Kofi Annan’s Last Cover-up
“In the wake of the oil-for-food scandal, one of the few reforms that was brought in on the watch of Secretary-General Annan at the United Nations required officials of the world body to fill out a financial disclosure form. Mr. Annan’s undersecretary-general for management, Christopher B. Burham, explained the need for the form in a December op-ed in the Wall Street Journal: “No organization can exist unless firmly established on a foundation of ethical standards and conduct.”
That would be the rule for everyone but the Secretary-General:
“The Washington Times issued an excellent editorial on the point yesterday, accusing Mr. Annan of “stonewalling.” The excuses from Turtle Bay are that there is no requirement for the forms to be made public, and, the Washington Times reports, the chief United Nations legal counsel, Nicolas Michel, told Mr. Annan not to make the form public as it would obligate future secretary-generals to do the same. What a convenient line of balderdash. It was Mr. Annan who wrote the rules.”
