UN-accountable

Senator Norm Coleman, writing in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, {Note: I couldn't get this article to load in Netscape} outlines the case against UN General Secretary Kofi Annan, but stops short of what seems obvious: an organization that depends on the goodwill of its members for accountability is incapable of being in charge of anything important.

As a former prosecutor, I believe in the presumption of innocence. Such revelations, however, cast a dark cloud over Mr. Annan's ability to address the U.N.'s quagmire. Mr. Annan has named the esteemed Paul Volcker to investigate Oil-for-Food-related allegations, but the latter's team is severely hamstrung in its efforts. His panel has no authority to compel the production of documents or testimony from anyone outside the U.N. Nor does it possess the power to punish those who fabricate information, alter evidence or omit material facts. It must rely entirely on the goodwill of the very people and entities it is investigating. We must also recognize that Mr. Volcker's effort is wholly funded by the U.N., at Mr. Annan's control. Moreover, Mr. Volcker must issue his final report directly to the secretary general, who will then decide what, if anything, is released to the public.

Therefore, while I have faith in Mr. Volcker's integrity and abilities, it is clear the U.N. simply cannot root out its own corruption while Mr. Annan is in charge: To get to the bottom of the murk, it's clear that there needs to be a change at the top. In addition, a scandal of this magnitude requires a truly independent examination to ensure complete transparency, and to restore the credibility of the U.N. To that end, I reiterate our request for access to internal U.N. documents, and for access to U.N. personnel who were involved in the Oil-for-Food program.

I think the UN's role should be redefined to one of humanitarian or aid relief chief coordinator, but nothing more. Even at that, it needs to be reformed to prevent the kind of wide scale corruption that undermined the oil for food program from undermining humanitarian relief programs.

The United States should never again fight a war under a UN flag. In 1991 the US fought to expel Iraq from Kuwait with the UN's blessing. The US then established bases in Saudi Arabia to ensure that the UN's sanctions regime was adhered to by Saddam. Over the next 12 years the US earned the enmity of the Arab world - troops in the sacred soil of Saudi Arabia, blamed for the UN's sanctions regime and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis - while the UN turned a blind eye to the undermining of the sanctions the US was supposed to be enforcing.

Saddam tightened the screws on his people, causing suffering and death for thousands and blamed America. The UN's complicity in this is a reflection of how undermining America was more important for some UN members (including some UN Security Council members) than undermining Saddam's regime.

Ireland, which understandably invests a lot in the UN, should be at the forefront in demanding an accounting from Mr. Annan. The UN allows Ireland to punch above its weight, but if corruption like this had taken place in any Irish state organization there would be loud calls for tribunals, etc.