UN chief is a man at peace with the world

In a world of spin and shadow where soundbites are the order of the day, there are not many individuals in public life that people…

In a world of spin and shadow where soundbites are the order of the day, there are not many individuals in public life that people can believe in anymore. But if a world opinion poll were held on the question, "Who do you trust in international power politics today?" the name of Kofi Annan would be near the top, probably a close second to Nelson Mandela.

Both are sons of Africa: Mandela's achievements are well known, Annan's a little less obvious at first glance. The latter belongs to that low-profile but important category of quietly effective administrators who achieve their goals by a series of gradual steps and with the maximum consensus.

The carefully worded Nobel Prize citation recognises this: "He has been pre-eminent in bringing new life to the organisation. While clearly underlining the UN's traditional responsibility for peace and security, he has also emphasised its obligations with regard to human rights. He has risen to such new challenges as HIV/AIDS and international terrorism, and brought about more efficient utilisation of the UN's modest resources.

"In an organisation that can hardly become more than its members permit, he has made clear that sovereignty can not be a shield behind which member states conceal their violations."

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The 63-year-old Ghanaian is said to be very popular with his staff. In a large and diverse organisation suffering constant budgetary problems, his soft-spoken but firm approach seems to work well.

His appointment of Mary Robinson as Commissioner for Human Rights underlined his commitment in that sphere. In a way it is fitting that the Peace Prize be shared between Annan and the UN itself. The man is practically indistinguishable from the organisation to which he has devoted almost his entire working life.

When he was first being considered for the post of Secretary-General, the doubters worried about his lack of political and ministerial experience elsewhere: Kofi Atta Annan was Organisation Man, having started with the UN in 1962 and worked his way up to Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations with about 70,000 blue-helmet troops at his disposal. There was a brief interlude in the mid-1970s when he sought to develop the tourist industry in his native land.

Ghana was a British colony called the Gold Coast when Annan was born on April 8th, 1938.

His innate dignity of manner and personality may derive from the fact that his father was a hereditary chief of the Fante tribe.

He was a young man when his country achieved independence in 1957 and he later told the New York Times: "People of my generation, having seen the change that took place in Ghana, grew up thinking all was possible."

Attending a meeting of African student politicians in Sierra Leone, he was spotted by a talent scout for the Ford Foundation, who was searching the world for promising future leaders, and brought to the US on a scholarship in 1959.

After a period at university he joined the UN as an administration and budget officer with the World Health Organisation in Geneva.

His first great international challenge was a special assignment to negotiate the release of over 900 UN staff and Western hostages in Iraq in 1990, following the Iraqi takeover of Kuwait.

His mission was a success and opened the door to further advancement. After a period in charge of budgets, Annan became No.2 and later No.1 in charge of peacekeeping operations.

But blame for the disasters in Rwanda and Srebrenica was distributed too widely to halt Annan's progress and he won some credit when, after becoming Secretary-General, he published what were regarded as frank and honest reports on both situations.

The Clinton administration is credited with getting the top job for him in 1996. The incumbent Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, was vetoed for a second term by the US.

The White House believed that a new face was needed to sell the UN to the sceptics in Congress, who had been fulminating against the world body and its alleged Third World bias for some time.

Once in office, he maintained direct contact with the highest levels of the Clinton White House but there was reportedly something of a chill in relations over the difficult issue of Iraq. The traditionally aggressive, US approach was not altogether in line with the quieter strategies preferred by Annan who had to contend with the fact that Russia, China and France had a less stringent attitude to the sanctions imposed on Saddam Hussein and his regime. Although his first term does not officially expire until December, the UN General Assembly has already approved him by acclamation for a second five-year stint. He is currently facing perhaps his greatest challenge of all, with the US launching missile strikes in Afghanistan.

Suddenly the UN is back in favour with the Americans who see it as a necessary mechanism to validate their campaign against Osama bin Laden.

The Security Council, with Ireland currently holding the presidency, has not obstructed the US operation in Afghanistan, conceding in effect that it is permissible under Article 51 of the UN Charter which guarantees, at least on an interim basis, the inherent right of a member state to act in its own self-defence.

But eyebrows were raised when the US envoy to the UN wrote in a letter to the Irish presidency last Sunday: "There is still much we do not know. Our inquiry is in its early stages. We may find that our self-defence requires further action with respect to other organisations and other states."

The Secretary-General, who had taken an accommodating approach to US concerns up to then, felt obliged to articulate some of the concerns of other member states, doing so in typically gentle but pointed Annan fashion.

He said the letter had "disturbed some of us" and "caused some anxiety among the (UN) membership" and he had raised it with the US administration.

It was not a strident declaration but it was in the nature of a diplomatic shot across the bows. Perhaps it is the first sign of the Secretary-General showing the kind of independence from US influence that his admirers expected to see, as soon as he had his second term of office "in the bag".

In a period of turbulence and alarm in world affairs, many people will look to Kofi Annan as a guarantor of decency and moral standards. The Nobel selection committee, at least, believes they will not be disappointed.