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Kofi "It's My (Reform) Party and I'll Cry If I Want to" -- Blame Bush
The ambitious reform programme launched by Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, was close to failure yesterday, as America and Third World countries fought one another to a standstill over the plan.Kofi Annan: âWe have reached a fork in the roadâ With 150 world leaders, including Tony Blair and President George W Bush, about to arrive in New York for the UN's critical 60th birthday summit today, diplomats were still in negotiations over proposed changes to the world body. With Mr Annan's aides gloomily predicting the failure of a raft of issues, the secretary general warned all 191 member states: "We have reached a fork in the road. If you, the political leaders of the world's nations, cannot reach agreement on the way forward, history will take the decisions for you, and the interests of your peoples may go by default." Diplomats were working on a British compromise text, which omitted many of Mr Annan's original proposals and deferred decisions on others. But even that was causing problems. The Palestinian representative, Somaia Barghouti, said: "The document deletes the ... distinction between terrorism and the right of people to resist foreign occupation. They can't do that." For the past month there has been a brutal struggle between America, which demands radical reform, and some Third World states, which want very little. Countries such as Pakistan, Egypt and Syria have rejected American proposals for reforms within the UN, such as allowing Mr Annan to select staff on the basis of ability rather than nationality. One UN official said the Americans seemed prepared for failure rather than sign up to a document they disliked. In that case, diplomats would have to cobble together a "mere anodyne statement of principles". Mr Annan's reform proposals were an attempt to bring the world back together on key issues following the divisive debate over Iraq. But critics have accused him of seeking too much. A Pakistani diplomat said the "traffic was too heavy for the road to bear". Mr Annan's credibility has been badly damaged by the oil-for-food scandal. Last week the UN's own inquiry used unprecedented language to describe the failings of the world body. Posted by: Captain America 2005-09-13 |
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