Secretary General Annan's Report: UN Speak with Positive Goals

By Victor Comras

Secretary General Kofi Annan's comprehensive report on how to adapt and strengthen the UN to handle 21st Century challenges is now public. It covers the full range of UN activities, including, but not limited, to fostering international peace and security. The UN's role in fighting terrorism is only one aspect of this broad strategy, and there are no real surprises. It reflects the "five pillars" approach he outlined in Madrid 11 days ago. "We must act to ensure that catastrophic terrorism never becomes a reality," he says. "This will require a new global strategy, which begins with Member States agreeing on a definition of terrorism and ....{taking} urgent steps to prevent nuclear, chemical and biological weapons getting into the hands of terrorist groups." He wants the General Assembly to pass a Terrorism Convention this year using the definition proposed by the High Level Panel, and for all countries to act quickly to sign and ratify it. Speedy action is also necessary to follow up on an international convention for the suppression of nuclear terrorism. This should be augmented with improved national public health initiatives to thwart biological terrorism. Special efforts are also needed to limit the availablity of small arms, particularly manpads. The International Community, he warns, cannot cede the moral high ground. He wants Member States to establish a special UN rapporteur charged with reporting to the Commission on Human Rights on the compatibility of counter-terrorism measures with international human rights laws. These are all steps that will require action on the parts of governments -- acting in concert in the Security Council and General Assembly, or regionally or nationally. Annan has no specific proposals to strengthen the role of the Secretariat in this regard. That, one can presume, will flow from his more general reforms to improve the professional level of the Secretariat and its management and oversight.

Secretary General Kofi Annan report provides his promised response to the High Level Panel, to the mandate provided him by the Millennium Summit five years ago, and to pressures to bring UN reform and credibility back to the forefront. It lays out new goals and initiatives for the organization. Much of what he proposes is directed at inter-governmental action to beef up the UN's Agenda and consideration of current world problems. His proposals will require special Security Council and General Assembly action.

His proposals are laid out under four broad headings: Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear, Freedom to Live in Dignity, and UN Institutional Reform. For the first he proposes a very active agenda to address international poverty, illiteracy, disease (including HIV/AIDS), and environmental degradation. He also establishes broad goals for economic development and increased international trade. Special attention is paid to the specific problems of poverty, famine and HIV/AIDS in Africa. His "Freedom to Live in Dignity" Strategy places heavy emphasis on promoting democracy, strengthening the rule of law, and assuring both human and civil rights. These are subjects we hear a lot about in the UN context, but which require countries, not the UN, to realign their actions and priorities. Would that the UN could have a major impact on achieving progress in these areas.

In "Freedom from Fear" Annan addresses new actions international community must take to address terrorism, armed conflict, and the spread of armaments and weapons of mass destruction. He proposes that the General Assemby act quickly, and adopt this sixtieth session, an International Suppression of Terrorism Convention, which includes a clear definition of terrorism. He calls for the adoption of the definition put forth by the High Level Panel: "Any action is terrorism if it is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a Government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act." This should also be accompanied by the conclusion and ratification of a Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. The threat posed by biological terrorism is different. The best defense against this danger , he says, lies in strengthening domestic public health resources. Finally, he warns that in combating terrorism we "Cannot cede the moral high ground." He urges member countries to create a "special rapporteur who would report to the Commission on Human Rights on the compatibility of counter-terrorism measures with international human rights laws.'

Member States, he says should also adopt effective national export controls covering missiles and other means of delivery for nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, rockets and shoulder-fired missiles, as well as a ban on transferring any of them to non-State actors. The Security Council should also consider adopting a resolution aimed at making it harder for terrorists to acquire or use shoulder-fired missiles.

Sanctions are a vital tool at the disposal of the Security Council for dealing preventively with threats to international peace and security. They constitute the necessary middle ground between war and words, he says, and should be utilized effectively All Security Council sanctions should be effectively implemented and enforced by strengthening State capacity to implement sanctions, establishing well resourced monitoring mechanisms and mitigating humanitarian consequences, he says.

UN Reform comes last in his report. He wants broad institutional reform, including a change in the membership and structure of the Security Council, establishment of a more efficient General Assembly Agenda, and creation of a new International Human Rights Council. We can expect some discussion and debate on all these ideas, but don't hold your breath. The UN hasn�t changed its structures in all these years because it has proved so very difficult to align the necessary national and international interests behind a new consensus on these questions.

Finally, at the end of the report, Kofi Annan indicates what steps he plans to take to reform the secretariat and to establish greater professionalism, accountability and geographic, ethnic and gender balance. Perhaps, most radical is his proposal that the General Assembly provide him the authority to conduct a one time "buy out" to get rid of the ballast and rejuvenate the secretariat. Accountability, he believes, will result from strengthening the resources and independent of the UN's Office of Internal 0versight. What the UN really needs is an independent body outside the UN structure that can audit and report on its activities directly to the Security Council and the General Assembly. That would also hold the Secretary General accountable.

These are all lofty goals "devoutly to be wished." There is a positive aire for UN reform in the air, but deeds will speak much louder than words. Accountability will come from national legislative groups, like the US Congress, and a strident international press, that can publicly and loudly question what the UN is doing. That may have even more effect than empty threats about withholding UN funding.

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