New York
Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week called for the most sweeping reform in the history of the United Nations. Annan said he would make the scandal-plagued U.N. more accountable by boosting the authority of an internal watchdog. He also wants to create a powerful new Human Rights Council; it would replace the Commission on Human Rights, which critics say is toothless because even countries that violate human rights have a say. “These are reforms that are within reach,” Annan said, “if we can garner the necessary political will.” Critics dismissed the announcement as a naked attempt to change the subject from an impending report on corruption in the U.N.’s oil-for-food program. Annan’s son, Kojo, worked for a company that held one of the program’s lucrative contracts.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayorIn The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all timeThe Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
