SID-Washington December 2007 Chapter Event

SID-Washington Chapter Event:

“One Year Report Card on the UN under Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon”

December 17, 2007

On December 17, 2007, SID-Washington hosted the Chapter Event, "One Year Report Card on the UN under Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon."  The panel was moderated by Andrew Rice, Founder of the Society for International Development and Former President of the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area.  Panelists included Will Davis, Director of the UN Information Center, and Don Kraus, Executive Vice-President of Citizens for Global Solutions.

Will Davis and Don Kraus presented their assessments on the progress which the United Nations has made during its first year under the guidance of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.  Mr. Davis laid out what he called a "compelling case" for why the UN has been fortunate to have Ban Ki-moon as Secretary General, stressing three important issues to the Secretary General:  climate change, Darfur and UN reform.  Mr. Kraus also gave the Secretary General a positive review and focused mainly on the same three issues.

On the subject of climate change, Mr. Davis described Secretary Ban Ki-moon as being more of a “carpenter than an architect,” building on preexisting plans with practicality while also surprisingly making the issue a priority ever since his arrival.  He has been raising its profile in bilateral meetings with world leaders and was a driving force behind the summit on September 27.  With more than 70 heads of state present, the summit was the largest meeting ever of world leaders on climate change, and Ban Ki-moon's pragmatism brought together international consensus. 

Don Kraus reiterated that Secretary General Ban sought to build on the decisions of 2005 and to bring together all sides, which is very difficult as he reports to 191 officials, all with different agendas.  Kraus added that Ban Ki-moon prefers to work behind the scenes, producing real results such as the successful release of the British sailors detained in Iran in March 2007.  Regarding climate change, Kraus said Ban Ki-moon's effort was “transformative.”  Besides successfully using his office as a bully pulpit to bring attention to climate change, he appointed three special envoys on climate change and even traveled to Antarctica to develop a firsthand understanding of its impact. 

Secretary General Ban also brought a renewed emphasis to the crisis in Darfur, working behind the scene to make progress.  According to Mr. Davis, the Secretary General realized there is no need for another voice to harangue the Sudanese government.  Instead, he worked at making President Bashir and others in the Sudanese government comfortable with the presence of a large multinational force.  The hybrid force of 22,000 United Nations and African Union troops approved in late 2006 is the largest in UN history.  Davis stated that the challenges in Darfur do not include a troop shortage but other problems of logistics such as lacking proper equipment and infrastructure, and encountering bureaucratic red tape such as obtaining airspace permits.

The conflict in Darfur is very complex with no easy solutions.  Mr. Kraus commented that of all the issues on the Secretary General’s plate, Darfur is the most “frustrating.”  Ban Ki-moon led international efforts to put pressure on the Sudanese government; however, Mr. Kraus felt current deadlines will not be met although we should eventually see powerful results.  Kraus mentioned another conflict that the Secretary General is taking on:  Iraq.  Secretary General Ban called the situation in Iraq a “problem of the whole world.”  Early last spring at a conference on Iraq, several countries pledged a collective debt reduction of 30 billion dollars.  The Secretary General expressed the UN’s commitment to expand engagement and he appointed a new special envoy to Iraq, Stephen De Mistura.

Both panelists ended their respective presentations with positive assessments of UN reform under Ban Ki-moon.  Will Davis listed several areas of improvement under the Secretary General’s watch:  a new, more comprehensive ethics policy was announced; financial disclosures of UN officials will be more transparent; an Independent Audit Advisory Committee was established; a Department of Field Support was created to complement the Department of Peacekeeping in mediating and preventing conflicts; and funds will be preloaded for future disasters for quicker response time.

Don Kraus commented that when it came to reform, Secretary General Ban always started with himself first.  For example, it became policy that UN employees stay in the same office for a maximum of five years.  The Secretary General’s office was among the first to comply strictly with this policy of staff mobility.