Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - December 8, 2004
Evelyn Leopold
Annan has been accused by some Republicans in the U.S. Congress of presiding over corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program for Iraq, administered by the United Nations but supervised by the 15-nation Security Council.
"I interpret this long ovation as an acknowledgment of your actions and also an expression of confidence in yourself and also of the work you have undertaken at the helm of the United Nations," Assembly President Jean Ping of Gabon said after the applause, which lasted nearly a minute.
"In a world that is held hostage to doubt, by confusion and at times to confrontation, you have always remained a point of reference as well as a source of wisdom and of inspiration for millions of individuals worldwide," Ping said.
Many European, Asian and African leaders had already come to Annan's defense. U.S. diplomat Patrick Kennedy was among those standing in the General Assembly hall, although the White House has issued no statement of support.
"It was merely a sign of respect," a U.S. official said.
Annan was there to brief the assembly on an independent report by 16 current and former world leaders and prominent diplomats on how the United Nations should be reformed to address global threats in the 21st century.
MILITARY INTERVENTION
The 95-page report outlined 101 proposals, including new criteria for military intervention and how to combat poverty, AIDS, social upheavals, nuclear proliferation, terrorism and organized crime.
It criticized U.N. bodies ranging from the Security Council to the Human Rights Commission and suggested that the world body offer buy-outs to many of its aging staff.
Annan stressed his proposal for a security directorate, which the assembly so far has declined to support without major funding cuts. He had urged a $97 million overhaul of security, which would involve creating 778 new posts worldwide.
"Recent events have taught us, in the most painful way imaginable, how necessary that is -- and rigorous investigation has shown that the losses we have suffered are in large part due to defects in our security system," he said, referring to a deadly August 2003 bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad.
The world body must act on proposed reforms or accept the possibility of "a future cascade of nuclear proliferation" or genocides, Annan warned. "Will we again resign ourselves to watching passively until it is too late?"
The reform report was issued last month as several U.S. congressional committees investigated the oil-for-food program and heaped criticism on the world body as a whole.
The humanitarian program was launched in December 1996 and continued until last year to allow Iraq to supply nonmilitary goods to civilians suffering under U.N. sanctions imposed in 1990 after Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait.
Most of the corruption revealed so far involves illegal transfers or smuggling of oil, which the Security Council, including the United States, knew about and controlled.
But investigations, including one set up by Annan, are also looking into whether U.N. employees received bribes from Iraq and how much U.N. staff knew about inflated contracts.
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