U.N. Report

Seeking next leader

The Security Council has scheduled a straw poll on Wednesday to assess support for the five candidates to succeed Kofi Annan as the secretary-general of the United Nations.

The format of the vote will be the same as in July: the 15 Council ambassadors will fill cards to encourage or discourage a candidacy, or offer no opinion. The results — anonymous, nonbinding and supposedly secret — presumably will offer guidance to the hopefuls about their chances. But just as important, it will show council members which way their colleagues lean.

Diplomats usually play their cards very, very close to the vest, refusing to let on their preferences for fear of hurting the chances of a favored candidate or influencing important horse-trading on other issues.

The new candidate is Prince Zeid al Hussein of Jordan, who is well-known in U.N. circles because of his longtime involvement with peacekeeping and negotiations on the International Criminal Court. He tossed his crown into the ring on Tuesday after much speculation.

At 42, he is the youngest declared candidate, and well-liked in U.N. circles — which matters … but not a lot.

Jordan is a moderate Arab nation on the western edge of the sprawling 54-nation Asian Group, which claims the right to field the eighth secretary-general, under the tradition that keeps the top U.N. jobs changing among the regions.

China has announced that it would accept an Arab candidate from within the Asian Group, but some diplomats and observers have expressed doubt about that.

Others have suggested that Prince Zeid is too moderate and “Westernized” to win broad support within the Arab and Islamic world.

But under the Byzantine rules of selection, his first and only real judges are the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, and particularly, the five permanent members.

The other candidates are longtime U.N. official Shashi Tharoor of India, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, Sri Lankan diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

And finally, the Huffington Post Web site reported over the weekend that the five candidates have been invited to a Sept. 26 debate in New York. China, among other nations, has been eager to see a public, accountable declaration of positions.

That event, if it happens, would come two days before another straw poll.

Terrorism targeted

Days before the fifth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks and hours before the end of the U.N. General Assembly 60th Session, member states adopted on Friday a global strategy to fight terrorism.

The seven-page resolution calls on U.N. member countries to work together to tighten their domestic laws and improve international cooperation to block financial, social and material support for terrorist networks. It also calls on governments to join and ratify the dozen anti-terrorism conventions in circulation, and to try or extradite terror suspects in their custody.

The U.N. members also promise to promote dialogue and mutual respect among cultures and religions, to try to eradicate poverty, and to promote sustained development and human rights.

“The upcoming fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 serves as one of many solemn reminders of the gruesome and unjustifiable consequences of terrorism all over the world,” said departing Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

“I urge all member states to honor the victims of terrorism everywhere by taking swift action to implement all aspects of the strategy,” he added.

A half-day session on the strategy, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 23, could draw world leaders and foreign ministers attending the General Assembly’s annual debate.

The 10-page text does not define terrorism, a goal that has eluded diplomats for years. Nor does it rebuke “state-sponsored terrorism,” as demanded by Arab and Islamic nations concerned about Israel.

• Betsy Pisik can be reached by e-mail to bpisik@washingtontimes.com.