Global Policy Forum

Secretary General Kofi Annan's Chef de Cabinet Iqbal Razi abruptly announced his retirement amid rumors of a senior UN staff "shake-up." UN diplomat and commentators believe that Riza was "let go" by Annan in order to appease Washington and repair damage that occurred when Annan denounced the Iraq war. Riza was a "leader in a policy that is adversarial to Washington," with regards to Iraq and Israel, hence the US pressured Annan to terminate Riza. The article writes that further replacements are set to occur in a "cleaning of the stables." (New York Sun)

The author reflects on Kofi Annan's tenure as Secretary General of the UN and argues that Annan was surprisingly independent as Secretary General and "far less in thrall to the US than many had anticipated." Still, the US refusal to pay its debts caused a UN financial crisis that limited the Secretary General's resources and led to closer ties between the UN and the private sector.

The UN is introducing modern ways of Human Resources management, says Michael Littlejohns from the Earth Times News Service. This is part of the ongoing effort to shed the world organization of its stuffy, bureaucratic image.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali highlights the political problems at the United Nations that threaten to weaken the organization's mandate to promote democracy. The former UN Secretary General warns that both the unilateral policies of the US and the apparent unwillingness of other "major" countries to "play any significant role in international affairs" reflect poorly on the UN. (Inter Press Service)

Brian Urquhart, advisor to five former Secretary Generals, outlines a proposal for improving the UN Secretary General selection process. His proposals respond to the difficulties caused by the US veto of Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's second term. Urquhart's ideas include establishing a single seven-year term of office, creating an extended timetable that allows for a comprehensive search for viable candidates and releasing the candidate short list to the public four weeks prior to the election. Urquhart believes that a broader choice of suitable candidates will "avoid a desperate last-minute search for a compromise candidate." (Dag Hammarskjold Foundation)

Global Policy Forum presents a timeline of the 1996 election of the UN Secretary General. The timeline examines the US opposition to Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's bid for a second term and the events leading to the US veto on his reelection. The timeline follows the subsequent scramble for a viable candidate for the post of Secretary General and the nomination and election of Kofi Annan.

Commentators, including UN staff members, discuss the 1996 Secretary General election and compare Boutros Boutros-Ghali's tenure with that of the previous Secretary Generals. The comments mostly favor Ghali's time in office praising his willingness to stand up to Washington. The commentators also discuss the US veto of Boutros-Ghali's second term as Secretary General. One UN staff member argues that "the great powers will not tolerate a strong and independent force at the UN."