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| International-UN-NGOs |
| Who needs Fox News when you've got John Bolton? |
| 2006-06-09 |
| But he has done us a service by publicly airing the appalling state of the relationship between the US and the UN. The diplomatic world came to a shuddering halt today when Mark Malloch Brown, Deputy Secretary General of the UN, was undiplomatic: he told the truth. Addressing a US audience, he noted that "the prevailing [US] practice of seeking to use the UN almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not sustainable. You will lose the UN one way or another." Not exactly stirring stuff, but such is the nature of the truth that it caused a massive storm in the land of the brave and the free, led by the US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, who declared Malloch Brown's speech "a very, very grave mistake by the Deputy Secretary General. ... the worst mistake by a senior UN official that I have seen." And just to prove Malloch Brown was right in saying that the administration does nothing to protect the UN from US critics, Bolton led the march: "fundamentally and very sadly, this was a criticism of the American people, not the American government, by an international civil servant, it's just illegitimate." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #15 Massive bitch-slap. I doubt it will change any minds among Al Guardian regulars, but an impressive recitation, nonetheless. Were it not for a few spelling and grammatical errors, it would be worthy of forwarding to everyone under the sun - especially the entire US Congress. I'd wager our dear long lost Diplomad is either a member or advisor. Kudos to Mr Flaherty. Thanks for this, 3dc! |
| Posted by: Glavitch Angineter5765 2006-06-09 23:42 |
| #14 Latest comment on this story is great. I am surprised Al Guardian has not deleted it: VoicesOfTheUN June 9, 2006 11:56 PM Dear Middle America, Recently Mark Malloch Brown, the eloquent speaking number two at the United Nations, said that "Middle America" did not know or understand how the US is constructively engaged with the UN because of UN detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, and that the UN's role is "a secret" in Middle America. And he complains that the US is not supporting even non-controversial issues such as renovating the dilapidated UN Headquarters in New York due to too much unchecked UN-bashing and stereotyping over too many years. Friends in Middle America, the UN deserves to be bashed and bashed hard. Please allow us, a cross-section of Americans and others who work/ed for the United Nations, to give you a glimpse into how the United Nations is run: Hirings and promotions routinely violate UN rules and revolve almost entirely around patronage and whom one knows rather than professional qualifications. Poorly performing managers are simply moved into different management slots while others are placed in senior positions only because of his nationality. The generous salaries for UN employees are free of federal, state and local taxes and come with six weeks vacation, 11 holidays, 10 sick days that are used as vacation, plus 4 weeks of "home leave", rental and housing grants to supplement an already generous salary, and educational subsidies for the children of UN employees. Many also participate in an "alternative work schedule" in which they get every other Friday off. Several of us have advanced degrees in administration, budgeting, finance, personnel, and other relevant areas of management, and we have been trained to manage large public organizations, and yet we are blocked from advancing by men in the 50s with no management training, education, or experience - only sitting in their chairs because they are friends with someone a higher position. We threaten nearly every person we meet because they know they are there based only on their connections. And there is a profound lack of accountability within the UN regarding resource allocation. Simple procurement that would normally take five minutes using modern technology systems takes 2-3 months in the UN. And many United Nations Development Program country offices pay "local experts" outrageously high sums of money for products of dubious quality. Such contracts would never be made by other international aid agencies such as USAID that have much stronger internal controls and oversight. We have witnessed several outrageous examples of graft and corruption within the UN system and yet time and again the scandal is covered up because internal UN financial audits are simply comedy. Forms are from the 1950s, and auditors are most interested in inventorying furniture. In fact, a recent article on internal management in the Financial Times cited a UN-commissioned report released in 1994 that was remarkably damning. Yet nothing changed, leading to this crisis in credibility of the UN. Despite its dysfunctionality, if the UN were actually making a difference in the lives of others, many would grumble or mutter to themselves but the UN deserves its strongest bashing because of its profound inability to respond to genocide, war, famine, natural disaster emergencies, and other tragedies. Kofi Annan, current head of the United Nations who ironically lives in a mansion in New York on the shore of the East River that is worth about $10 million, was head of peacekeeping operations in 1994 in Rwanda when 800,000 people died. He said in 2004 that "I believed at that time that I was doing my best" despite that he held back UN troops from intervening to settle the conflict and from providing more logistic and material support to stop the slaughter. Kofi Annan was unable to stop mismanagement of the Oil-for-Food Program that allowed Saddam Hussein's regime to embezzle millions of dollars through under-priced oil contracts and overcharging in contracts for goods Iraq purchased under the program. According to a Government Accountability Office report, Saddam Hussein embezzled $4.4 billion through pricing irregularities. It is also estimated that Saddam acquired an additional $5.7 billion through illegal oil smuggling. Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna Inspection SA, which won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil for Food program. Kofi Annan protected Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, against a report that found him guilty of sexual harassment and misconduct by declaring him innocent by Kofi Annan. This created a global protest against Annan which resulted in Lubbers being forced to resign. Kofi Annan remains in power while genocide continues in Darfur, while Zimbabwe tailspin into despotism, while up to a third of the population of some African countries will die from AIDS, and while corruption keeps the poorest countries in the starkest poverty. And Kofi Annan arrogantly ignores the fact that the quality of life of several of us has come close to being destroyed by the many bitter experiences we have experienced over the past decades. Most who work for the UN are so used to its dysfunctionality that they have NO idea how sick the organization is or they are unable to come forward vecause most who work for the UN come from countries where the labor laws and protections are abysmal and where speaking out will land yourself in jail or worse. And to add insult to injury, the newly created IOIS (the new "independet" internal oversight panel established to "reform" the UN) has been strong-armed by Malloch Brown and is not independent because its budget comes directly from the UN, thus dissuading anyone from within the UN from coming forward. Unfortunately, as the walls literally crumble down around them, those who work for the UN and citizens who believe in the founding principles of the UN have no understanding how bad it really is. Unfortunately, we encourage young people who are seeking a career in international affairs or development to avoid the United Nations at all costs. We wish there would come a day when we would no longer make this recommendation. Of course the senior leadership of the UN try to hide the profound problems of the UN but shame on them for saying that Americans don't know or understand how the US is engaged with the UN. If Middle America truly understood what ails the UN, the US, who funds nearly 25% of the entire UN budget, would shut off the money spigot. In sum, the UN should be shuttered, allowing a brand new organization to emerge because the current UN is broken beyond repair. For more information, please contact Edward Patrick Flaherty who represents UN employees including our views here. flaherty@sfhc.ch Sincerely, A concerned group of current and former UN employees |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-09 23:26 |
| #13 UN = Dictators and Oligarchs club. I'm done with the whole sorry mess. I don't want input from dictators/oligarchs on the solutions to international problem. I'd be willing to support a "League of Democracy" or other such new international body that has measureable democratic/freedom parameters that states have to achieve for admitance. That kind of input I'd be willing to respect. The current UN system is useless - throw them out of the US. |
| Posted by: Leigh 2006-06-09 15:18 |
| #12 I prefer raping kiddy-diddlers, myself. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2006-06-09 14:07 |
| #11 I was having such a great day until I read this. Now I gotta take my acid reflux meds. Really we only need to site three words: expensive, corrupt, ineffictive. Explains in total why most of America does not like the UN. This guy is just pissed cause he wants in our pocket in some welfare mode. FOAD it's my money and Bolten is doing the right thing here! I gotta get back to the pics of Zark to cheer me up. Oh ya, did not the UN run from Zark when he bombed them in Bagdad? So I guess I'm wrong, cowards should be the fourth word. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-06-09 13:06 |
| #10 What is it we have to lose exactly? I can't ever remember a U.N. team comming into my town to give vaccine shots or dig wells, or anyting. I have never benefited from a U.N. program at all. It seems to me the rest of the world is shooting itself in the foot by pissing us off. After all is said and done, Brussels may be a better place to put the u.n.'s new headquarters, and they can pay to accomodate and protect, and pamper all the "ambassadors" from around the world. All their "clingers on" and spies and bullshit can go on the EU ticket. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-06-09 12:20 |
| #9 "the UN is highly inefficient as an organization, extremely politicized" They forgot "corrupt". |
| Posted by: Fordesque 2006-06-09 10:26 |
| #8 link fixed |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-06-09 10:25 |
| #7 Who's the writer? What an asshat. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2006-06-09 09:52 |
| #6 Right. We should fund UN peacekeepers so they can go out and rape more children. Thanks for telling us what to do. We'll get right on it. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2006-06-09 09:03 |
| #5 You will lose the UN one way or another. Oooooh no! Not that! Say it ain't so, Mallo! |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-06-09 08:05 |
| #4 Agenda peddling masquerading as news. This is the third article in same vein I have read today and none of them mention Japan the second biggest contributor to the UN is also threatening to reduce its contribution. But then that doesn't fit the agenda so is ignored. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2006-06-09 08:01 |
| #3 And when it is unsuccessful, as over Iraq, it simply ignores the UN - whilst giving it a good verbal bashing - then goes off and does as it pleases in any case. I suppose the writer didn't hear that the UN and various governments involved in this were being bribed by Saddam? |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-06-09 07:10 |
| #2 ROFL! This is a major scream. |
| Posted by: Glavitch Angineter5765 2006-06-09 06:51 |
| #1 Linky: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ilana_betel/2006/06/the_und.html |
| Posted by: ryuge 2006-06-09 06:42 |