' Clinton or Blair would have to overcome the unwritten rule that no one from a permanent Security Council member can be elected secretary-general. 
`Unfinished Business' 
``Whoever takes over will be taking on a lot of unfinished business,'' said Brian Urquhart, a UN undersecretary-general from 1974 to 1986 and an aide to Trygve Lie of Norway, the first secretary-general. 
Annan's successor will inherit control of a global organization with 9,000 workers, $5 billion in annual spending and 18 peacekeeping missions. A series of scandals, including misuse of the Iraq oil-for-food program and abuses in the purchase of supplies for peacekeeping missions, has damaged the UN's reputation and brought demands from U.S. lawmakers for accountability. 
The U.S., EU and Japan, which together contribute 80 percent of the UN's budget, have threatened to cut their support unless the General Assembly -- which consists of the world body's 191 members -- cedes more control to the secretary- general over spending and the hiring and firing of employees. 
The UN Charter says that the secretary-general ``shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.'' Annan, a Ghanaian who took office in 1997, and his six predecessors were all chosen by Security Council members in closed talks, then approved by the General Assembly. The only recorded vote ever taken came in 1953, when Dag Hammarskjold, the sole candidate, was approved by a 57-1 vote. 
``Things have to be different'' this time, Indian Ambassador Nirupam Sen said in an interview. ``This is a year of reform. The world has changed. The Cold War has ended and democracy is expanding. This should be reflected in the selection process.'' 
A Draft Resolution 
The Non-Aligned Movement, a Cold War-era grouping of 120 nations that asserted no allegiance to the former Soviet Union or the U.S., has circulated a draft resolution in the General Assembly telling the Security Council to nominate ``two or more candidates.'' The text says picking Annan's successor must be ``transparent and inclusive.'' 
The U.S. supports Security Council control of the selection process; members of the General Assembly ``have their role, and the Security Council has its role,'' U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told reporters. 
While the U.S. has been pushing for a wide-open selection that seeks the best candidate regardless of region, a majority of Security Council members have agreed that, following custom, Annan's successor should come from Asia. The last Asian to lead the UN was Myanmar's U Thant, who completed two terms in 1971. 
U.K. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry called the Non-Aligned Movement's draft resolution ``unhelpful,'' saying it may lead to a divisive vote and a weak mandate for the next secretary- general. Whatever happens, said Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram, ``it will be critical that the new guy come in and put the building back together.''