Silmakirjalikkuse etalon: ÜRO

Ameerikat ja ameeriklasi siunatakse Eesti meedias igal nädalal mitmeid kordi. Palju oleneb sellest, mis ajalehti loed ja mis saateid televisioonist vaatad, kuid mida Eesti meedia pole vaevunud kajastama on ÜRO, kelle autoriteedile toetus nii mõnigi Saddami kukutamise vastane. Nüüd, kus on aga selgumas, kui korrumpeerunud organisatsioon ÜRO tegelikult on, ei ole Eesti ajakirjanikel kas tahtmist või selgroogu avaldada kas või üks artikkel sellest organisatsioonist.

Korruptsiooni süüdistuste kõige suuremaks allikaks on siiani olnud omal ajal Iraagile kehtestatud Oil-for-Food programm, mille eesmärgiks oli võimaldada Iraagil nafta eksporti ning saadud tulude eest toitu ja medikamente importida. Programmi administreeris ÜRO ja nagu vaikselt on selgumas, siis häbiväärsete tagajärgedega:

One week ago, a Senate committee investigating the oil-for-food scandal doubled to $21 billion the amount of money former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein managed to steal from that humanitarian program (the overwhelming majority of it on Mr. Annan's watch) to pay off friends and political cronies; one of those alleged to have benefited from Saddam's illicit largesse was Benon Sevan, the U.N. official appointed by Mr. Annan to head the program. Mr. Annan's refusal to permit U.N. employees to testify before Congress or to make internal U.N. audits available to congressional investigators smack of a cover-up. And Mr. Annan's recent foot-in-mouth episode, in which he asserted that the coalition military campaign that ousted Saddam was "illegal," further eroded what little was left of his credibility in Washington.

21 miljardit dollarit ehk rohkem kui 220 000 000 000 krooni. Eesti Vabariigi aasta eelarve on kuskil 40 miljardit, mis tähendab, et ÜRO võimaldas Saddamil kõrvale libistada summa, millega oleks saanud katta kõik Eesti Vabariigi eelarve kulud järgmise 5 aasta jooksul...koos märkimisväärse lisaga.

Selle suurejoonelise pettusskeemi taga ei olnud loomulikult ainult ÜRO ametnikud vaid ka mõnede riikide nagu Prantsusmaa, Venemaa ja Hiina ametnikud, kes mõõduka tasu eest kindlasti kodumaiste firmade huve esindasid. Tõenäoliselt ei tule Iraagi sõja eelset ÜRO tsirkust näinutele üllatusena, et kõige rohkem Saddami tehingutest kasu lõiganud olid just tulihingelised sõjavastased.

Enamus rahast ei pruukinud jõuda ÜRO ametnike taskusse, kuid ilma ÜRO'ta poleks seda tsirkust ka saanud olla. Ja isegi siis, kui erinevaid pettusskeeme ei avastatud kohe, oleks midagi tulnud ÜRO juhtkonnal ette võtta nii pea kui segadus oil-for-food programmi ümber avalikuks sai. Selle asemel on aga uurimist üritatud korduvalt pidurdada muu hulgas ka ÜRO peasekretäri Kofi Annani poolt, kes enda süüd ja osalust igati eitab:

United Nations allowed Saddam Hussein to embezzle at least $21.3 billion in oil money during 12 years, with the great bulk of that sum--a staggering $17.3 billion--pilfered between 1997-2003, on Mr. Annan's watch.

These are the record-breaking new estimates released Monday by the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, whose staffers, despite Mr. Annan's refusal to cooperate, have spent the past seven months voyaging deep into the muck of Oil for Food. At a hearing Monday, these investigators surfaced to tell us the theft and fraud under Oil for Food was at least twice as bad as earlier reports had suggested, and that all this is just a preview of yet more appalling disclosures they expect to release early next year. Sen. Norm Coleman, the subcommittee's chairman, underscored the urgency of such investigations, noting not only that the size of the fraud "is staggering," but that some of Saddam's vast illicit stash might right now be funding terrorists and costing American lives.

Mr. Annan, by contrast, seems to inhabit a different universe--one in which the chief problem lies not in the U.N.'s complicity, including his own, in the biggest fraud in the history of humanitarian relief, but rather in the attempts to shine any light on all that sleaze. In Annan Land, there was earlier this year no need for any probe into Oil for Food; and even now there is no need for any investigating beyond the U.N.'s own "independent inquiry" into itself, led by former Fed chairman Paul Volcker, required to funnel its findings first through Mr. Annan, funded to the tune of $30 million out of one of the old Oil for Food accounts it is supposed to be investigating, and not planning to clock in with any specific results until sometime next summer.

Eelnev tsitaat pärineb Wall Street Journal'ist ning käsitleb üpriski üksikasjalikult Kofi silmakirjalikust, põiklemist ja lihtlabast lollimängimist samal ajal kui ta Iraagi vabastamise Saddami türanniast "illegaalsena" hukka mõistab.

ÜRO juhtkonna probleemid ei piirdu aga kaugeltki Saddami raha saatuse uurimisega. Kuna ÜRO ametnikud ei vastuta kellegi ees ega pea enda tegevusest kellelegi aru andma, siis leiavad selles organisatsioonis aset vägagi kahtlase väärtusega intsidendid, mis on ÜRO personali marru ajanud:

Anger has erupted over the outcome of recent investigations into allegations of misconduct by top managers in the UN system.

First Mr Annan overruled the findings of an inquiry into groping charges against the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers, a former Dutch Prime Minister. Mr Annan said the allegation that Mr Lubbers groped a 51-year-old female employee could not be substantiated. The woman has since dropped her complaint.

Then came the latest dispute, triggering yesterday’s vote, involving Dileep Nair, the Singaporean who serves as the UN’s anti-corruption watchdog.

The staff council called this year for an investigation of Mr Nair, the UN under-secretary for internal oversight services, after an anonymous letter accused him of trading promotions for money and sexual favours. Mr Annan announced last week that the investigation by the UN’s chief manager, Catherine Bertini, had exonerated Mr Nair.

But the staff union was furious that it had not been consulted by the investigators. “Throughout the six months duration of the investigation, despite being the complainant in this matter, the staff committee was neither informed that an investigation was taking place nor asked to clarify its concerns or provide testimony,” the staff union said yesterday. Its resolution said: “The staff council notes with great concern the trend of exonerating senior management officials in a series of violations further eroding the confidence of the staff in the senior management.”

The debate also revived other concerns of UN staff. An early draft of the resolution criticised Mr Annan for refusing to accept the offered resignation of his Canadian deputy, Louise Frechette, over security lapses before the Baghdad bombing.

It also said that Iqbal Riza, the chief of staff, should be brought to account for alleged nepotism because his son works for the UN in Lebanon.

Lisame siia veel värsked süüdistused Sierra Leone'ist, Libeeriast ja Guineast, kus ÜRO ametnikud on jälginud neile juba niigi tuttavaid harjumusi nagu bordellide pidamine (viimati Balkani poolsaarel) ja alaealiste seksuaalne ekspluateerimine:

Although humanitarian workers were reported to pay more than other men, the report said they might pay as little as 10 US cents for sex with a Liberian refugee girl - enough to buy a handful of peanuts.

Some girls said aid workers had fathered their children and then deserted them.

"An NGO worker made me pregnant but now he left me and is loving to (sic) another young girl," a teenage mother in Guinea told the interviewers, who questioned 1500 people in the assessment.

The girls' comments suggested a climate of fear fostered by their extreme dependence on aid personnel.

"If I tell you the name of the NGO worker I have to sex with (sic), he will get fired, and then how will I feed my child and myself?" a young mother in Guinea asked.

The children's stories were confirmed by adults.

"In this community no one can access CSB (a soya nutrient), without having sex first. They say: 'A kilo for sex'," a refugee woman in Guinea told the interviewers.

And a man in Sierra Leone said: "If you do not have a wife or a sister or a daughter to offer the NGO workers, it is hard to have access to aid."

ÜRO vajab tõsiseid reforme, täieliku läbipaistvust enda tegevuses ja uut juhtkonda. Kofile tuleks ust näidata nagu ka paljudele tema poolt ametisse määratud korrumpeerunud bürokraatidele, sest probleeme ei kipu maailmas vähemaks jääma samas kui ÜRO ametnike valmisolek neid lahendama asuda tundub vähenevat päev päevalt. Erinevad korruptsiooniskandaalid teevad ausate ÜRO töötajate elu endisest keerulisemaks. Need vähesed, kes on huvitatud uute Ruandade ära hoidmisest peavad aga pealt vaatama, kuidas ÜRO't eiranud USA kuulutab Sudaanis - Darfuri piirkonnas toimuva - genotsiidiks, Kofi ei suuda ega taha seda sõna aga Darfuri kontekstis suhugi võtta.

Kuigi ÜRO pole enda legitiimsust veel täielikult maha mänginud seisab ta tõsise kriisi ees. ÜRO'l on oma koht ning funktsioon rahvusvaheliste suhete areenil, kuid selle organisatsiooni juhtkond ja liikmed peavad mõistma, et ÜRO'st on saamas veel üks Rahvaste Liit - hea idee, millel masendav teostus.

TÄIENDATUD: ÜRO oil-for-food skandaalil, mida hellitavalt UNSCAM'iks kutsutakse, hoiab visalt silma peale Friends of Saddam nimeline blog.