Un Agendas

2005 HATE CRIMES BILL HAS NOW PASSED in the U.S. House of Representatives, but finally failed in the Senate

News Media Still Yawning Over Rampant UN Corruption
By Jim Kouri, CPP

May 9/06 - The United Nations Oil for Food Program was probably the biggest scam in the history of geopolitics. Not only did the program fill the pockets of corrupt politicians, diplomats and businessmen, but it also allowed Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein to continue building up his military with the help of such countries as Russia and France.

The US news media continue to yawn over the UN scandal involving participants in the Oil for Food Program. In fairness, only part of the reason is the media's hesitancy to criticize an organization that is practically sacrosanct in the view of liberals. A large part of the media's failure to report on the UN malfeasance is that it is such a complicated case of fraud, duplicity and mendacity that reporters find themselves incapable of dumbing down the story for human consumption.

In 1996, the United Nations (UN) Security Council and Iraq began the Oil for Food program to address Iraq's humanitarian situation after sanctions were imposed in 1990. More than $67 billion in oil revenue was obtained through the program, with $31 billion in humanitarian assistance delivered to Iraq. The 2005 Defense Authorization Act mandated that GAO review the Oil for Food program.

The UN Oil for Food program would have benefited from an internationally accepted internal control framework to provide reasonable assurance in safeguarding assets and meeting program objectives.

Although the program averted a humanitarian crisis while limiting Iraq's ability to purchase military-related items, internal control problems allowed the former Iraqi regime to manipulate the program and circumvent sanctions to obtain billions of dollars in illicit payments.

In particular, weaknesses in the control environment of the Oil for Food program compromised oversight and made it vulnerable to fraud and abuse. For example, Iraq negotiated contracts directly with companies purchasing its oil and selling commodities.

Full Story Here

LAGOS, Nigeria - Sept 26/05 - AP - Eleven Nigerian police officers found responsible for sexual misconduct while serving in a United Nations peacekeeping force in Congo have been suspended, Nigeria's police chief said Monday.

Among those who breached U.N. rules on sexual misconduct was the head of the contingent, Chief Superintendent of Police Anthony Okon, according to the statement Monday from the police chief, Sunday Ehindero.

Okon and 10 others from the 120-member team, which was recalled to Nigeria earlier this month, have been suspended from the force, it said. No details of the allegations against them were given.

"No member of this contingent will ever go on a peace mission or other assignments outside this country," Ehindero said.

Mike Okiro, a top-ranking police officer in charge of operations, headed the panel of inquiry, traveling out to Congo to look into the accusations. According to local media reports, the Nigerian ambassador to Congo had issued his own report on the sexual misconduct, prompting the strong response from Nigerian authorities.

Full Story Here

Secretary-General closely following Israeli withdrawal from Gaza

15 August 2005 – United Nations - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is following attentively the process of Israeli disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank and he is hopeful that it will be executed in a peaceful and smooth manner, building on the coordination efforts of James Wolfensohn, the Quartet Special Envoy for Disengagement, his spokesman said today.

“The Secretary-General believes this is a moment of promise and hope. Success will demand statesmanship of the highest order, on a sustained basis, on the part of all concerned,” his spokesman said in a statement delivered at the noon briefing at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The disengagement, which is to be the first Israeli withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territory, began today and is expected to last into the month of October.

Quartet members – the UN, European Union, Russia and United States – which sponsored the peace plan calling for a two-State solution to the Middle East crisis have been briefed by Mr. Wolfensohn about the progress achieved in the past two months and the considerable work that remains ahead, the statement said.

They have been discussing the role of the international community in promoting a revitalization of the peace process. They will meet in mid-September to assess matters jointly, the statement added.

In response to a question at the noon briefing for journalists, the spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that the UN had pulled non-essential staff out of Gaza temporarily and relocated them in Jerusalem.

“Those people who have been relocated perform administrative functions, mostly for UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency), but (also) some other UN agencies in Gaza. In that relocation, great care has been taken so that the temporary relocations have no effect on the operational activities of UN agencies working in Gaza,” Mr. Dujarric said.

Annan commends Israeli withdrawal from Gaza

18 August 2005 – United Nations - Commending what he called Israeli Prime Minister Sharon’s “courageous decision” to carry through with the painful process of disengagement from the Gaza Strip and part of the northern West Bank, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today expressed the hope that “both Palestinians and Israelis will exercise restraint in this challenging period.”

“If there is to be peace in the Middle East, it will require leadership, vision and the willingness of leaders on both sides to make sacrifices for the greater good,” Mr. Annan said in a statement released by his spokesman in New York.

Mr. Annan also notes that it is an important opportunity for the Palestinian Authority to demonstrate its commitment to peace and security by establishing the rule of law in Gaza following the withdrawal.

He also condemns the shooting death of Palestinian civilians by an Israeli gunman yesterday and sends his condolences to their families and to the Palestinian Authority.

“The Secretary-General believes that a successful disengagement should be the first step towards a resumption of the peace process, in accordance with the Road Map,” the statement adds, referring to the plan sponsored by the diplomatic Quartet – UN, European Union, Russia and United States – which calls for a series of parallel steps leading to two states living side-by-side in peace by the end of the year.

UN Security Council Reform Key Topic of UN Debate
By Amy Katz
Washington, D.C.
15 August 2005

United Nations logo

VOA - Aug 15/05 - The leaders of 170 nations are expected in New York for the 2005 United Nations Summit in mid-September. Reforming the U.N. Security Council -- something that has been under discussion for the last dozen years -- will be a high priority at that meeting.

Secretary General Kofi Annan says even if reform of the Council is not accomplished at the September summit, members should maintain the momentum to achieve it by the end of the year. But recent reports say the United States and China are working together against any of the proposed reform plans.

Strengthening the United Nations will top the agenda at September's U.N. Summit. Key among the ideas of how to do that is the expansion of the Security Council from 15 to at least 24 members. There are several such proposals on the table.

UN Security Council

Established in the wake of World War II, the Security Council has five permanent members: the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia -- all of whom have veto power. Ten other members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The African, Latin American and Western European blocs select two members each. The Arab, Asian, and Eastern European blocs select one member each. The last seat alternates between Asian and African countries.

There is nearly unanimous agreement among member-states that the size and membership of the Council needs to be changed.

Steven Dimhoff

Steven Dimoff, Vice President of the United Nations Association of the U.S.A. explains why. "The Security Council needs to be reformed, in the eyes of many countries, because it is really a throwback to the end of the Second World War."

Joshua Muravchik, an analyst with the conservative Washington, D.C. think tank, the American Enterprise Institute, agrees. "The question is to redress this anachronism that third world countries and World War II losers were left out in the original design."

Thus there are several plans now on the table to reform the Council. But there is no consensus on which of those plans should be implemented. It will take a two-thirds majority in the U.N. General Assembly for any plan to be chosen.

Despite the fact that none of the proposals seem to have that much support, a number of countries are lobbying to hold the potential new Security Council seats -- among them: Brazil, India, Japan and Germany as well as several African nations. One of the aims is to make the Council more effective and efficient. But Joshua Muravchik does not think that will happen.

Joshua Muravchik

"The thing that is surprising and disturbing is that none of the reforms on the table go to the question of what would make the Security Council function better, says Mr. Muravchik. “They all go to, ‘I want my piece of the pie,’ I Germany, I Japan, I some other country. And so people are dividing up this pie, and no one's asking so how can we bake a better pie."

But Steven Dimoff says expanding the Security Council would give its actions more credibility. "I think, in the eyes of many countries, I think it will make the Council's decisions more legitimate -- that as a result of an expansion which is more reflective of the world and more inclusive of all the regions, that in fact the Council's decisions will carry more weight, they'll be more legitimate, there'll be, I think, more of a willingness to comply with decisions."

But Mr. Dimoff also says he thinks recent reports are true that the U.S. and China are now quietly working together against any of the expansion plans. One reason for that, he says, there is no consensus on reforming the council. "Both the United States and the Chinese and others are anxious to avoid a confrontation over expansion of the Security Council."

Mr. Dimoff says it is questionable whether Security Council expansion will take place any time soon -- not just because the U.S. and China are opposing current proposals, but because no one plan is able to command the two-thirds majority it would need in the General Assembly to pass.

06/05/2005
Press Release
SG/A/921

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SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS ALVARO DE SOTO AS NEW MIDDLE EAST ENVOY

The Secretary-General has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Alvaro de Soto as United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and his Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.

Mr. de Soto will assume functions immediately so that he may accompany the Secretary-General to the meeting on 9 May in Moscow of the Quartet for Middle East Peace. He succeeds Terje Roed-Larsen, who served in this position from October 1999 through December 2004.

The appointment of a new Middle East envoy comes at a time of renewed momentum for peace that must be sustained by the parties and strongly supported by the international community. The Special Coordinator will play an essential role in that regard, coordinating all United Nations activities related to the Middle East peace process and representing the Secretary-General in all arenas involving the parties and the international community. He will act as the Secretary-General’s envoy to the Quartet.

The Special Coordinator will be guided by the principles of the relevant Security Council resolutions on the Middle East and by the Road Map for peace put forward by the Quartet.

Mr. de Soto, of Peru, brings to the job vast experience in United Nations peacemaking. He served most recently as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Western Sahara, following prior postings that include Special Advisor on Cyprus, Special Envoy for Myanmar, Personal Representative to the Central American Peace Process and Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs.

The Secretary-General acknowledges the excellent job Terje Roed-Larsen has done in serving as Special Coordinator and as his Personal Representative, displaying the highest standard of efficiency, competence and integrity.

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Tsunami Recovery United Nations Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton
(United States) April 2005

13/04/2005
Press Release
IHA/1034

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FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT CLINTON, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN

CALL FOR RENEWED COMMITMENT TO TSUNAMI REGION

NEW YORK, 13 April/05 - (Office of the Special Envoy on Tsunami Recovery) -- United Nations - Former United States President Bill Clinton and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today to discuss the daunting task of rebuilding people’s lives in the tsunami region.

President Clinton was appointed United Nations Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery last month by the Secretary-General and has begun working to keep the international community committed to the recovery effort. He convened a meeting of United Nations experts yesterday to assess the status of the humanitarian relief effort and the challenges which remain.

“We must remember that reconstruction does not happen overnight. It takes time and requires patience and determination”, President Clinton said. “More than three months after the tsunami killed an estimated 300,000 people, the challenge is not just to rebuild communities, but to rebuild them better. And that means rebuilding schools which are child-friendly, health-care services which are accessible to all and setting into place early warning systems so that such massive loss of life can be prevented in the future.”

In an effort to sustain the momentum on tsunami recovery efforts the Secretary-General noted that “the response to our appeals for funds has been truly amazing. But ... it’s vitally important that we have someone capable of sustaining international interest in the fate of the survivors and their communities -- and someone with the vision and commitment to ensure that this time the international community really does follow through and support the transition from immediate relief to longer-term recovery and reconstruction. Too often, in the aftermath of previous natural disasters, that has not been the case”.

Referring to the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the nations of the world in 2000, President Clinton added, “At a time when the international community has already committed itself to upholding minimum standards of development, we cannot replace poverty with poverty, and leave people as vulnerable to tragedy as they were before. We must do better, and by working together, we will.”

The former President’s Deputy, Erskine Bowles, just returned from the region where he saw first-hand the impact the tsunami had on people’s lives. He consulted with a wide range of partners -- from government, United Nations agencies, civil society groups and the business community -- to solicit ideas on how the Office of the Special Envoy can best assist in the recovery effort.

“I have seen humanitarian workers at their finest hour. And I have talked to countless people -- at the government, civil society and community level”, said Mr. Bowles. “I am convinced that we will only do the millions of people affected by the tsunami justice if we involve communities on the ground in the decision-making process. And we must never forget that when we rebuild the physical infrastructure, we must do so in a way that is protective to the most vulnerable -- the displaced, the women and the children.”

The Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery was created last month at the request of the General Assembly in an effort to sustain global attention and cooperation in the long-term recovery and reconstruction effort of the region.

Cautionary note: Those who think they have won a victory by the appointment of Yale (S&B) educated John Bolton would do well to remember a small point that Bolton stated during his Confirmation Hearings: Bolton is In FAVOR OF the LAW OF THE SEA TREATY (LOST). [However, he also admitted that he had not read it personally].

WASHINGTON - AP - Aug 1/05 - President Bush sidestepped the Senate and installed embattled nominee John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations on Monday, ending a five-month impasse with Democrats who accused Bolton of abusing subordinates and twisting intelligence to fit his conservative ideology.

"This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about UN reform," Bush said. He said Bolton had his complete confidence.

Bush put Bolton on the job in a recess appointment — an avenue available to the president when the Congress is in recess. Under the Constitution, a recess appointment during the lawmakers' August break would last until the next session of Congress, which begins in January 2007.

Bolton joined Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the announcement ceremony and said he was honored and humbled by the president's appointment. "It will be a distinct privilege to be an advocate for America's values and interests at the U.N. and, in the words of the U.N. charter, to help maintain international peace and security," he said.

Bush said that Bolton's nomination had been supported by a majority of the Senate but that "because of partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators, John was unfairly denied the up-or-down vote that he deserves."

Bush had refused to give up on Bolton even though the Senate had voted twice to sustain a filibuster against his nominee. Democrats and some Republicans had raised questions about Bolton's fitness for the job, particularly in view of his harsh criticism of the United Nations.

As Bush concluded speaking, Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, praised the president for using his authority "to end the obstruction against John Bolton."

"This is an important position and its critical that it not remain vacant any longer. Bolton is exceptionally well qualified to fill this role at this time," Cornyn said in a statement. "I believe John Bolton clearly understands our hope for the U.N., and will fully dedicate himself to reforming a flawed U.N., to one that better advances the principles of democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights."

But Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., sharply criticized the move.

WASHINGTON — USA TODAY- Ap 7/05 - The Bush administration's controversial choice for United Nations ambassador, John Bolton, will face tough questioning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week, and at least two Democrats say they will oppose his nomination.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Thursday that she will vote no and predicted Bolton will "have trouble" getting any Democratic votes. She also said opponents "have a chance" of persuading one of the panel's Republicans to join them.

Dan Shapiro, legislative director for Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said Nelson will also vote no.

Full Story Here

5 Ex-Secretaries of State Support Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to United Nations

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ap 5/05 - Five former U.S. secretaries of state urged the Senate on Tuesday to confirm John R. Bolton as U.N. ambassador.

"We must have an ambassador in place whose knowledge, experience, dedication and drive will be vital to protecting the American interest in an effective, forward-looking United Nations," they said in a letter to Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Former Secretaries James A. Baker III, Lawrence Eagleburger, Alexander Haig, Henry Kissinger and George Shultz signed the letter to Lugar, R-Ind., who plans a hearing on the Bolton nomination Thursday.

Two former defense secretaries, Frank Carlucci and James Schlesinger, also signed, along with former U.N. Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick and five other retired senior U.S. officials.

Bolton, like the Bush administration, has his critics, they said. "Anyone as energetic and effective as John is bound to encounter those who disagree with some or even all of the administration's policies," the letter said.

BBC - Ap 6/05 - The United Nations says it is looking into allegations that a UN document contained false information that caused instability in war-torn central Africa.

A former UN employee, the American intelligence analyst William Church, told the BBC the details were added to a public UN report by other UN staff.

The report stated Rwanda mounted a military incursion against neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo last year.

The war in DR Congo, which has spread throughout central Africa, is one of the deadliest of our generation.

A UN panel investigating that embargo reported in January that DR Congo's neighbour, Rwanda, had violated it by mounting a military incursion.

Syria is known as the principal financial backer and political sponsor of the Islamic extremist organization Hezbollah (Party of God), which has claimed responsibility for countless hijackings, bombings, and kidnappings against Americans and Israelis alike.

Despite Syria's terrorist links, Houston-based energy company Conoco, in partnership with Total Fina Elf, began producing gas from the eastern Deir e-Zour region of Syria in the first quarter of 2002. Royal Dutch Petroleum and PetroCanada are likewise allied with the state-owned Syrian Petroleum Company. This partnership, known as Al Furat Petroleum, accounts for 60 percent of Syrian production, and oil revenues typically account for 60 percent of Syrian export revenues.

Meanwhile, in Sudan—the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) and its subsidiary, PetroChina, have been active since August of 1999. PetroChina is apparently unconcerned with Sudan's active human slave trade. The company has reportedly helped attract revenues of approximately $200 million a year to the Sudanese government. In addition to its involvement with human slavery, this is the same Sudanese government that has granted asylum to hundreds of known terrorists, including Osama bin Laden.

Sudanese strongman Hassan al Turabi has advertised his intent to use the profits from CNPC's operations to stockpile tanks and missiles for use in his genocidal assault against black Christians and animists in the south of that country, which has already claimed the lives of more than two million people.

UNITED NATIONS - Mar 22/05 - The United Nations agreed to reimburse Benon Sevan, the suspended head of the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq , for legal fees he incurred during an investigation into allegations of fraud in the operation, a U.N. official said Tuesday.

Payment for Sevan's legal fees was to come out of the account containing the 2.2 percent of Iraqi oil revenues from the $64 billion program earmarked for its administration, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

Sevan's fees are to be reimbursed with Iraqi oil funds set aside to help administer the program. That means Iraq oil money would essentially pay for Sevan to defend himself against charges that he bilked the program.

Eckhard said the United Nations had agreed to pay reasonable legal expenses up to Feb. 3, when an investigation led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker accused Sevan of a conflict of interest administering the program.

"When that report came out and made specific charges against Mr. Sevan, we informed him at that point that we would not reimburse him for any legal fees that he incurred subsequent to the leveling of charges against him," Eckhard said.

The plan to reimburse Sevan, first reported in the New York Sun on Tuesday, is almost certain to raise new questions about the United Nations' handling of the oil-for-food program and draw new criticism from U.S. Congressional investigators also examining its operation.

The issue has become a lightning rod for U.N. critics, who say the world body bungled the handling of the oil-for-food and accused officials of massive corruption

BBC- Mar 10/05 - The US has withdrawn from part of an international agreement being used to fight for foreigners on death row.

The Vienna Convention gave the International Court of Justice the right to intervene in the cases of foreigners held in US jails.

But the US state department says it is not appropriate that an international court should reverse the decisions of a country's criminal justice system.

Part of the Vienna protocol requires that the ICJ makes a final decision when citizens of its signatory nations have been jailed abroad, specifically if they have been denied access to a diplomat from their own country.

The convention was seen as a means of protecting US citizens who had been jailed abroad, but in recent years the protocol has been used by opponents to the death penalty in the United States.

The US Supreme Court is set to consider arguments later this month in the case of a Mexican citizen on death row in Texas.

His lawyers are invoking the Vienna Convention to get his sentence overturned.

Back in the 1970s the United Nations launched its plan for a global program of taxation without representation, called the “New International Economic Order.” The goal of this new economic order was not so new at all, however. It sought the involuntary transfer of wealth and technology from the developed world to the third world under the direction of the United Nations. A cornerstone of this dangerous attempt to loot the prosperous nations was the “Law of the Sea Treaty” (LOST).

Under the Law of the Sea Treaty, an “International Seabed Authority” would control the minerals and other resources of the oceans’ seabed. After taking its own cut, this UN body would transfer whatever is left to select third-world governments and non-governmental organizations.

The Law of the Sea Treaty also would give the UN power to tax American citizens and businesses, which has been a long-time dream of the anti-sovereignty globalists. LOST also would establish an international court system to enforce its provisions and rulings. Imagine not being able to do business internationally without the approval of the United Nations!

It all sounds like something out of a science-fiction novel, but it is real.

Papal encouragement for UNESCO

Vatican, May. 10, 2004 (CWNews.com) - At a May 8 meeting with ambassadors from UNESCO, Pope John Paul II (bio - news) said that human progress is handicapped by warfare, poverty, racism, and exploitation.

The Pope spoke to the diplomats of the UN's Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He said that the international body, and others like it could be "an essential element in building a true culture based on peace, justice, and fairness."

John Paul II said that progress in culture is essential to the advancement of society. The arts and sciences, he explained, are the foundation of "a truly human life." For that reason "the Church as always been a friend of arts and sciences." The Holy Father appeared severely tired during his 50-minute audience with the visiting diplomats, but he remained to speak personally with each of the ambassadors, blessing objects at the request of many visitors.

The ambassadors from the 30 countries accredited to UNESCO arrived in Rome on May 6. This was the first time this group has visited the Vatican; their audience with the Pope was arranged by Msgr. Franco Follow, the Vatican's permanent representative at UNESCO.

Full Story Here

Congress - 2002 - [Posted Here because the Effort Continues] - The UN is meeting this week in Monterrey, Mexico to discuss exactly such a tax. The meeting is billed as a "Conference on Financing for Development," which is a nice way of saying it’s a conference to consider the best ways to shake down rich nations for money. UN bureaucrats think rich nations like America ought to give more money to poor nations- a lot more- simply because we’re rich. Never mind the billions of foreign aid tax dollars we send overseas every year; never mind the billions donated to overseas charities by Americans, the most charitable people on earth. The UN mindset blames the western world for poverty everywhere, assuming that our relative wealth must have come at the expense of the third world. The poor countries themselves are never deemed responsible for their own predicaments, despite their often corrupt governments, lack of property rights, and hostility toward wealth-producing capitalism. Somehow, it’s always our fault. So the UN holds conferences to talk about how we should pay to make things right, and the idea of a UN tax naturally arises.

Understand that the UN views itself as the emerging global government, and like all governments, it needs money to operate. The goal, which the UN readily admits, is to impose a comprehensive set of global laws on all of us- laws that supersede sovereign national governments. To do this, the UN needs a global military, a global police force, international courts, offices around the globe, and plenty of highly-paid international bureaucrats. All of this costs money.

Rest assured that the UN is absolutely serious about imposing a global tax. In fact, it has been discussing a global currency tax for years. The "Tobin tax," named after the Yale professor who proposed it, would be imposed on all worldwide currency transactions. Such a tax could prove quite lucrative for the UN, given the vast amount of currency that trades hands at certain times. It also might be a politically acceptable starting point, because most average people do not engage in cross-border currency transactions. A dangerous precedent would be set, however: the idea that the UN possesses legitimate taxing authority to fund its operations.

The Tobin tax is not the only idea being considered. Some have suggested taxing all airline travel or carbon emissions. The ultimate goal is an income tax, which will be imposed after we’ve all swallowed the concept of UN taxing authority.

NEW YORK - Feb 5/05 - AP - Investigators probing alleged corruption at the United Nations oil-for-food program are scrutinizing thousands of pages of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan 's documents, including e-mail and phone records, to determine whether he exerted influence in securing a contract for a Swiss company that employed his son.

Paul Volcker, the head of the independent investigation, confirmed the document search and told The Associated Press that new information had led investigators to delay publishing their findings about Annan's son Kojo, whose activities have embroiled the U.N. chief in the growing scandal.

"There were things that came along that threw us back," Volcker said in an AP interview.

The United Nations' oil-for-food program was its largest humanitarian aid operation and ran from 1996 to 2003 when it ended. It was designed to allow the former Iraqi government to sell limited amounts of oil in exchange for humanitarian goods as an exemption from sanctions in place since 1991.

Dr. Mohammed al-Jibouri, Iraq (news - web sites)'s trade minister, said on Saturday that more has yet to be revealed on specific individuals' roles in the scandal. He did not specify any names in his comments, made to Associated Press Television News.

"There are a lot of names, and I hope there will be some fairness on that — not to shut out the light, and put this in the dark, under the carpet," al-Jibouri said.

Al-Jibouri said the program initially had been a "huge success" in helping ordinary Iraqis contend with U.N. sanctions imposed on Saddam's regime after the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites).

Problems began when Iraq began imposing a surcharge on contracts for goods bought under the program, he said."A lot of companies refused to do this, so a lot of them actually withdrew from that program," he said.

As Volcker issued an interim investigative report Thursday, he said he had planned to include the findings about Kojo Annan's employment with Cotecna Inspection SA. The company had a U.N. contract to certify deals for humanitarian supplies imported by Iraq under the oil-for-food program.

But Volcker's committee decided to issue that part of the report along with other conclusions later this winter to give investigators time to review the new information. About 10 investigators have focused solely on the Annan files.

There were delays in organizing access to U.N. files, including those stored on hard-drives in Annan's office, but Volcker said the United Nations has been cooperating with his requests.

"It is supposed to be an open book and we have not identified conscious deliberate evasions, like shredding papers before we got there," Volcker said. "But we have been slowed — and I am not criticizing this — by a sensitivity on the part of the U.N."

He explained that officials were sensitive about his investigative panel's access to personal e-mails, but that they had resolved the matter.

Kofi Annan, who has been interviewed at least three times during the investigation, has said Volcker's panel would have complete access to U.N. officials and documents.

Investigators also have interviewed Kojo Annan several times, but Volcker said there had been some frustrations.

"He is a little difficult to get a hold of, but he doesn't refuse to be interviewed," Volcker said. "How forthcoming he is for the interview is another question."

Most liberty-minded Americans already know that the United Nations seeks to impose global government on all of us in the future, but now the organization is attempting to rewrite the past as well. Its recent week-long "World Conference against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance" demonstrates just how broadly the UN views its own authority. Even though the stated goals of the conference- to map out an international strategy to combat racism and right the wrongs of the past- might seem laughably far-fetched, it's unsettling to think that the conference might be setting a precedent for more UN expansion and more phony international laws.

The idea that certain countries should pay reparations to compensate for the ills of slavery and colonialism cannot be taken seriously. First, it's clearly impossible to determine exactly who was harmed and who benefitted from past actions, with so many generations having passed since the times in question. The vast majority of Americans for example, have no connection whatsoever to slave owners. Furthermore, who decides what wrongs are corrected? If we go back 100 or 200 years, why not 500 years? Once reparations lawsuits are allowed, the potential liabilities are endless.

The only real beneficiaries of the reparations furor are the UN and the trial lawyers.

Of course a serious rift developed at the conference between the Israelis and the Palestinians over a proposed condemnation of Israel's recent attacks on Arab settlers. Once again the United States was caught in the middle of this ancient conflict, both sides of which we already militarize with billions in foreign aid. If the UN really is so effective at promoting peace, why are some of its own member nations at war with one another? The Arab/Israeli conflict is a clear example of how global government not only fails to resolve localized conflicts, but instead makes them worse by angering one side.

These kinds of disagreements will intensify as UN power grows, and winners and losers in regional conflicts are increasingly decided by globalist bureaucrats.

BBC- Feb 1/05 - Former US President Bill Clinton has been chosen to be the UN's special envoy for tsunami relief in Asia.

Secretary General Kofi Annan selected him because of the "energy, dynamism and focus" he would bring to the job, a UN spokesman said.

Mr Annan wanted someone who could address conflicts in the tsunami zone, as well as the aid effort, he added.

Mr Clinton has already been asked by US President Bush to lead efforts to raise relief donations from Americans.

He and Mr Bush's father, former President George Bush senior, have been travelling the US to raise private funds.

Mr Clinton said he would continue his work with Mr Bush "to urge people to contribute to this cause, and the two of us hope to visit the region together later this month".

'Sustaining interest'

After that trip, the secretary general and Mr Clinton are expected to make a formal announcement about his appointment as special envoy.

The tsunami death toll continues to rise, with more than 200,000 people now thought to have died, the UN says.

"The secretary general is confident that President Clinton will bring energy, dynamism and focus to the task of sustaining world interest in the vital recovery and reconstruction phase following the tsunami disaster," Mr Annan's spokesman Fred Eckhard said in a statement.

"He believes that no-one could possibly be better qualified for this task."

Clinton Administration Impact: International Criminal Court is the Latest U.N. Outrage

U.S. Congress - Ron Paul - The Clinton administration, working overtime during the eleventh hour to consolidate its pitiful "legacy," has taken another step toward imposing global government on U.S. citizens. On New Year's Eve, only hours before a United Nations midnight deadline, the President ordered a U.S. ambassador to sign the 1998 U.N. Rome treaty. This treaty purports to establish a worldwide U.N. criminal court, demonstrating the brazen willingness of global-government proponents to move forward with their plans. Once created, the international court will give the U.N. the mechanism it needs to enforce its global "laws" against American citizens. The legal apparatus represents the logical next step for ever-expanding U.N. power: first the phony "international laws" were created, and now a court system is needed to give teeth to the laws. International prisons in Geneva or Brussels cannot be far behind. All Americans concerned with our sovereignty as a nation should be very alarmed by this latest development. In fact, U.N. expert Henry Lamb recently stated that Clinton's endorsement of this treaty "may be the most egregious act of his entire tenure."

The proposed court will be made up of 18 "judges," elected by an Assembly of member nations ratifying the Rome treaty. Should the U.S. Senate ultimately ratify the treaty, America will have only one vote among hundreds of nations vying to decide which global visionaries will be anointed to judge us (perhaps Kofi Annon? Bill Clinton??). The court will claim international jurisdiction over "crimes against humanity" and the "crime of aggression." The Assembly, of course, is left to define such crimes and aggression. Undoubtedly, leftist political correctness, socialist economic philosophy, and environmentalist falsehoods will decide the definition of a crime with the new court. It clearly is no stretch to predict that the court will attempt to continually expand its jurisdiction in both the civil and criminal realms. 20 years hence, will we see U.S. corporations dragged before the court to answer for "environmental crimes?" Or will U.S. soldiers be prosecuted for their actions in wartime? What about rights guaranteed to all U.S. citizens by the Constitution, such as due process, jury trials, the right against self-incrimination, and the prohibition against unreasonable searches?

The clear conflict between American life under our Constitution and life under a U.N. world government is intensifying. Although the Rome treaty perhaps is unlikely to be ratified by the Senate, the creation of the international tribunal undoubtedly will move forward regardless of our participation. Once the court is in place, there is every reason to believe it will attempt to assert its jurisdiction over all nations, even those that have not ratified the Rome treaty. The U.N. never has hesitated to exert its authority, militarily or otherwise, over non-member nations; surely the international court will follow suit. Remember, precedents set by the U.N. 40 and 50 years ago, such as engaging in "peacekeeping" wars across the globe, were controversial at the time. Today those precedents have become commonplace U.N. practice, despite the objections of many Americans.

United Nations, 11 January 2004 (RFE/RL) -- A pattern of management lapses across a range of UN agencies dealing with Iraq emerges from the audits released this week.

The panel -- headed by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker -- made the audits public on 9 January. Several other investigations in the U.S. Congress have sought the reports to help determine how much the United Nations was responsible for Saddam Hussein's abuse of the oil-for-food program.

Volcker's commission will issue a detailed assessment of UN management of the program later in January. But in a briefing paper accompanying the audits (which can be viewed here), the panel notes serious problems in UN oversight functions.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric read a statement yesterday saying the program fulfilled its main objective of providing humanitarian relief for Iraqis. But the statement also acknowledges problems that the United Nations is moving to correct.

"It is clear from the briefing paper that there were deficiencies in the management of this unique and highly complex program which had to be implemented in an acutely difficult political environment," Dujarric said.

The audits note poor performance of firms hired to monitor oil exports and humanitarian imports, finding numerous examples of overpayments to contractors.

They also estimate that the Geneva-based UN Compensation Commission made more than $4 billion in overpayments. The commission uses Iraqi oil revenues to compensate victims for losses suffered in the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

The commission has challenged those findings on its website.

Volcker's panel, in its briefing notes, said the top UN management of the oil-for-food program was either "unable or unwilling" to address issues raised by the audits. Benon Sevan, who headed the program, denies allegations he personally profited from Iraqi kickbacks.

The independent panel also faults the UN auditors for not reviewing the role of UN headquarters in depth and failing to examine and test the execution of the oil purchase and humanitarian aid contracts.

In a briefing paper accompanying the audits, the panel notes serious problems in UN oversight functions.

Two Republican lawmakers in the United States who are investigating the program -- Senator Norm Coleman and Congressman Chris Shays -- said the audits leave many questions unanswered about the UN's role in the abuses. Saddam is estimated to have gained more than $11 billion during the time of the program through smuggling and corrupt practices.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan reiterated the Bush administration's concerns about the program, but praised the release of the audits.

"We believe it should be fully investigated, and that that is a matter that should be done in an open and transparent way. And so [the release of the audits is] a good step, in that sense," McClellan said.

The UN statement released yesterday says some lessons from the scandal are already being applied. It notes the UN's acceptance of a no-fee offer from the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to help monitor aid to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

The firm might also be asked to launch immediate investigations into allegations of fraud, waste, or abuse in connection with tsunami aid efforts.

Kevin Kennedy, a senior official in the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said he does not believe the oil-for-food probe will cause donors to stop giving to other UN humanitarian programs. He said more than $2 billion in donations were made in 2004 to UN relief appeals.

"If there were real concerns on the humanitarian side about how monies were received and expended, I don't think we would have received over $2 billion. So we are reasonably confident with the procedures we have in place. However, this will certainly enhance our ability to track money and make sure it is used wisely," Kennedy said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently signaled that he will be making a series of top management changes to strengthen reform efforts in the year ahead.

The UN statement yesterday says the organization is engaged in a review that will lead to a "broad overhaul of the UN's management structure and systems in order to improve performance and accountability."

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Feb 5/05 - Iraq said it wanted its money back from the scandal-tainted U.N. oil-for-food program on Friday as Secretary-General Kofi Annan vowed to get to the bottom of wrongdoing by U.N. staff.

Huge sums of money which should have served the needs of the Iraqi people who were suffering at that time -- a lot of these resources were squandered and misspent," said Iraq's U.N. ambassador, Samir Sumaidaie.

Iraq, he said, should at minimum not have to pay for the independent probe set up by the United Nations (news - web sites) from remaining oil-for-food funds. The inquiry panel has spent $30 million so far, with the approval of the Security Council.

A new report by Paul Volcker, the former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman appointed by Annan to probe the $67 billion program, found that the director of the plan, Benon Sevan, helped steer oil contracts to a relative of former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

The report does not accuse any U.N. officials of getting bribes. But it says Sevan received $160,000 from an aunt in Cyrus, who has since died and had few resources.

"We are as determined as everyone to get to the bottom of this. We do not want this shadow to hang over the U.N.," Annan said as he arrived at headquarters.

LONDON (Reuters) - Feb 5/05 - Former U.N. head Boutros Boutros-Ghali refused to take all the blame for Iraq's scandal-tainted oil-for-food program on Saturday, pointing the finger at his successor Kofi Annan

Boutros-Ghali was U.N. secretary-general at the start of the program which was designed to allow Iraq to buy food and medicines to ease hardships caused by U.N. sanctions.

"I share the responsibility, but don't twist the whole operation," Boutros-Ghali told BBC radio.

"The basis (of the program) was decided by the Security Council, approved by the Security Council, the execution was done during the mandate of my successor."

Boutros-Ghali headed the United Nations from January 1992 until Annan took over in 1997.

An inquiry into the oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 until 2003, found on Thursday it had been beset by political favoritism and had suffered from lax U.N. controls.

The report by Paul Volcker, the former U.S. Federal Reserve (news - web sites) chairman appointed by Annan to probe the $67 billion program, found that the director of the plan, Benon Sevan, helped steer oil contracts to a relative of Boutros-Ghali.

The report does not accuse any U.N. officials of getting bribes. Annan said U.N. officials would be disciplined and diplomatic immunity would be lifted if criminal acts were committed.

Following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), documents emerged that showed the former Iraqi leader was skimming funds from the program, selling oil illegally outside the scheme -- often with the knowledge of Security Council members -- and bribing a variety of officials around the world.

Jan 18/05 - RFERL - A United Nations panel has unveiled an action plan to lift millions of people out of abject poverty. In its report, the panel urges rich countries to double development aid to the world's poorest countries over the next 10 years. It says that would help more than 500 million people escape poverty and save the lives of 30 million children.

Prague, 18 January 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The survey is labeled the most comprehensive ever on global poverty.

It's by a panel of experts set up to help achieve the so-called Millennium Development goals -- the global targets on reducing hunger, poverty, and disease that all countries agreed on five years ago.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan received the report in New York.

"The goals are not utopian, they are eminently achievable," Annan said. "Many countries, including some of the poorest and least developed, are making real progress in achieving them."

The report calls for a vast increase in development aid.

Rich countries have long promised to give 0.7 percent of their gross national income in aid to the poorest countries.

But only a few have met that target. And some of the richest countries -- including the United States, Japan, and Germany -- give far less.

If all 22 rich countries come up with the money, the report says, more than 500 million people could escape poverty and tens of millions could avoid certain death over the next decade.

Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs is the survey's lead author.

"Our generation, for the first time in human history, really could see to it that extreme poverty on the planet is ended -- not just [reduced] by half, but ended -- by the year 2025," Sachs said. "The millennium development goals can take us halfway there, and by doing so save millions of lives per year, take hundreds of millions of people out of chronic hunger and disease and other extreme impoverishment, and make possible the dream of a planet that is safe and prosperous for all."

The report says rich countries should also help by opening their markets to exports from developing countries.

It also recommends "quick-fixes" for fast results -- supplying mosquito bed nets to prevent malaria deaths; eliminating school fees and providing free school lunches; giving poor farmers soil nutrients, or providing life-saving drugs to 3 million AIDS victims.

More than 500 million people could escape poverty if the richest countries met their aid pledges.

"What we're proposing is a strategy of investment to help empower the lives of very poor people that lack the tools and sometimes even the basic means to stay alive, much less be productive members of a fast-paced world economy," Sachs said.

Some 1,000 million people live on $1 a day or less, many going to bed hungry every night.

Life expectancy in the poorest countries is half that in high-income countries, around 40 instead of 80, the report says.

And there's the tragedy Sachs called the "silent tsunami."

"There's also the silent tsunami of Africa and other parts of the world where, unbeknownst to most people, as many children die every month of malaria in Africa as died in [last month's] Indian Ocean tsunami, about 150,000 per month or more," Sachs said. "And yet malaria is an largely preventable and wholly treatable disease."

Annan said the report would help him prepare his own recommendations for world leaders set to attend a follow-up summit in September that will also tackle UN reform.

UK - Guardian - Jan 20/05 - The Bush administration has blocked the reappointment of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency chief, Peter Hansen, after a campaign by conservative and Jewish groups in the US, and the government in Jerusalem which accused him of being an "Israel hater".

Some European and Arab governments were keen for Mr Hansen to stay on at the end of his nine-year tenure but the US supported Israel's assertion that the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is biased and soft on "terrorists". This week Mr Hansen sent an email to staff saying he will leave on March 31.

Yesterday, the UNRWA chief declined to discuss his failure to be reappointed but did say he believes politically motivated opposition played a role in his removal.

"I was willing to stay. There are certain facts about the views of certain groups in the US and Israel about how I have carried out my functions and those groups influenced the decision not to reappoint me," he said.

Mr Hansen infuriated the Israeli government with public criticisms of the military's wholesale destruction of Palestinian homes which he described as a grave breach of international humanitarian law.

VATICAN CITY, JAN 14, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Alain Paul Lebeaupin, apostolic nuncio to Ecuador, as apostolic nuncio to Kenya and permanent observer to the United Nations Environment and Human Settlements Programs (UNEP and UN-Habitat).

Jan 9/05 - AP - NEW YORK - Internal audits conducted by the United Nations (news - web sites) of its oil-for-food program revealed lapses in U.N. oversight that allowed contractors to overcharge by hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to copies obtained by The Associated Press.

Two of the audits examined irregularities including overcharging by two companies that were hired to monitor oil sales and the import of humanitarian goods under the program. Another detailed financial mismanagement by a U.N. agency administering humanitarian aid under the program.

An independent panel led by former Federal Reserve (news - web sites) Chairman Paul Volcker, who was appointed in April by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) to investigate corruption at the oil-for-food program, was set to release 400 pages of the audits on Monday.

But the panel distributed the documents to congressional investigators two days early. A congressional aide provided the AP with copies of three of the 56 audits, including one that found that the United Nations was billed over several years for 31 days of work in June, which only has 30 days.

The $60 billion oil-for-food program was created as a humanitarian exemption to sanctions imposed on Iraq (news - web sites) after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, which led to the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites). Beginning in 1996, it allowed Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s government to sell oil and use the proceeds to buy food, medicine and other items.

The series of audits, which were carried out from 1996 to 2003 by the U.N. watchdog, the Office of Internal Oversight Services, have been a source of contention between the United Nations and members of Congress examining allegations of corruption in the program.

Internal U.N. Audits Ignite Debate Over U.N. Oversight of Program to Alleviate Sanctions on Iraqis

NEW YORK (AP) - Jan 9/05 - Internal audits sent to the director of the Iraq oil-for-food program uncovered extensive mismanagement of multimillion-dollar deals with contractors and fraudulent paperwork by its employees, according to copies of the some of the reports obtained by The Associated Press.

But because the United Nations had released the 56 audits carried out during the course of the $60 billion program to only a small number of U.N. employees, they have become a source of contention between the United Nations and members of Congress examining allegations of corruption in the program. The audit reports have achieved a wider circulation as investigations of the program have become public.

The oil-for-food program was created as a humanitarian exemption to sanctions imposed on Iraq after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, which led to the 1991 Gulf War. Beginning in 1996, it allowed Saddam Hussein's government to sell oil and use the proceeds to buy food, medicine and other items.

An independent panel led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who was appointed in April by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to investigate corruption in the oil-for-food program, was given access to the files and planned to release 400 pages of the audits Monday.

UNITED NATIONS - Jan 9/05 - AP - United Nations peacekeepers in Congo sexually exploited women and girls, some as young as 13, a U.N. watchdog office said Friday in a new confirmation that efforts to curb abuses by U.N. troops are not working.

Peacekeepers regularly had sex with Congolese women and girls, usually in exchange for food or small sums of money, investigators from the world body's Office of Internal Oversight Services found.

"We have had and continue to have a serious problem of sexual exploitation and abuse," William Lacy Swing, the United Nations' special representative to Congo, said at a news conference.

"We are shocked by it, we are outraged, we are sickened by it. Peacekeepers who have been sworn to assist those in need, particularly those who have been victims of sexual violence, instead have caused grievous harm."

Charges of sex abuse and other crimes have been lodged against U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world for decades. Officials have found it difficult to crack down because the United Nations doesn't want to offend the relatively small number of countries that are willing to provide peacekeepers.

In recent years, U.N. officials have tried to address the problem by increasing training for troops and putting more emphasis on codes of conduct that ban sex with females younger than 18, but they admit the rules are not working.

"Rules and regulations should be tightened," said Jean-Marie Guehenno, U.N. undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations.

The abusive behavior in Congo continued even as the investigation was going on in Bunia between May and September, the report said. It also said some military officers tried to block the investigators' work.

The misconduct was "serious and ongoing" and investigators found it "disturbing" that there was no program in place to deter misconduct or protect civilians from abuses, the report added.

The U.N. mission in Congo will rise to 16,000 by the end of February.

The investigators looked into 72 allegations against military and civilian U.N. personnel, which resulted in 20 case reports, all but one involving peacekeepers.

"In six cases, the allegations against the peacekeeper were fully substantiated, and underage girls were involved in all of them," the report said. It said none of the peacekeepers admitted to the allegations.

In some cases, evidence was convincing, but could not be fully substantiated, and in others allegations could not be corroborated, the report said. The victims had problems identifying the solidiers.

United Nations, 2 December 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Criticism of the UN's management of the oil-for-food program has reached new intensity, with a key U.S. senator calling for Kofi Annan's resignation.

In an opinion piece published yesterday in "The Wall Street Journal" newspaper, Senator Norm Coleman wrote that Annan must be held accountable for what Coleman called the most extensive fraud in UN history. The Republican senator heads a congressional inquiry into alleged abuses of the humanitarian program for Iraq.

But UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said Annan will not step down. He said the secretary-general is undeterred in his plans to advance initiatives to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS and to reform the UN's key institutions.

"[Annan] has heard no calls for resignation from any member state. If there is some agitation on this issue on the sidelines, that's fine. That's healthy debate. But he is intent on continuing his substantive work for the remaining two years and one month of his term," Eckhard said.

Some UN personnel have rallied to defend the secretary-general. In addition, at a meeting with Annan on Security Council reform, the ambassadors of Argentina, Algeria, Colombia, Egypt, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, and Turkey offered their support for Annan.

Senator Coleman's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations says it has evidence that Saddam Hussein's government amassed more than $20 billion in illicit funds. It says a lack of UN oversight under Annan's watch permitted the abuses to occur.

The United Nations has refused to hand over documents to the congressional committee or allow senior officials to appear before a panel while its own investigation is under way. That probe is led by Paul Volcker, the former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman.

Volcker is planning to release his initial findings in January 2005 and then present a more thorough report in the spring.

Critics say Annan is hindering important U.S. investigations. Nile Gardiner is a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy institute. He tells RFE/RL that Annan should resign in order to allow a full and proper investigation to take place.

"A good leader of the UN would have called for a halt to the abuse. He would have stripped Saddam Hussein of the powers he possessed with regard to the program, in particular his ability to pick and choose whom he sold oil to and from whom he imported humanitarian goods," Gardiner said.

But others say such blame is exaggerated.

Lawrence Woocher manages global policy programs at the United Nations Association of the United States, an independent policy institute. He tells RFE/RL that it is premature and simplistic to pin the blame on Annan when the program came under Security Council oversight and involved a complex mix of public and private entities.

"[Annan] has heard no calls for resignation from any member state. If there is some agitation on this issue on the sidelines, that's fine. That's healthy debate. But he is intent on continuing his substantive work for the remaining two years and one month of his term." -- UN spokesman Fred Eckhard

"There were a lot of actors here, and we need to try and get to the bottom of how they all interrelated and who was responsible for what," Woocher said.

The oil-for-food program was approved by the UN Security Council in 1996 at a time when Iraq was reeling under comprehensive sanctions aimed at assuring its disarmament of weapons of mass destruction.

It was set up to allow the Iraqi government to sell oil to raise money for food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods. The Iraqi government was given control over whom it could sell oil to, while the UN Secretariat had a major administrative role and the UN Security Council had a powerful oversight function.

But Hussein was able to manipulate the program and circumvent sanctions through oil smuggling and bribes involving public and private entities.

U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli yesterday declined to answer repeated questions about calls for Annan's resignation. But Ereli said Annan is cooperating with inquiries into the program.

"In our view, the UN, under the leadership of Secretary-General Annan, is supporting the investigation, understands what's at stake, and is doing the right thing," Ereli said.

Annan faced further criticism this week after it was revealed that his son, Kojo, received payments until early this year from a firm that inspected goods under the oil-for-food program and which is under investigation.

Current Propaganda Efforts at Makeover of Islam Not Enough: UN Forum Explores Ways To Fight 'Islamophobia'

United Nations, 10 December 2004 -- A deep misunderstanding of Islam is fueling anger, hatred, and fear about one of the world's great religions.

Scholars and diplomats from around the world gathered in New York on 7 December to discuss the rising wave of anti-Muslim sentiment. Secretary-General Kofi Annan kicked off the daylong seminar at UN headquarters.

"When the world is compelled to coin a new term to take account of increasingly widespread bigotry -- that is a sad and troubling development," Annan said. "Such is the case with 'Islamophobia.' The word seems to have emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, the weight of history and the fallout of recent developments have left many Muslims around the world feeling aggravated and misunderstood, concerned about the erosion of their rights and even fearing for their physical safety."

Annan rejected widely held views that Islam is incompatible with democracy or irrevocably hostile to modernity and women's rights. He said stereotypes also unfairly depict Muslims as anti-Western despite a history of commerce and interaction in the arts and sciences.

Getting over Islamophobia and any other kind of phobia is crucial in a world of intense global economic competition, according to Annan. "Any strategy to combat Islamophobia must depend heavily on education, not just about Islam but about all religions and traditions so that myths and lies can be seen for what they are," he said. "We must prevent the media and the Internet from being used to spread hatred while, of course, safeguarding freedom of opinion and expression."

A key factor contributing to the raise of Islamophobia, panelists noted, is the concept of "jihad" or "holy war" against infidels. Militants such as Osama bin Laden invoke jihad to rally Muslims to their cause.

"In Islam and in Islamic literature there is no such thing as 'a holy war.'" -- Egyptian judge

But Ahmed Kamal Aboulmagd, an Egyptian judge and law professor at Cairo University, said that the notion of "holy war" does not exist in Islam.

"In Islam and in Islamic literature there is no such thing as 'a holy war.' This is [a] Western invention that was attributed to us, I don't know how and why and when," Aboulmagd said. "In the Koran, there are many verses that say [that] when you need it [jihad], and you Muslims need it -- [you need] explicit authorization to engage even in a war of self-defense. So the concept of holy war is always a hateful thing."

But in the wake of the 9-11 attacks on the United States, and other terrorist strikes around the globe including in Russia and Europe, the international perception of Islam as a source of violence against civilians is only growing.

Yet the war on terrorism pursued by Washington and other governments seems to many Muslims to be a war on Islam.

"The impact and implications, the influence of Islamophobia raised many questions and issues," said John Esposito, director of Washington's Georgetown University Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. "No. 1, it certainly feeds the perception in many parts of the Muslim world that it's not a war against global terrorism -- it's a war against Islam. It raises questions about the extent to which our [U.S.] domestic and foreign policies are influenced not simply by a concern about extremism that we need to address them, but in fact by Islamophobia."

Esposito called for more efforts from educators and the media to correct distorted perceptions and to promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue.

"For at the end of the day Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance know no religious, racial, tribal, or national boundaries or limits," Esposito said. "The message at the end of the day is clear, the message is simple -- Islam is not the enemy, religious extremism is."

Several seminar participants pointed out that for centuries Islam and Christianity have enjoyed mutually beneficial contacts in art, culture, and science. They noted that today's problem seems to be that those historic ties have dried up.

The result is a lack of understanding on both sides. But as Asma Gull Hasan said, there is also a lack of understanding among members of the same religion.

Hasan is an American of Pakistani descent and the author of "Why I Am A Muslim" and "American Muslims: The New Generation." She said that as a Muslim born and raised in the United States she has seen the main obstacle toward tolerance and perception in Muslims themselves.

"My main experience with Islamophobia has been from other Muslims," Hasan said. "The greatest resistance to true Islam, to achieving a beautiful, peaceful, spiritual Islam, to me and to my experience -- [it] has been from other Muslims."

She said she has faced racism and sexism from conservative Muslims and Arabs who consider non-Arabs unfit to discuss Islam.

Hasan said that interfaith activities could move in a more practical direction, building on the examples of communities where people from different religions come together in professional associations or even sports teams. Such activities, she said, demystify the way of life of others.

Copyright (c) 2004/05. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org

Reality versus Halucinations: 'Islamophobia' and the Reality of Islamic Terror

Dec 16/04 - HEO - Last week Kofi Annan presided over a UN seminar on "Islamophobia," explaining with a straight face: "When the world is compelled to coin a new term to take account of increasingly widespread bigotry -- that is a sad and troubling development. Such is the case with 'Islamophobia.' The word seems to have emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, the weight of history and the fallout of recent developments have left many Muslims around the world feeling aggravated and misunderstood, concerned about the erosion of their rights and even fearing for their physical safety."

The focus, not unexpectedly, stayed mostly on the aggrieved, misunderstood Muslims, with no questions raised about the Islamic roots of jihad terrorism. Nor was there any discussion of the compatibility of Islam with universally accepted ideas of human rights, as embodied in the UN's own 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Islamic world has seen fit to formulate two major responses to this document: the 1981 Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights and the 1990 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which we owe to the courageous Charles Malik of Lebanon, states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief…" You will find no analogous guarantee of the freedom to change one's religion in either of the Islamic declarations: indeed, Islamic law mandates the death penalty for those who leave Islam. What's more, the Cairo declaration states: "Everyone shall have the right to advocate what is right, and propagate what is good, and warn against what is wrong and evil according to the norms of Islamic Shari'ah." If Sharia is the norm, women's rights as well as those of non-Muslims will be severely restricted.

These two documents were not written by "Islamophobes," but by some of the foremost Muslim thinkers in the world. But the world is not supposed to notice,

In recent years, representatives of some Muslim states have demanded, and often received, special treatment at the United Nations mostly via the Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). As a result, non-diplomatic terms such as "blasphemy" and "defamation of Islam" have seeped into the United Nations system, leading to a situation in which non-Muslim governments accept certain rules of conduct in conformity with Islamic law (the Shari`a) and acquiesce to a self-imposed silence regarding topics touching on Islam. This pattern of behavior has emerged with regard to a host of issues—Salman Rushdie, Muslim antisemitism, Islamic alternatives to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a "defamation of Islam" resolution, and the actions of the Sudanese government.

U.N. Report Set to Recommend Changes that would Weaken U.S. Influence at U.N.

Nov 27/04 - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan named the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change to study ways the body could better face today's world.

Former Thai prime minister Anand Panyarachun chairs the 16-member panel, which is due to deliver its report on December 2.

Annan wants to submit the reform proposals to the UN General Assembly for adoption in time for the 60th anniversary of the United Nations (news - web sites).

According to information supplied by several diplomats, the report recommends two models for reforming the Security Council, the principal UN decision-making body.

The sources said the two models are based on a new distribution of the member countries into four geographic groups: Africa, Europe (Western and Eastern), the Americas (North and South) and Asia (including Australia and New Zealand).

As things stand, the 191 UN member nations are divided into five regions. The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand form part of the "west" with Western Europe, while former Soviet-bloc countries are part of a different group.

[either of] The two proposed models would chose six representatives from each group for the council, for a total of 24 members.

The current Security Council has 15 members, five of which are permanent, each with a veto over matters brought before the body: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States. The other 10 rotating members are chosen by their geographic group for a nonrenewable two-year period.

The first of two reform models would add three rotating members and six new permanent members, but without a veto.

The second model would leave in place the permanent members and would add nine new rotating members. However, eight of the nine countries, two per geographic group, would become "semi-permanent" members, serving four-year terms instead of the current two-year terms and the possibility of being re-elected for another four years.

According to UN diplomats, the panel's report only makes a series of proposals, without assigning of the new seats to any of the countries that could benefit.

However, it is clear that in the first model, the six new permanent seats appear to be destined to Germany, Brazil, India and Japan, as well as two unnamed African countries.

The four named countries officially mounted in September a campaign to be included as a slate. Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria have also voiced their candidacy for permanent seats.

International criminal court or international mischief?

July 14, 2003

The international community cried crocodile tears when the United States withdrew its support of the UN’s International Criminal Court (ICC). Supporters of the court laughed when the U.S. expressed concern that our soldiers could be prosecuted for war crimes. Great Britain’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair, lobbied President Bush to reconsider U.S. withdrawal.

The U.S., however, at President Bush’s direction, withdrew from the 1998 Rome Statute that established the Court. The action was necessary because, as one of his last acts of office, former President Clinton had committed the U.S. to the ICC, yet another totally unaccountable UN bureaucracy guaranteed to work against our interests.

The Court came into being on April 11, 2002. Now the court is beginning its first session and guess who is the first to come under investigation for possible war crimes charges? Saddam Hussein? Osama Bin Ladin? The murderous Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, who is starving his own people and stealing any land owned by a white farmer?

The answer: Tony Blair! The British Prime Minister now finds himself among one of the first world leaders to be reviewed by the incoming prosecutor of the ICC for his participation in the Iraq war. The Greek Bar Association has announced that it will file a complai