Kofi Annan and the Office of the UN Secretary General - Assignment Example

Running Head: The best chapter: Kofi Annan and the office of the UN Secretary General The best chapter: Kofi Annan and the office of the UN Secretary General [Name of the student] [Name of the institute] The best chapter: Kofi Annan and the office of the UN Secretary General Introduction According to article 97 of the UN charter, the UN Secretary-General, with the recommendation of Security Council, is selected by General Assembly for five years term. There is no obligation that Secretary General would be appointed only for one term. The term can be extended on the basis of situations, efficiency and relations with Security Council and General Assembly. On the other hand, the term of the office holder can be ended under certain circumstances because the power of veto, relates to Security Council, is used when the Secretary General supplies a poor track and decisions for state of affairs. Certainly, the political grounds are involved in selecting and rejecting a Secretary General but after the selection of Secretary General, the office holder has to be neutral in all his actions. Gordenker (2005) expresses that though General Secretary is free from any political influence, as article 100 of UN charter confirms, there has been great pressure dealing with all the matters. Perhaps, this is the reason that no female has been appointed as General Secretary since inception of the UN. Following is the list of Secretary Generals appointed: Trygve Lie: A Norwegian national remained General Secretary for one full term (1946-50) and got three years extension till 1953. Dag Hammarskjold: Again a European Swedish national started the office in 1953 and maintained for second term but he died in a plane crash in 1961. U Thant: An Asian and Burmese (now Burma is called as Myanmar) became a successful candidate for two terms from 1961 to 1966. Kurt Waldheim: An Austrian was chosen for two terms from 1972 to 1977. J. P. de Cuellar: (1982 to 1991) the Perµ national was appointed for the office. Boutros Boutros-Ghali: the African from Egypt remained only for one term from 1992 to 1996 Kofi Annan: another African candidate from Ghana held the office for two terms from 1997 to 2006. Ban Ki-moon: (2007 to date) A South Korean diplomat is appointed for first term. Literature Review All the UN Secretary Generals work as the ambassador of multiculturalism and diplomat of the world. The official sees all the social, economic, military and political affairs globally. In this office, all the office holders provided options for solution and remained as the great promoters of peace and prosperity. As Luck (1999), UN advisor, writes: ‘‘More than most of their predecessors, however, they shared a reputation as proponents of big ideas, bold doctrines, and a generous interpretation of the scope and authority of the office. Introvert and extrovert, cool and warm, volatile and smooth, calculating and empathetic: their images could not have been more distinct’’ (p. 202). In the multi crisis and major challenges, for instance nuclear programmes, poverty, borders conflicts, there have been difficulties for the Secretary General. The calamity in the organisation makes the role of SG weak and unviable. For the sovereignty and expediency, almost all the Secretaries have worked hard. As Newman (1998) writes: “The Secretaryship-General, both personally and institutionally, has a history, and there will be few occasions when an office-holder addresses a case, or an issue in a case, completely afresh. Whether in a positive or a negative sense, a Secretary-General acts with a personal reputation and an accumulation of procedural norms behind him” (p.24) Given the regulatory and institutional flaws and contradictions embedded in the international association of the world, there is a distinction between pledges and outcomes. Gordenker (2005) articulates that the distinctions between increasing need and anticipations which inculcate soft involvement at the one side and the restrictions on other side are the main factors. It will assign the obligations of the other requirements. End and Unwrapping of Wars: Kofi Annan and Trygve Lie The greatest similarity between Annan and Lie is that when Lie became the SG, he faced the challenges after WWII and tried to maintain the situation of no war. But the bipolar world was entered into cold war. Kofi Annan, in SG office, tried to discard the ashes of Cold War. But the super power, to uproot the ill elements, started “War on terror”. Lie inculcated the constructive phase for colonies and reorganised the UN force which had invade Korea in 1950. Lie wanted to settle down the territories conflicts but, on the other hand, he wanted to close the door of UN for Spain. On the contrary, Annan had hate for none and entry for all. Even Annan bore a great criticism and he criticised the US on using UN for having favour. Peace Promoters: Kofi Annan and Dag Hammarskjöld To avoid the conflicts is not easy task because it this world, where everything is mismanaged, nothing is simple. One of the vital roles of Annan and Hammarksjold was managing the conflicts. Hammarkjold lost his life on his mission of cease fire for peace. The conflicts in African states, East Europe (Kosovo problem), Middle East crisis (Gulf war), Clash of Civilisations, the globalisation and WTO (the age of multinational companies), the South Asian Kashmir quarrel, miscommunications and the misunderstanding between countries. The dialogue, due respect and tolerance for peace policy welcomed every time by Annan and Hammarksjold. The Conflict Managers: U Thant, Waldheim and Kofi Annan Though U Thant and Waldheim are known as cool and “not to interfere” General Secretaries, the Cuban missile crisis and Congo cease fire are accredited to U Thant. In the duration of U Thant, lots of states got entry into the UN. Waldheim also kept a close eye on Middle East crisis and African crisis. The problem of hijacking of plane of Israel was dealt with the diplomatic mission by Waldheim. Kofi Annan was a clear contrast of both. Annan remained worried on the ripened economic, political, social and safety crises and he has predicted the more conflicts. Annan is of the opinion that arrangements for the Secretary General are not easy as the first world orders and third world expects. The collective efforts, coordination and free hand to the UN General Assembly make the General Secretary office holder very strong and purposeful. The Negotiator: Kofi Annan and J. P. de Cuellar General Secretary is a powerful force on the presentation of the UN. These both secretaries were the representative to an urgent position of self-assurance and credibility. The solutions for infantry or financial crisis, the methods of UN on banning the nuclear programmes, the pressures from members of SC, the third world’s expectations and many more activities they both dealt with some decisions. The Geneva Accord in 1988, Cold War compromises, in 1987, revolution by Gorbachev (former President Russia) in the shape of Security Council Resolution, Iran-Iraq force organised and the UN offices in Pakistan and Afghanistan, these all issues came under Cuellar and Annan. The Diplomat of Democracy: Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros-Ghali got the veto power to leave the office and Annan wanted to resign. The scandal of ‘Oil-for-food’ and the favour received by son of Kofi Annan were the bad episodes for Secretary General. Bouros-Ghali wanted to promote democracy but he did not have a viable solution for implementation. Kofi Annan had the plans for democracy and reforms but he could not go against the US. Climate and Economic Crises: Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon The Kyoto Protocol to deal with climate crisis, empowerment of WTO for mitigating the economic crisis and the dialogues policy in all the political grounds are the tools of Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon. They both have faced the ‘War on Terror’ a challenge of the hour. The new political pressures, as the world is going to be multi-polar, are increasing on the Secretary General. These pressures have been started during the time of Kofi Annan and persist for Ban Ki-moon. Conclusion In short, Kofi Annan has faced all the challenges more than other Secretary General. Though Kofi Annan warned the US against using UN for her purposes but Herman (2005) uses “model puppet” words for Annan’s favours and support to the US during his office. Among the suggestions of reforms for UN, the expansion of Security Council was the pragmatic approach of Annan. He also requested for financial support to the UN as the panels of researchers needed the funds to conduct the researches in various matter, for instance climate. Moreover, Annan advocated the help to the third world countries regarding import export and easy entry for trade. References Gordenker, L. (2005) ‘The UN Secretary-General and Secretariat’ (pp.23) Luck, E. C. (1999) ‘Mixed messages: American politics and international organization, 1919-1999’ (pp. 202) Newman E. (1998) “The UN secretary general from the cold war to the new era: AGlobal Peace and Security Mandate?” (pp.24) Gordenker, L.(2005) ‘The UN Secretary-General and Secretariat’ (pp.77-81) Herman, E. (2005) ‘Kofi Annan and the art of puppetry’ (p.05) Read More