A Product of the U.N. System 

January 20, 2007
The New York Times
Original Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/20/opinion/20sat3.html

Benon Sevan no longer works for the United Nations. But his indictment on federal corruption charges stemming from his long maladministration of the Iraqi oil-for-food program points to a continuing problem in the U.N. appointments system that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon needs to tackle without further delay. 

Three successive secretaries general chose Mr. Sevan for a series of important jobs, despite his decidedly mixed performance. He is a typical product of a system in which who you know and where you come from count far more than merit or vision. 

Mr. Sevan, a Cypriot, is accused, together with Ephraim Nadler, an Egyptian-born American citizen, of taking kickbacks from an Egyptian oil trader to help him win Iraqi oil contracts. Mr. Nadler happens to be a relative of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the former secretary general. And Mr. Boutros-Ghali happens to have been one of the key promoters of Mr. Sevan’s United Nations career. 

The legal question of Mr. Sevan’s guilt or innocence cannot be properly resolved unless he returns to this country for trial. He may choose not to, since he faces a possible 50-year jail sentence. Some of the charges in the indictment are backed up by the scathing findings of the earlier Volcker commission investigation of the oil-for-food scandal.

There is plenty of blame to go round. The program actually succeeded in its main aim of helping to shield innocent Iraqis from the pain of prolonged international sanctions against Saddam Hussein’s regime. But Security Council members, including the United States, failed to monitor its administration diligently and deliberately winked at Iraqi oil smuggling that benefited American allies. 

But eliminating the dirty little bargains that have always characterized international diplomacy will be a lot harder than reforming the United Nations’ dysfunctional personnel system. That system’s multiple failings, of which this is only the best-known example, has badly hurt the United Nations’ credibility and effectiveness and handed a ready stick to its many enemies. 
Mr. Ban has repeatedly talked about reforming this disastrous personnel system. But his early appointments show little sign of actually doing so. Mr. Sevan’s indictment should be a reminder of why Mr. Ban needs to do better.