All Talk And No Action
link Kofi Annan’s Legacy Threatened by Syria’s Violence – NYTimes.com.
I’m sure most people in the world didn’t even know that Kofi Annan had a legacy to preserve. They may vaguely recognize the name as the figurehead secretary general of the U.N. for a number of years. The article quotes colleagues in describing his main attributes, “…an engaging personality, ability to convey empathy and a forceful advocate of basic human rights…” In addition, supporters say,
“…He’s a very experienced diplomat and he’s very good at getting on with people,” Mr. Mortimer said in a telephone interview. “He’s somebody who’s difficult to have a row with. He actually had a paperweight on his desk with the slogan: ‘Diplomacy is the art of letting the other guy have it your way… ”
There’s nothing in the promo that says anything about success. The characteristics used to describe Mr. Annan can as easily be attributed to Mr. Rogers, my 4th grade teacher Miss Klassen or the gal at the Burger King down the street. I don’t know who is responsible for embellishing the legacy of Mr. Annan, but any pretensions that he has one at all, much less one to be proud of, is pure revisionist fantasy. A very quick look at the website, www.warsintheworld.com will show that currently, there are dozens if not multiple dozens of armed conflicts with their attendant human rights transgressions going on in the world right now. (It’s amusing enough that someone keeps track of this stuff). The record of the U.N.’s success at enforcing human rights worldwide is dubious at best.
So, which part of Annan’s legacy is in danger? Sure he’s had an improbable climb to his exalted position, from humble beginnings as a tour guide to defender of human rights for the world. I guess he was the right guy for the job. We’ll agree that when trying to intervene during armed conflicts, we do need a calming voice to exhort ‘both sides to show restraint’, even when the conflict is laughingly lopsided. Such is presently the case in Syria now when government forces are cavalierly executing and torturing their own citizens. The victims have to show some restraint from bleeding and dying if the conflict can be resolved peacefully. Or in the case of many African tribal wars, where victims have to be more considerate by not having limbs chopped off.
No rational person can blame Annan, or the U.N. for that matter, for their inability to stop wars. Warfare at some level is part of the human condition from the first time someone figured out how to swing a stick. But let’s not pretend that Annan, like his successor Ban Ki Moon are anything but bureaucrats who are installed for political reasons to convey some sense of moral authority to the U.N. They may not actually do anything, but at least they express moral outrage. Sort of like Gary Bettman. People such as Annan, Ban Ki Moon and most all bureaucrats are fortunate that the pay regime at the U.N. is based on effort and not on real results as in most legitimate organizations. If it was based on results, he’d have been better off in the tour guide business.