Kofi Annan's Bubble

Kofi is trying to at least give the appearance of reforming the United Nations. Too bad no one believes him, least of all the people working at the UN Headquarters on the East River:

U.N. staffers heckled and booed Secretary-General Annan yesterday in a raucous meeting after he presented a "management reform" plan that includes cutting jobs for New Yorkers employed at Turtle Bay.

In a clear sign that U.N. employees have lost confidence in a leader who rose from their ranks, one staffer told the secretary-general bluntly, "Nobody believes you."

When asked by a staffer if U.N. jobs will be farmed out to Kinko's from now on, Mr. Annan showed how out of touch he has become from his underlings and from his fellow New Yorkers. "What is Kinko?" he asked.

Mr. Annan's plan - warmly endorsed by America's U.N. ambassador, John Bolton, who has long urged profound reform of how the organization is managed - will add $510 million to the current annual $10 billion budget, according to the U.N.'s estimates.

Those costs - for improving information technologies, creating a new fast-deployed peacekeeping force, and new staff training - are expected to be offset by future savings, according to a senior U.N. official. But some of the budget-cutting the official pointed to, such as unspecified savings in the procurement department, do not necessarily require ambitious plans like the one unveiled yesterday. And there is no guarantee the "reforms" will be put into effect.

I'm not entirely sure that adding money to a bloated budget will cure the many problems at Turtle Bay. Perhaps they can start with the biggest problem of all - Kofi Annan. He's the single biggest impediment to reforming at the United Nations.

His inaction on any number of human rights crises (Darfur, Congo, Rwanda, Iraq while Saddam was in power, etc.) means he's lost his moral standing on those issues. His coddling of dictators around the world further cements his status as one who seeks the status quo rather than seeking to hold to the ideals on which the UN was founded. And the status quo means that hundreds of millions of people are stuck with totalitarian dictatorships who can cast deciding votes on acts to stop genocide or other human rights crises. These same countries that do not let their own people vote, get to vote on actions of international significance.

UPDATE:
Others blogging Annan's cold reception: Memeorandum, Atlas Shrugs who has been lambasting the UN for quite some time and has interviewed John Bolton, In the Bullpen, and Junkyard Blog.