More Secretary, less General?

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has been variously described as 8216;Mr Invisible8217; or 8216;Slippery Eel8217;.

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has been variously described as 8216;Mr Invisible8217; or 8216;Slippery Eel8217;. Ban, who took office on January 23, 2007 retorts by saying that the UN8217;s work is often 8220;unappreciated8221;. A 20-country survey of international opinion on the performance of world leaders, conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org, showed that 83 per cent of South Koreans his country of origin appreciated his efforts, 70 per cent in Nigeria, 57 per cent in China, 49 per cent in Britain, 45 per cent in France and 40 per cent in India.

Ban says he believes in 8220;results, not rhetoric8221;, in the Asian virtue of 8220;quietly working on the phone, but being blunt behind closed doors8221;. So has the Secretary General achieved significant successes during his tenure so far? Or is the United Nations increasingly irrelevant in world affairs?

Some of the problems confronting the UN are:

8226; Hunger, extreme poverty, diseases what Moon calls the 8220;development emergency8221;.

8226; Climate change

8226; Regional conflicts and authoritarianism

8226; Nuclear non-proliferation

8226; Restoring the credibility and neutrality of the United Nations

Notable success

8226; Toured Sudan, Chad and Libya in the wake of the Darfur crisis, persuading Sudanese president Omar Hassan al Bashir to allow an African Union-UN peacekeeping force beginning in October 2007.

8226; Convinced authorities in Myanmar to allow the Yangon international airport to be used for aid distribution by international agencies, in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008.

8226; Calls climate change the 8220;defining challenge of our age8221;. Organised a successful meet in September 2007, will chair a global conference on climate change in Copenhagen next year.

8226; Set up a high level task force for the UN8217;s food price agenda with measures that can cost up to 15 billion. Talked of revitalising agriculture to tackle food prices at a UN sponsored summit in Rome in June 2008. Food production would have to rise by 50 per cent by 2030 to meet demand, he said.

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8226; Asked donors to support trust funds established to help poor countries deal with natural disaster.

8226; On Iraq, Ban has talked of promoting greater regional dialogue. He included the possibility of engaging Syria and Iran, who may otherwise act as spoilers.

8226; Bureaucratic reforms within the UN: split peacekeeping operations into two departments8211;operations and arms. In the face of opposition from a well-entrenched bureaucracy, made all positions as five-year appointments, with annual performance review; all financial disclosures to be made public. Enlarging the 15-member Security Council also on his agenda.

Setbacks

8226; Widely regarded as a US lackey, accused of providing political cover to American policies in West Asia. Has tried to nudge the US on issues such as increased US fund for UN peacekeeping, Sudan and climate change. Caught between the conflicting interests of Western nations also major funders and the G-77, the bloc of developing countries.

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8226; Failure to speak out against human rights abuses, including the failure to condemn Saddam Hussein8217;s execution in Iraq. His stress on an increased UN role in Iraq at a time of increased violence, has come in for criticism in various quarters.