Is Kofi Annan out of the woods yet?

The programme in Iraq was the largest humanitarian aid operation the UN had ever undertaken. It allowed Baghdad a limited exemption from the UN sanctions imposed following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait to sell oil for food for the Iraqi people. The head of the programme was Benon Sevan of the UN. It is alleged that through the operations of the programme a few UN officials have been involved in serious improprieties including corruption. Benon Sevan, reportedly may face criminal charges due to his alleged involvement, depending on the final inquiry report.

The resulting corruption within the programme has been a key factor in straining the relationship between Annan and the US. Annan had to set up a credible and independent inquiry to reveal the whole story behind the alleged scandal of making illegal personal monetary profit out of the programme.

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The inquiry was headed by the former US Reserve Bank Chairman Paul Volcker. The Secretary General appointed the high profile American to pacify the US politicians so that his report would find credibility with them. In that way Annan was wise to select Paul Volcker.

In a brief but uncharacteristically hesitant performance on March 30 at the UN, Kofi Annan said that he was exonerated by the Volcker interim report. However, to keep his position, he had to criticize his son and said: "I am deeply saddened by the evidence to the contrary that has emerged and particularly by the fact that my son failed to cooperate fully with the inquiry. I have urged him to cooperate and I urge him to reconsider his position and cooperate." When he was asked whether he would resign, he replied: "Hell, no!"

What does the interim Volcker report say?
Although the report cleared Annan on the subject of his knowledge of his son's activities, it criticized him for an inadequate internal inquiry which he initiated when the corruption claims first surfaced and which lasted less than a day.

In an interview, Paul Volcker reportedly stated that he did not "exonerate" Kofi Annan fully. The report found only that Annan had no personal knowledge of his son's activities. His son, Kojo and the Swiss company, Cotecna, concealed their financial relationship from Annan.

It is reported that Kojo Annan joined the Swiss Company as a trainee in Geneva when he was 22, before his father became the Secretary General of the UN. In 1998, three years after Kojo joined the company, it won a UN contract to certify goods coming into Iraq under the UN programme. There was pretence that the company and Kojo severed their relationship in 1998 when it was awarded the UN contract. In fact it continued until last year (in the form of "non-compete" payments) and Kojo reportedly earned $484,492 after he left full employment from the company in 1998.

The question is raised as to whether Kofi Annan knew that his son worked in the Swiss company that got the contract. Obviously this was a conflict of interest and many believe the Secretary General should have inquired rigorously whether his son was in any way involved in the company.

Another fact that came out is that Kofi Annan met the officials of the Swiss company twice before the contract was awarded and once after the contract. Although Annan first could not recall three meetings with the officials of the Swiss company, after checking his computer records, he acknowledged this. The Volcker report says that UN procurement rules were not followed in appointing the Swiss company for the contract which was worth $10 million a year.

Many believe that it was a serious misjudgment on the Secretary General's part not to deal as thoroughly as would be expected since his son had been an employee of the company. He should have known by then that something was wrong with the company and whether his son was involved in any way.

Volcker criticized him for an inadequate inquiry within the UN. It lasted only one day. Was Kofi Annan rigorous enough to ask the UN internal inquiry whether his son was involved or not with the Swiss company? These questions will not go away.

The Volker inquiry continues and within a few months the inquiry report will deal with a substantive issue, namely whether Kofi Annan adequately supervised the programme or did he leave it completely to senior officials? On that issue, the jury is still out. If the charge that Kofi Annan was asleep at the wheel is proved, it could bring trouble for him.

Annan and the UN
Many have questioned whether Kofi Annan has the moral standing as the Secretary General to pursue the drastic and sweeping reforms within the organization including the secretariat. Some believe that he has undermined the reputation and integrity of the UN secretariat, of which he has been the chief administrative officer since 1997. Did he discharge his responsibilities adequately? The question of whether Kofi Annan can exercise his influence in seeing through the reforms of the UN is on everyone's lips.

Another assessment of Kofi Annan is that he represents the conscience of the international community represented by the UN. He knew that the Bush administration would invade Iraq when Kofi Annan withdrew UN inspectors from Iraq. It was palpably clear to him that the US-led unilateral invasion would be contrary to the UN charter and many believe he should have threatened to resign from his position. History might have been different. For him, after two years of war, it is no use to say that the Iraqi war was illegal.

Furthermore his lapse of judgement was reportedly manifested in two other matters: firstly, he was in charge of the UN peacekeeping operations as Under Secretary General of the UN when genocide was committed in Rwanda in 1994. He reportedly reduced UN troops in Rwanda, instead of strengthening them. Secondly, many believe he sent the UN officials to Iraq too soon after the war, as a result of which 22 UN officials were killed in a bomb blast in August 2003

including his personal envoy Sergio De Mello, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Although the UN internal inquiry found UN security officials accused of not sufficiently taking security measures in war-torn Iraq, many UN officials believe the buck should stop at the table of the Secretary General. Although the UN Deputy Secretary General wanted to resign, Annan did not accept his resignation.

Conclusion
As Secretary General Kofi Annan came to the top from the secretariat ranks. He was known to be a smooth and easy person with his colleagues and not known for his vision or ideas. He won the job with the backing of the US (after US opposed another term of independent-minded Secretary General Boutros Ghali of Egypt) and Annan's second term (2001-2006) -- when it was originally Asia's turn -- was given to him by Asia under the prodding of the US.

He has confronted many administrative problems during the past year, including allegations of improprieties by his senior officials who have been either sacked or left in disgrace. However none seems to have been harder than the one involving his son.

It seems that during the tenure of Kofi Annan, the reputation of the UN to people across the globe has been seriously undermined. Whether Kofi Annan can restore it before his term expires at the end of 2006 is a moot point. Even when the Volcker report finally clears him of any impropriety, grounds for suspicion will remain, and in that environment how effective he could be as Secretary General is anybody's guess.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN.