President Bush yesterday told the scandal-scarred United Nations to clean up its act and get rid of corruption so it lives “by the high standards it sets for others,” as he made his annual speech to the world body.
“The United Nations must be strong and efficient, free of corruption, and accountable to the people it serves. The United Nations must stand for integrity, and live by the high standards it sets for others,” he said.
Bush blasted the practice of putting “notorious abusers of human rights” on the U.N. Human Rights Commission – states like Sudan, Zimbabwe and Libya – saying that undermines “the credibility of the whole organization.”
The president added, “If member countries want the United Nations to be respected – respected and effective – they should begin by making sure it is worthy of respect.”
Bush’s speech, as usual, was politely received by world leaders at the General Assembly.
The president warmly thanked the 115 nations that offered help after Hurricane Katrina, saying, “Americans take comfort in knowing that we’re not alone. I can’t thank you enough.”
Bush met privately with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Some of Bush’s speeches to the United Nations have marked turning points in his presidency. His first one came in the weeks after 9/11, and in 2002, he warned the United Nations it would be irrelevant unless it backed military action against Iraq.
Now, both Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan are weaker and the world body is under fire, both for financial corruption and over revelations that U.N. “peacekeepers” sexually abused children.
Bush’s push for U.N. reform came in the wake of reports revealing the massive corruption in its oil-for-food program, which became a private kitty for Saddam Hussein.
So far, though, reform hasn’t gone anywhere near as far as Team Bush wants – either in keeping thuggish regimes off the human-rights panel or in creating oversight to get rid of U.N. corruption.
The president voiced no public criticism of the embattled Annan, who has been accused of helping his son, Kojo, rake in oil-for-food cash.
But he repeated his call for reform in a toast at a U.N. lunch: “May the U.N. embody the high ideals of its founding in the years to come.”
Bush also appealed for greater world efforts against terrorists and killer diseases like avian flu, and urged the United Nations to stand by Iraq as it fights to establish a democracy.
“There can be no safety in looking away, or seeking the quiet life by ignoring the hardship and oppression of others,” he said. “Either hope will spread, or violence will spread – and we must take the side of hope.”
Bush also called for an end to farm subsidies and tariffs around the world as the best way to help developing nations grow by expanding trade – a stance that puts Bush at odds with France, which relies on big farm subsidies.