Indian Newslink April 15, 2016 Digital Edition

12 VIEWLINK
April 15, 2016
UN faces the prospect of first Woman Chief
Helen Clark decides to seek the post of Secretary General
The English Fortnightly (Since November 1999)
Issue 344 | April 15, 2016
Panama Papers tear the
mask of shufflers
The tension in the corridors of power in many countries across
the Continents is almost palpable. Governments, leaders –
some of them heads of state – bureaucrats and multinationals
stand implicated in what has come to be the biggest financial
scandal in history.
‘Panama Papers,’ as they are called, relate to more than 11.5
million documents including emails and other electronic data that
reveal for the first time how money was moved around and hidden
by at least 33 people and companies blacklisted by the United States
of America for allegedly doing business with rogue states, terrorists
and drug barons. The sums involved are huge; so are some of the
names.
Leaked documents are the sort of beasts that are hard to fathom
and even harder to accept; but not this one.
The identity of the leaker has not yet been established but that is
not the point.
Dangerous trend
The fact that the leaked documents have been investigated by the
Washington based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
(ICIJ), a Project of the Centre for Public Integrity, adds credibility
to the belief that those in charge of defending the world against the
undesirables were their patrons. This in itself is a dangerous trend
and there are possibilities of more sinister undertakings of people in
power coming to light in the coming months and weeks.
The leaked documents deal with allegations that more than 140
politicians and officials have offshore holdings of unaccounted
money. Among are stated to be 12 current and former Presidents,
Prime Ministers and Monarchs.
The law firm
At the heart of the fiasco is Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in
Panama that specialises in setting up offshore companies. It has
denied wrongdoing. Curiously, this is not the first time that leaked
documents have caused a stir; although the earlier one was less toxic.
Leaked documents are the sort of beasts that are hard to fathom
and even harder to accept; but not this one.
Three years ago, ICIJ published a series of reports on tax havens
based on leaks of confidential documents. Some nervous clients of
Mossack Fonseca asked if their secrets were safe. The law firm told
them not to fret; its data centre was ‘state- of-the-art’ and its encryption
algorithm was ‘world class.’
“Whoops,” said a Leader in the Economist.
Tax havens
“Friends of Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, have shuffled
US$2 billion through a network of banks and offshore firms, the
ICIJ claims. The brother-in-law of China’s President, the children of
Pakistan’s Prime Minister and the cousins of Syria’s President Bashar
Al Assad, all did business with Mossack Fonseca. So did Ian Cameron,
the late father of David Cameron, Britain’s Prime Minister,” the
publication said.
Graft in high places
Browsing through the data that the ICIJ has so far disclosed, it is
striking how rich the cronies and relatives of some politicians have
become. The daughters of Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s
President appear secretly to control gold mines. A nephew of South
Africa’s President, Jacob Zuma, has done nicely out of oil contracts in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, where South Africa has sent more
than 1000 peacekeepers.
Ordinary citizens are incensed. Mr Zuma faced impeachment
proceedings this week over allegations that he misappropriated
public money to build himself a palace and refused to pay it back.
Furious protests forced Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, Iceland’s
Prime Minister to resign, after his wife was revealed to have secret
offshore investments with claims on the country’s failed banks.
Inequitable world
Corruption makes the world poorer and less equal. When politicians
steal, they reduce the amount of public cash left over for roads
or schools. When they give sweetheart contracts to their chums, they
defraud taxpayers and deter honest firms from investing in their
country. All this hobbles growth.
Cleaning up tax havens will not end graft. The prime responsibility
for this lies with national governments, many of which should
do more to make their finances transparent and their safeguards
against cronyism stringent. But it would help if kleptocrats were less
able to hide their stashes.
The world has not seen either the end of ‘Panama Papers,’ or those
similar.
Our guess is that there is much more to come, some of them with
political overtones so disastrous that it would be difficult to separate
the criminals from those abetting them or turning the other way.
Dredging the canal of corruption has become even more urgent.
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Balaji Chandramohan
In a historic move, former
New Zealand Prime Minister
Helen Clark announced her
decision to run for the post
of Secretary General of United
Nations, instantly winning the
support of her one-time political
adversary and current Prime
Minister John Key.
She announced the move on
April 6, 2016 amidst growing
global view that it was time the
global body had a woman at its
helm.
Ms Clark, who was the first
elected Prime Minister of New
Zealand (1999 to 2008), quit
her post as the Leader of the
Opposition after suffering a
stunning defeat in the general
election held in November 2008.
She conceded defeat to Mr Key
who rode a massive wave in
favour of National Party. She
resigned from Parliament and
left for New York to take up the
post of the Administrator of the
United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), a high post,
stated to be second only to the
UN Secretary General and an
Under-Secretary General.
Cooling tempers
It is ironical that Mr Key
announced that he and his
government would support
the candidature of Ms Clark
should she decide to seek the
high post. Mr Key and Ms Clark
were bitter rivals during and
before the 2008 campaign. But
tempers have cooled since then
and a more seasoned Mr Key
sees the value of having a fellow
New Zealander on top of the UN
where New Zealand could punch
above its weight.
Though talk on Helen Clark’s
candidature for the UN top job
was doing rounds especially in
New Zealand, her announcement
came after Prime Minister
John Key announced the support
behind her candidature.
Some say that Mr Key had
‘cooled sufficiently’ soon after
his election as Prime Minister in
November 2008 and that he had
actively supported Ms Clark’s
candidacy to the post of UNDP
Chief.
“This signalled the bipartisan
approach in New Zealand
politics,” they said, overlooking
the fact that party lines cease
to exist beyond the territorial
borders.
The Security Council
As an extension, New
Zealand’s current role as a
non-permanent member of the
Security Council for a two-year
term probably helps Clark’s
candidacy because the country’s
diplomats mix in those circles
and Wellington has always been
viewed with great respect in
the international high-tables
as a responsible stakeholder in
international order.
Ms Clark’s candidature as a
serious contender to become
the Eighth Secretary General in
the UN’s 70-year history gains
currency on two counts.
First, her reputation as a
fighter who survived nine
years as Prime Minister amid
the rough-and-tumble of New
Zealand politics is being seen
within senior levels of the UN
Helen Clark at the office of Indian Newslink on June 16, 2007 (Picture by Narendra Bedekar)
New Zealand Prime Minister endorses former New Zealand Prime Minister
John Key with Helen Clark
as evidence of her ability to
withstand the pressures of
the so called thankless task of
leading the world organisation.
Second, as the Head UNDP
for the past seven years,she has
proved her mettle as a tough
administrator with a conciliatory,
rather than conflicting
approach.
Emotive appeal
Soon after she announced her
candidature,Ms Clark received
support from the members
of the New Zealand Labour
Party who were enthusiastic,
with some of them becoming
nostalgic of their association
with her.
However,such traction alone
will not be sufficient for the
top job in the UN, as manoeuvring
requires support from
permanent members of the UN
Security Council.
In terms of Article 97 of the
UN Charter, the SecretaryGeneral
shall be appointed by the
General Assembly upon the
recommendation of the Security
Council.
Transparent process
If Ms Clark become the UN
Chief, it would be the first time
for the world body to choose
its Secretary General through
a transparent process. All her
predecessors, including incumbent
Ban-Ki-Moon were chosen
by the five permanent members
of the Security Council (Britain,
France, US, Russia and China)
behind closed doors.
In a marked departure, Helen
Clark if approved by the UNSC
will hand the choice to the UN
General Assembly for approval.
Unlike in previous rounds,
this time the General Assembly
(UN’s World Parliament), in
which all 193 member states are
represented, is determined to do
more.
India, which has a long-standing
bid to become a permanent
member of the Security Council
will have more a pronounced
voice in selecting the next
Secretary General.
Ms Clark has said that if
elected, she will consider
some of the outstanding issues
confronting the UN. These
include poverty in the third
world countries especially in
Africa;abuse of human rights
in authoritarian states of the
Middle-East and the rights of
women in the developing and
under-developed nations.
She would also be called upon
to address the growing menace
of terrorism.
Other key runners
Not that Ms Clark will have an
easy walk to the top post.
Many of her opponents are
powerful in their own right.
They include Angela Merkel of
Germany, Michelle Bachelet of
Chile, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil,
Helle Thorning-Schmidt of
Denmark, Dalia Grybauskaite
of Lithuania, Janos Ader of
Hungary, Romano Prodi of Italy,
Alexander Stubb of Finland and
Kevin Rudd of Australia.
Canberra based Australian
National University Centre for
Nuclear Non-Proliferation and
Disarmament Director Ramesh
Thakur said that a former Prime
Minister has never occupied the
post of UN Secretary General.
“America and Russia will
ultimately do what is in their
interest. They are happier with
someone at the foreign minister
level used to taking orders;
someone they can control,” he
said.
Mr Thakur was the Vice-Rector
of the United Nations
University from 1998 to 2007.
That post afforded him the
status of Assistant Secretary
General of the UN, allowing him
to watch the goings-on in the
world body from close quarters.
‘Delicate Dance’
“The race for Secretary
General is a ‘delicate dance,’
particularly for the East European
candidates. Anyone favoured
by Russia will probably be
vetoed by the US and anyone
favoured by the US will be
vetoed by Russia,” Mr Thakur
said.
Those arguments do not
foreclose the race to the UN top.
Ms Clark is no quitter and will
put up a tough fight.
Her win will place New
Zealand in a new light on the
world stage
Balaji Chandramohan is our
India Correspondent based in
Delhi.