UN Update

Things aren't looking good for Kofi. From the Telegraph:

Calls for Mr Annan's resignation were once restricted to ideologically driven hardline US conservatives. Now diplomats in New York are openly asking whether the secretary-general can remain in office until the end of his term in December 2006.

Do "ideologically driven hardline US conservatives" care who heads the UN? Don't they just want the UN to go away? If so, then the worse the secretary general, the better. Shouldn't they be big Kofi boosters?

But I digress. It may, in fact, be unfair to pin the numerous scandals of the UN on Kofi. If not unfair, then certainly unproductive. Replacing Kofi with another bureaucrat who would be acceptable to the dictatorships and kleptocracies that make up the majority of the member states probably wouldn't change much. There are serious problems with the stucture of the UN.

Take a look at this article on the UN's latest sex scandal:

Peacekeeping troops guarding refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo sexually abused girls as young as 13, giving out scraps of food or money in return for favours, the United Nations admitted yesterday. {snip}

Investigators found "freshly used condoms" littering guard posts and command centres around Bunia, where peacekeepers from Pakistan, Morocco, Nepal and Bangladesh are based. "We are shocked, we are outraged, we are sickened," said William Lacy Swing, who heads the UN mission in Congo. "Peacekeepers who have been sworn to assist those in need, particularly victims of sexual violence, instead have caused grievous harm. It is inexcusable. We are determined to stamp it out."

Now I'm sure Mr. Swing is sincere in his disgust. He's already furrowed his brow. Can a strongly worded letter be far behind? Seriously though, what are the options open to him to "stamp out" this abuse?

Reports say Pakistani, Moroccan and Uruguayan soldiers have all been charged with abuses. The UN can only repatriate them but it has called on member states to prosecute offenders.

So basically, no matter what the offence, UN soldiers can only be kicked out of the UN with the hope that his home country prosecutes. Can we really blame Kofi for this?
(via Instapundit)