tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/the-elders-31808/articlesThe Elders – The Conversation2018-08-30T14:02:40Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1024112018-08-30T14:02:40Z2018-08-30T14:02:40ZHonouring Annan, McCain and others: why eulogies have blind spots<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234283/original/file-20180830-195301-tq9f9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A United Nations staff member pays tribute to Kofi Annan during a ceremony at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/ Salvatore Di Nolfi</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As an old adage says: <a href="https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder.html">“beauty is in the eye of the beholder”</a>. So it should not come as a surprise that prominent people are sometimes remembered selectively when they are dead. </p>
<p>Perspectives have blind spots. We often appreciate or dislike others because of how we relate to them through our spectacles, coloured by the values we treasure. There is a wide zone between fact and fiction. The truth is that the interpretation of others’ legacies often reveals a great deal about us and our values. And is often less about the complexity of the lives of those with whom we engage.</p>
<p>I have experienced such a balancing act in my engagements with Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, before he met his untimely death in a <a href="https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/who-killed-hammarskjold-2/">plane crash at Ndola</a>, in then Northern Rhodesia (today Zambia), in 1961.</p>
<p>As the world’s highest international civil servant, Hammarskjöld provoked divided opinions. Some saw him as a tool of Western imperialism for the assassination of the Congolese leader <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/792-the-assassination-of-lumumba">Patrice Lumumba</a>; others praised him as being <a href="https://www.press.umich.edu/8873047/hammarskjold">close to a saint</a>.</p>
<p>Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general who recently passed away, said that Hammarskjöld was his <a href="https://www.daghammarskjold.se/event/dag-hammarskjold-21st-century-kofi-annan/">role model</a>. The obituaries that followed Annan’s death led me to reflect on the two men, the legacies they left, and how imperfectly high profile people are remembered after they’re gone.</p>
<p>Politicians and diplomats are a special breed. We owe it to them and to us, to find an adequate way of engaging with their legacies in a format that avoids the superficial praise song and highlights the contradictions when entering the power games of policy. </p>
<h2>Kofi Annan</h2>
<p>There wasn’t much of a balancing act when it came to remembering Annan. Many eulogies had few critical undertones for <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-08-19-kofi-annan-a-man-who-cared-for-humanity/">“a man who cared for humanity”</a>.</p>
<p>Some managed to address his <a href="https://theconversation.com/kofi-annan-a-complicated-legacy-of-impressive-achievements-and-some-profound-failures-101791">complicated legacy</a> while others were courageous enough to emphasise his shortcomings as Secretary-General, including his refusal “to acknowledge any meaningful sense of personal or institutional responsibility” for <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/kofi-annans-unaccountable-legacy">some major debacles</a>. </p>
<p>But these remained the odd ones out. Others were quick to list his merits, which outweighed the shortcomings as <a href="https://theconversation.com/kofi-annan-a-man-who-paid-his-dues-to-global-peace-and-security-101837">a man who paid his dues</a>.</p>
<p>Many obituaries conceded the impact of his influence on <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-08-21-kofi-annan-a-geopolitical-obituary/">the global stage</a>. But acknowledgements missed mentioning at least two other Africans, who during Annan’s terms played an important role in the agenda-setting he is praised for. Lakhdar Brahimi was crucial in promoting more <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/brahimi_report.shtml">effective peacekeeping operations</a>; Francis Deng made major contributions towards the UN’s <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/book/sovereignty-as-responsibility/">“Responsibility to Protect” agenda</a>.</p>
<p>Like others – think of former US-President Jimmy Carter’s track record as human rights advocate and his <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/22/jimmy-carter-lives-in-an-inexpensive-house.html">modest lifestyle</a> – Annan’s merits lie more in his time after office. Most prominently in his role as one of the <a href="https://theelders.org/kofi-annan">Elders</a>. </p>
<p>He was a noteworthy mediator, most spectacularly in <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Kofi-Annan-and-Kenya--Hero-to-some-and-villain-to-others/1056-4718852-3xqgmw/index.html">Kenya</a>. Commendable is also his recent commitment towards a solution for the plight of the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/former-secretary-general-kofi-annan-urges-un-to-push-for-rohingya-return-to-myanmar/a-40950080">Rohingya in Myanmar</a>.</p>
<p>What might explain the overtly positive eulogies to Annan is that there were moments of human dignity and decency, in which the opportunity was seized to set a morally acceptable example. This seems to have also been the case when it comes to John McCain, American politician and military officer <a href="https://theconversation.com/obituary-john-mccain-who-survived-torture-and-ran-for-the-us-presidency-97020">who recently passed on</a>. </p>
<h2>John McCain</h2>
<p>McCain was widely celebrated in the established media as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mccain/senator-john-mccain-ex-pow-and-political-maverick-dead-at-81-statement-idUSKCN1LB00C">war hero and maverick</a>. He was also deemed an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2018/aug/26/an-american-hero-the-life-of-john-mccain-video">American hero</a>, whose “principles and belief in bi-partisanship” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/27/john-mccain-paradox-america-principled-moral">made him unique</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234285/original/file-20180830-195304-1tdht6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234285/original/file-20180830-195304-1tdht6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234285/original/file-20180830-195304-1tdht6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234285/original/file-20180830-195304-1tdht6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234285/original/file-20180830-195304-1tdht6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=954&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234285/original/file-20180830-195304-1tdht6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=954&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234285/original/file-20180830-195304-1tdht6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=954&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The late former US Senator John McCain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/CJ Gunther</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But moments of personal integrity were at times deeply ambiguous. His defending Barack Obama as “a decent man” and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2018/aug/27/john-mccain-remembered-defending-obama-from-racist-questions-video">“family father”</a>, was far from dismissing racism. It only exonerated his contender and should not make up for McCain being willing to compromise his declared principles in his bid for <a href="https://theconversation.com/john-mccain-dead-at-81-helped-build-a-country-that-no-longer-reflects-his-values-97054">presidential power</a>. </p>
<p>The conservative values praised as a sign of integrity, elevating him into <a href="https://theconversation.com/obituary-john-mccain-who-survived-torture-and-ran-for-the-us-presidency-97020">“a class of his own”</a> should not distract from McCain’s role as a war monger who did not care for human life and dignity. </p>
<h2>Weigh right and wrong</h2>
<p>All too often – and Annan has been a particularly prominent example – those praising a person highlight their own involvement. They cannot resist focusing on the impact the person had on them or when and where the person left a lasting impression through a personal encounter. Often, such eulogies reproduce a photo of the praised person, shown together with the one who applauds her or his merits – almost as if these were their own merits.</p>
<p>This leaves me wondering what kind of memory will be paid to Obama. As the first black president of the US there were a number of things deserving positive recognition, mainly in domestic policy. But they should not prevent a condemnation of his massive failures. But then, in the shadow of Obama’s through and through immoral successor in office, it already makes a difference to display some degree of ethics, moral consciousness and decency.</p>
<p>Maybe this is also a valid explanation why so many failed in their tributes to Annan or McCain. It might be difficult to enter the necessary investigations of what is right and what is wrong in times when reactionary populism requires a desperate search for alternatives. But, it is in support of such alternatives that we shouldn’t shy away from the challenge.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henning Melber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Kofi Annan and John McCain’s positive eulogies could be because both men seized moments of human dignity and decency.Henning Melber, Extraordinary Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1018372018-08-21T07:14:22Z2018-08-21T07:14:22ZKofi Annan: a man who paid his dues to global peace and security<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232654/original/file-20180820-30593-1un7mqj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/ Fredrik Persson</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>All the world’s a stage; And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts. (<a href="https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/you-it-act-ii-scene-vii-all-worlds-stage">As you like it</a>, Act II, scene VII, William Shakespeare.) </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Indeed, Kofi Annan, born in 1938, entered the world in the City of Kumasi in Ghana, and exited the world in 2018 as a humanitarian, a true statesman and a peacebuilder.</p>
<p>He became Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) a few years after the demise of the Soviet Union. The collapse of the bi-polar world reduced to the barest minimum the constraints imposed by the Cold War rivalry on the world body. It also led to the expansion of its role and responsibilities to address the new challenges and dimensions of security. </p>
<p>Annan’s tenure began a few years after the (re)introduction of two important international security lexicons – peacebuilding and human security. These two were popularised in the UN commissioned works by former Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s <a href="http://www.un-documents.net/a47-277.htm">An Agenda for Peace</a> (1992) and the Pakistani economist, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-mahbub-ul-haq-1169323.html">Mahbub ul Haq</a>. Boutros-Ghali’s initiative expanded the UN’s role and responsibilities to the world. It also redefined global peace and security architecture. </p>
<p>The 1990s was characterised by complex and intractable armed conflicts. The period saw a significant shift from inter-state to intra-state conflicts. There was a rise in the number of
failed states as well as egregious violations of human rights.</p>
<p>As the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and later the Secretary-General, Annan’s task of overseeing the implementation of the new security agenda was no doubt arduous. </p>
<h2>The fight against poverty</h2>
<p>Throughout his life Annan committed himself to peace and security, human rights and rule of law. He was committed to ensuring respect for human rights and improving human security. Both were considered important in improving the quality of living of people. On one occasion he <a href="http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/68/pdf/human_security/FINAL%20Gasper_HumanSecurityApproach_UNGA-18June2014.pdf">remarked</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…anyone who speaks forcefully for human rights but does nothing about human security and human development – or vice versa – undermines both his credibility and his cause. So let us speak with one voice on all three issues.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He pursued the agenda of improving the quality of people by getting world leaders to commit themselves to addressing the basic concerns of the world’s population – poverty. In his <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/We_The_Peoples.pdf">2000 report</a>, We the peoples: the role of the United Nations in the 21st century, he urged member states to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Put people at the centre of everything we do …. to make their lives better.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the concluding part of the report, Annan <a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/We_The_Peoples.pdf">admonished</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Free our fellow men and women from the abject and dehumanising poverty in which more than 1 billion of them are currently confined. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Throughout his international public service, measures to address the basic needs of people were ever present, both in his words and deeds. Even on retirement, he continued to work for the improvement of the living standards of ordinary people.</p>
<h2>The reformist</h2>
<p>Annan was a reformist. On taking up the post as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN, he <a href="http://www.g77.org/doc/policy%20brief.htm">drove</a> the implementation of two management reports on reform. The first introduced a cabinet kind of body which assisted the Secretary-General in the effective running of the organisation. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232656/original/file-20180820-30608-19zde3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232656/original/file-20180820-30608-19zde3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232656/original/file-20180820-30608-19zde3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232656/original/file-20180820-30608-19zde3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232656/original/file-20180820-30608-19zde3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1020&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232656/original/file-20180820-30608-19zde3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1020&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/232656/original/file-20180820-30608-19zde3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1020&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/Lynn Bo bo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second established of the position of Deputy Secretary-General and the reduction of administrative costs to the world body. He presided over reforms intended to make the UN an effective international peace and security interlocutor. In his <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061213000423/http:/www.un.org/largerfreedom/">progress report</a> he made further far reaching recommendations for the expansion of the Security Council and a number of other <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061213172029/http:/www.un.org/mandatereview/">reforms</a> that brought about significant changes to the UN. </p>
<p>His past experiences shaped his international engagements, especially on international intervention to save humanitarian catastrophes. The failure of the UN to stop the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 and the Srebrenica massacre when Annan served as the head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations were key events in this context.</p>
<p>Under Annan, the UN General Assembly in 2005 endorsed the doctrine of “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_to_Protect">Responsibility to Protect</a>” following the incorporation of this doctrine in his report, <a href="https://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/in_larger_freedom.shtml%7CIn">Larger Freedom</a>. </p>
<p>In the preparation to invade Iraq in 2003, Annan condemned the US and the UK, urging them not to do so without the support of the UN. He believed the intervention didn’t conform with the UN charter, and was therefore <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3661134.stm">illegal</a>.</p>
<h2>Reflections</h2>
<p>In his <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pPXpiXQ45osC&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=All+of+us+must+bitterly+regret+that+we+did+not+do+more+to+prevent+it&source=bl&ots=JFLE201ClH&sig=eYK3IYyO3_9Rze--faz7aj7dePs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi-r-2q1PncAhXQY1AKHfa2ApIQ6AEwBHoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=All%20of%20us%20must%20bitterly%20regret%20that%20we%20did%20not%20do%20more%20to%20prevent%20it&f=false">memoir</a> which he coauthored with his former advisor and speechwriter, Nader Mousavizadeh, Annan, he reflected on his roles at the UN. </p>
<p>On the Rwandan genocide, one of the significant lapses that dented the UN’s peacekeeping reputation, Annan reported on how he lobbied about 100 governments – and made personal calls to others – to assist with the passage of the Security Council Resolution (918) to dispatch about 5,500 troops to the country. He recalls how he received no single serious offer for troop contribution. </p>
<p>The 1999 independent investigation into what had happened categorically concluded that the UN had failed to prevent, and stop, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13431486">genocide in Rwanda</a>. As Secretary-General during the investigation, Annan accepted responsibility of the lapses during the genocide in Rwanda. He said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>All of us must bitterly regret that we did not do more to prevent it,</p>
</blockquote>
<p>pointing out that UN peace force at the time was “neither mandated nor equipped” for the kind of forceful action needed to prevent the genocide.</p>
<p>Nonetheless with a deeper refection, Annan said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On behalf of the United Nations, I acknowledge this failure and express my deep remorse. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Recounting more recently on the genocide in Rwanda and his later diplomatic undertakings after the end of his tenure as the Secretary General, Annan said he’d learnt some useful lessons:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I realised after the genocide that there was more that I could and should have done to sound the alarm and rally support. This painful memory, along with that of Bosnia and Herzegovina, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44412275">has influenced</a> much of my thinking, and many of my actions, as secretary-general". </p>
</blockquote>
<p>He was to put these lessons into practice as he continued to pursue avenues for peace in conflicts around the world. For example, six months after his appointment as the UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria, Annan <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/08/416872-kofi-annan-resigns-un-arab-league-joint-special-envoy-syrian-crisis">resigned</a>. His reasons included the stalemate in the Security Council to take measures that could ensure a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis as well as the intransigence of both the Assad regime and the rebels towards a peaceful outcome. </p>
<p>And in 2016 he headed the Rakhine Commission which was appointed to look into the Rohingya conflict in Myanmar. The commission’s recommendations were unpopular to both sides. But in 2018 the Myanmar civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi accepted the commission’s recommendations and convened a new board, ostensibly to implement them.</p>
<p>Annan acquitted himself well as an international diplomat, a humanist and peace-builder. He lived a fulfilled life, and contributed significantly in his chosen career. Kofi ‘Damirifa Duei Duei ne amane hunu’ (Rest in Peace).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101837/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abdul-Jalilu Ateku receives funding from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission IN the UK for my PhD</span></em></p>Kofi Annan’s tenure began after the reintroduction of two important international security lexicons – peacebuilding and human security.Abdul-Jalilu Ateku, PhD Candidate in International Relations, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1017922018-08-19T14:46:03Z2018-08-19T14:46:03ZKofi Annan understood the limits of diplomacy, as well as why it’s important never to give up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232567/original/file-20180819-165967-1wdlsy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> EPA-EFE/Justin Lane</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kofi Annan served as United Nations Secretary-General during a pivotal decade in modern world history – from 1997 to 2006. I would argue that his most important legacy was to focus the UN more on preventing and resolving deadly conflict within its sovereign members, while still trying to maintain peace and security among them. </p>
<p>How he developed and pursued ways and means to do this began much earlier in his UN career and persisted until his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/aug/18/moment-kofi-annan-was-sworn-in-as-secretary-general-of-the-united-nations-in-1996-video">untimely death last week</a>.</p>
<p>The UN was created <a href="http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/history-united-nations/">in 1945</a> by 51 sovereign states and empires that had just survived two of the worst wars in history. With the winding down of empires, UN membership grew to nearly <a href="http://www.un.org/en/member-states/index.html">200 countries</a>. By the late 1990s most countries were at peace internationally. And despite their continuing ideological and other differences, they have, ever since, avoided another world war.</p>
<p>But domestic peace was to prove more illusive. The UN lacked the norms, institutional capacity and political resolve, to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts within states, while maintaining peace among them. Although Africa accounted for nearly a third of the UN’s members, it was also the world’s poorest and most conflict-ridden region. And it lacked the means to effect major reforms in the world body’s post-World War II hierarchy, structures and procedures.</p>
<p>Annan knew the UN system and its strengths and limitations better than anyone. He had spent <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/kofi-annan">35 years</a> working on the problems of refugees, management and finance, and peacekeeping having joined it in 1962 as a young budget officer in the World Health Organisation.</p>
<p>He had also felt the sting of governments and public opinion that regarded the UN as a necessary last resort, when all other options have failed, due to lack of national or regional capacity, resources or political will. This was most evident when it came to complex emergencies in Africa. </p>
<h2>His message for Africa</h2>
<p>Six months after becoming Secretary-General, Annan chose to address the 1997 summit in Harare of <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/1997-06-02/address-kofi-annan-annual-assembly-heads-state-and-government">leaders of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)</a> in a way that none of his predecessors had done.</p>
<p>His central point was that Africa’s peace and development required Africa’s leaders to hold one another more accountable to how they managed their domestic affairs. This was particularly true when it came to the protection of human rights and democracy. </p>
<p>In language uncharacteristically passionate for such occasions he declared:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I am aware of the fact that some view this concern a luxury of rich countries for which Africa is not ready … I find these thoughts truly demeaning…. Do not African mothers weep when their sons or daughters are killed or maimed by agents of repressive rule? Are not African fathers saddened when their children are unjustly jailed or toured? Is not Africa as a whole impoverished with even one of its brilliant voices is silenced?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He concluded by emphasising that “human rights are African rights”, noting that “Africa needs external assistance, and Africa deserves it, but in the final analysis, what stands between us and the future is ourselves”.</p>
<p>Four years later, the OAU was replaced by the <a href="https://au.int/">African Union (AU)</a>. What was <a href="https://www.eisa.org.za/pdf/eisa2016Stremlau.pdf">notable</a> was the unprecedented inclusion of a provision for collective intervention to protect any group of Africans facing local threats of mass violence or genocide. </p>
<p>Less extreme, but more generally applicable, was the principle of non-indifference in each other’s internal affairs. This is most evident in its auxiliary <a href="https://au.int/en/treaties/african-charter-democracy-elections-and-governance">African Charter for Democracy, Elections and Governance</a> which was unanimously endorsed in 2007 and finally ratified in 2012. </p>
<p>As a result, all African governments are now obligated to hold regular periodic national elections. They are also obliged to invite the AU to send teams of pan-African observers to monitor and judge whether they are a credible reflection of the popular will.</p>
<p>Annan would not claim credit for these developments. But, his efforts were surely prescient and gave political impetus and legitimacy to the hard diplomatic work of South Africa’s <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/thabo-mvuyelwa-mbeki">President Thabo Mbeki</a>, <a href="http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Newsletters/irinw52799.html">President Olusegun Obasanjo</a> of Nigeria, and other advocates of a more capable regional organisation and sub-regional organisations. </p>
<h2>Embracing civil society</h2>
<p>Also notable in his 1997 address to the OAU was his call for civil society to play its part. This reflected what was to become one of his major innovations as UN Secretary-General – his openness and willingness to reach out, listen too, cooperate with and occasionally adopt policies advocated by civil society groups. </p>
<p>I personally know of at least four examples. All were Africa-related but also global in nature and very much to his credit as we honour his legacy.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>During the 1980s he participated in a series of efforts by the <a href="https://www.ipinst.org/by/international-peace-academy">International Peace Academy</a>, an NGO established to help train and better inform and prepare for expected UN peacekeeping operations, mostly in Africa. This capacity should have been institutionalised in the UN, but was thwarted by the US and Soviet Union. Both feared that the other might somehow gain a Cold War advantage. The NGO never fully succeeded and would have probably failed without Annan’s frequent personal and sustained engagement. </p></li>
<li><p>As Secretary-General he made cooperation with the independent <a href="https://www.carnegie.org/publications/preventing-deadly-conflict-final-report/">Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflicts</a> his personal priority. He attended commission meetings and encouraged the involvement of key offices across the secretariat. As a member of the commission staff, I appreciated how extensively he used policy relevant scholarship by teams of academics on a range of conflict prevention topics. His aim was to build support within and beyond the UN for more comprehensive efforts to prevent complex emergencies within states.</p></li>
<li><p>After leaving office he continued to promote, and often lead, civil society efforts to help the UN and the world, beginning in Africa. In 2006 he became the founding chair of Alliance for a <a href="https://agra.org/who-we-are/">Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)</a>. AGRA aims to increase the incomes and improve the food security for 30 million farming households in 11 African countries by 2021. </p></li>
<li><p>In his home country Ghana, I watched with admiration how his <a href="https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org">Foundation</a> sponsored presidential debates in which candidates publicly pledged to support the decision of the national electoral commission. And when the opposition won by less than .005% of the votes in the 2008 election, their <a href="https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/news/peace_publications/election_reports/Ghana-2008-election-rpt.pdf">pledge held</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>And, best known, has been his <a href="https://theelders.org/">chairmanship</a> of the Elders, a group of world leaders committed to advancing peace, especially in Africa, and founded by Nelson Mandela. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>The importance of persistence</h2>
<p>I last met with Annan several years ago when he was on Elders’ business and I asked what he thought of Robert Mugabe holding on to power more than a decade after his pro-democracy appeal to the OAU Summit in Harare. </p>
<p>He told me that near the end of his UN term he had visited Mugabe and inquired whether he might consider bidding farewell to his people after decades of service. He said, Mugabe asked in reply: “Why? My people aren’t going anywhere.” </p>
<p>Annan noted that this response was both a sign of the limits of diplomacy, as well as the reason never to stop trying.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101792/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John J Stremlau does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>He left an enduring legacy of embedding democracy and involving civil society in the pursuit of peace.John J Stremlau, Visiting Professor of International Relations, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/854022017-10-19T18:55:49Z2017-10-19T18:55:49ZArchbishop Desmond Tutu: the essence of what it means to be human<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189399/original/file-20171009-6967-7wo152.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Archbishop Desmond Tutu celebrated his 86th birthday and the unveiling of an arch in his honour outside St George's Cathedral in Cape Town. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu celebrates his <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/archbishop-emeritus-mpilo-desmond-tutu">90th birthday</a>, it’s fitting to reflect on the moral values he has promoted and held dear throughout his life. It is his steadfast adherence to these values, his courage, activism and integrity that have set him apart from others in leadership in South Africa today.</p>
<p>The hallmark of his inspiring leadership philosophy is the unwavering consistency with which he has rejected abuses of power - both during apartheid as well as in <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/tutu-speaks-on-marikana-massacre-1366555">post-apartheid South Africa</a>. At the height of <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">apartheid</a>, he was pivotal in encouraging <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/03/world/tutu-urges-more-sanctions-against-south-africa.html">economic sanctions</a> against South Africa, which <a href="http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp796.pdf">contributed significantly</a> to the transfer of power to a majority government.</p>
<p>Archbishop Tutu’s fight for peace was relentless, earning him the prestigious <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1984/tutu-facts.html">Nobel Peace Prize in 1984</a> – a full decade before the new dispensation of a democratic South Africa. In his acceptance speech Tutu eloquently declared: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is no peace in South Africa. There is no peace because there is no justice… When there is injustice, invariably, peace becomes a casualty. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Consistency and authenticity</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/archbishop-emeritus-mpilo-desmond-tutu">Archbishop Tutu’s</a> role in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/tutu-and-his-role-truth-reconciliation-commission">(TRC) Hearings in 1995</a> reflected his authentic desire to help innocent victims of apartheid abuse and torture, and to start the healing process. As chair of the commission, he enunciated the role of forgiveness in healing. </p>
<p>More recently his principled stance <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2010-05-06-tutu-south-africa-has-lost-its-pride">against corruption</a> and abuse of power by a majority black government in South Africa has added credence to his authentic opposition to <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/human-rights-based-approach/sv3/news/archbishop_desmond_tutu_laureate_of_the_2012_unescobilbao_p-1/">oppression and exploitation</a> – by all and in all forms. Vices and virtues flourish equally in all cultures and socio-economic groups globally. South Africa has had a black majority government for the past 23 years, yet there is still no peace because injustice continues to <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2413-94672015000200037">reign supreme</a>.</p>
<p>The Archbishop has taught the world to embrace the concepts of “human invaluableness” and interdependence inherent in the phrase “Umuntu ngamuntu ngabantu” – we derive our humanity by virtue of being members of the human tribe. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189388/original/file-20171009-6950-bn7fhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/189388/original/file-20171009-6950-bn7fhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189388/original/file-20171009-6950-bn7fhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189388/original/file-20171009-6950-bn7fhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189388/original/file-20171009-6950-bn7fhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1081&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189388/original/file-20171009-6950-bn7fhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1081&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/189388/original/file-20171009-6950-bn7fhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1081&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former US President Barack Obama awards Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Shawn Thew</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given his passion for world peace, it’s unsurprising that Tutu has been a co-founder of <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/TenWays/story?id=3389067">The Elders </a> – an independent group of global leaders working together in support of peace and human rights. Although the idea was originally suggested by billionaire philanthropist Richard Branson and musician, Peter Gabriel, to Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and others ensured that the group was <a href="http://www.theelders.org/article/nelson-mandela-launches-elders">formally launched</a> in Johannesburg in 2007. Tutu served as chair from 2007 to 2013. Kofi Annan is the current chair, continuing to drive the global peace agenda of the group. </p>
<h2>Champion for global peace</h2>
<p>Tutu continues to add his voice to global crises where human rights violations are involved. Only recently, in response to the violent persecution of Myanmar’s 1.3m ethnic Rohingya Muslims by the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/persecution-muslims-myanmar-rise-170905120517048.html">country’s military</a>, he offered <a href="https://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/an-open-letter-from-desmond-tutu-to-aung-san-su-kyi-11123972"> this leadership</a> advice to fellow Nobel laureate and Myanmar leader <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/05/asia/rise-and-fall-of-aung-san-suu-kyi/index.html">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is silence, the price is surely too steep.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Archbishop’s global respect for human life is also reflected in his views on gender preferences and sexual orientation. Despite the views of the <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/news/conservative-anglican-leaders-ready-for-nuclear-option-as-church-of-england-softens-on-homosexuality-181472/">Anglican Church</a>, Tutu has promoted a non-judgmental approach to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-23464694">same sex relationships</a> including that of his <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/article/2016/06/10/same-sex-marriage-mixed-blessing-desmond-tutus-daughter">own daughter</a>.</p>
<p>Over the past few years, Tutu has expressed views on the ethical dilemmas that arise at the end of a person’s life. Influenced in no small part by the last months of Mandela’s life, the Archbishop has spoken out in strong support of autonomous decision making in ending one’s life, including the option of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/archbishop-desmond-tutu-when-my-time-comes-i-want-the-option-of-an-assisted-death/2016/10/06/97c804f2-8a81-11e6-b24f-a7f89eb68887_story.html?utm_term=.9c60e6d165c8">assisted dying</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In refusing dying people the right to die with dignity, we fail to demonstrate the compassion that lies at the heart of Christian values.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A life well lived</h2>
<p>Tutu embraces everything noble in <a href="http://www.iep.utm.edu/virtue/">Aristotelian virtue ethics</a> and African philosophical systems. Aristotelian ethics would argue that a person who possesses character excellence knows what the right thing to do is, how to do it and when to do it. African philosophy <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=-FZyvjeab8AC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=African+philosophy+and+humanism&source=bl&ots=nxMn2Si5P5&sig=fU5kTwCVxdXuUBl-uflIQZBIqvc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib7PTPweXWAhVRFMAKHRzgCIIQ6AEIXjAJ#v=onepage&q=African%20philosophy%20and%20humanism&f=false">embraces humanism</a> and interdependence which typify Tutu. </p>
<p>The consistency and integrity he has displayed in all facets of his life, including his relationships with his children and grandchildren, has earned him the iconic stature, respect and admiration he so richly deserves. It’s not surprising that Mandela described him as <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2016-10-07-extraordinary-life-the-arch-desmond-tutu-in-conversation-with-satirist-deep-fried-man">“the voice of the voiceless”</a>. </p>
<p>But Tutu himself will be the first to acknowledge that he too has an Achilles heel like anybody else. As humans we all have our share of positive and negative traits – both creating challenges and opportunities in life that require balancing. Clearly, the Archbishop has been successful at achieving this delicate balance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85402/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keymanthri Moodley receives funding from the National Institutes of Health, USA</span></em></p>Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu embraces everything noble in Aristotelian virtue ethics and African philosophical systems alike.Keymanthri Moodley, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine and Director, The Centre for Medical Ethics & Law, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/661762016-10-03T06:07:28Z2016-10-03T06:07:28ZThe unfinished reform of selecting the United Nations secretary general<p>The impending appointment of a new United Nations secretary general provides an excellent opportunity to address some of the shortcomings in current processes – but the Security Council may not be totally on board. </p>
<p>First, the good news: the selection of a new UN secretary general in 2016 has proceeded in a much more transparent manner than ever before. </p>
<p>But by rejecting two important proposals – that it recommend more than one final candidate to the General Assembly, and consider a single non-renewable term of seven years – the Security Council has effectively nullified the effect of all the other innovations. This part, as you will see, is not so good.</p>
<h2>A campaign for a better selection process</h2>
<p>In early 2015, a highly respected group known as <a href="http://theelders.org/">The Elders</a> issued a document titled <a href="http://theelders.org/un-fit-purpose">A UN fit for purpose</a> at the Munich Security Conference. </p>
<p>It suggested, among other things, that the choice of the next secretary general should not be made behind closed doors by the five permanent members of the Security Council. Instead, it recommended an open search for the most qualified candidates, irrespective of region or gender. </p>
<p>The Elders’s document also suggested that the new secretary general would be more independent if the Security Council chose more than candidate and extended her or his term. Citing <a href="http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/">the integrity provisions of the UN Charter</a>, it condemned the practice of offering member-states high-level posts in return for selection support, noting that it seriously undermined the UN’s reputation. </p>
<p>This triggered the launch of a campaign called <a href="http://www.1for7billion.org/">1 for 7 Billion</a>, which developed seven proposals to improve the selection: a dialogue with the candidates; clear selection criteria; more than one candidate to be recommended by the Security Council to the General Assembly; a longer non-renewable term; gender equality; a formal and clear timeline; and no bargaining for posts.</p>
<p>Many UN states supported these proposals, most notably the <a href="http://centerforunreform.org/sites/default/files/FACT%20SHEET%20ACT%20June%202015.pdf">Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group</a>, which comprises 27 small and mid-sized countries, and <a href="http://csstc.org/">the Non-Aligned Movement</a>, which has 120 members and 15 observers. </p>
<p>In December 2015, the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly sent a letter to all member states requesting that they nominate candidates with: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>proven leadership and managerial abilities, extensive experience in international relations, strong diplomatic, communication and multilingual skills. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the end, 12 candidates – six women and six men – were nominated, and their CVs and vision statements were <a href="http://www.un.org/pga/71/sg/">posted on the UN website</a>. Between April and June 2016, the General Assembly conducted informal dialogues with all of them. </p>
<p>Today, out of the initial 12 nominees, three have dropped out and another has joined, leaving <a href="http://www.1for7billion.org/candidates/">ten candidates in the race</a> (five men and five women).</p>
<h2>Gender and regional rotation</h2>
<p>The nomination of an equal number of men and women for the post was a significant milestone. Over the past 70 years, only three times have women ever been proposed as candidates. </p>
<p>In 1952, the Soviet Union put forward <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vijaya-Lakshmi-Pandit">Lakshmi Pandit</a> of India among four candidates from developing countries. In 1991, the Norwegian <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gro-Harlem-Brundtland">Gro Bruntland</a> was proposed, but all agreed that it was time for an African to lead the UN. </p>
<p>In 2006, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vaira-Vike-Freiberga">Vaire Vike-Freiberga</a>, ex-president of Latvia, was nominated by the Baltic states, but she also fell victim to regional rotation, as Asian countries demanded to have a go. </p>
<p>By the logic of the informal principle of regional rotation, it’s now Eastern Europe’s turn. Not surprisingly, eight out of the 12 candidates in the original selection period came from that region. But the candidate who is coming first so far is not Eastern European. The former Portuguese prime minister and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/29/antonio-guterres-united-nations-secretary-general">won a set of straw polls</a> between July 21 and September 26, without behind-closed-doors deals. </p>
<p>Guterres presented a very strong vision statement and addressed the General Assembly in April confidently. Having experience of UN circles, he knows the system well and has the right contacts in New York and, critically, in most of the capitals of the 15-member Security Council.</p>
<p>Non-permanent members of the Security Council have supported Guterres, at the same time as discouraging the favourite candidates of the five permanent members. If he wins the secretary general race, it may well be welcomed by the rest of the world as a symbolic victory against the tricks and intrigues of the Security Council’s permanent members. </p>
<p>More clarity will come on October 5 with the introduction of colour-coded ballots, with the permanent council members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — using one colour. If any candidate receives a “discourage” from a permanent member, that will clearly signal lack of support.</p>
<h2>More than one</h2>
<p>Even if 2016 marks a first step in the right direction – having resulted in some clearer criteria on, for example, gender equity in candidate lists – the UN still has a long way to go in modernising the process leading to the nomination of the secretary general. </p>
<p>The Elders’ more-than-one-candidate proposal is the most important innovation to have emerged in this cycle. The argument against it is that a vote in the General Assembly could be divisive, and that if the new secretary general won 55%-45%, she or he would end up starting the job with support of only 55% of member-states. </p>
<p>This is preposterous. In the past, the secretary general has started day one in the role not with 55% support, but considerably less: only the 15 states on the Security Council have historically even known who he was.</p>
<p>There’s no need to cheer a new secretary general in the way North Koreans cheer their leaders. And indeed, new Secretaries General would feel more confident of their mandate if selected by 100 member states in the General Assembly, rather than by the five main Security Council members (the ten rotating members usually obey the permanent ones). </p>
<p>A vote in the General Assembly may be divisive, but it will allow the new secretary general to act as a unifier. She or he can ameliorate the situation by, for example, appointing the runner-up as deputy. </p>
<p>Most importantly, the more-than-one-candidate idea would have brilliantly solved all other issues, such as gender, regional rotation and bargaining for posts, thus perfectly materialising the dreams of the Elders. It could have left the General Assembly to decide between a woman and a man as final candidates from two different continents, safeguarding the Security Council from criticisms of having neglected a good candidate due to gender or region. </p>
<p>Nor would proposing two candidates to the General Assembly reduce the Security Council’s powers. Its five permanent members can still exercise all vetting options, remove unwanted candidates, and end up with two names that are equally acceptable to them. </p>
<p>Most importantly, the more-than-one-candidate idea would make unsavoury bargains more difficult. If candidates need to offer favours to 193 states instead of 15, they would probably eschew bribing altogether, and focus instead on quality. </p>
<h2>Single, longer term</h2>
<p>The opponents of the single, longer, non-renewable term also make a flawed argument saying, if we end up with a good candidate, why should we limit to seven years? They often raise the example of Kofi Annan, considered by many to have been a great secretary general who was selected through the old methods. </p>
<p>Well, first of all, one cannot be lucky every time. And I would question why, in the opposite scenario, the five permanent Security Council members were so cynical in not only keeping <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/world/europe/14iht-waldheim.3.6141106.html?_r=0">Kurt Waldheim</a> for two terms as secretary general, but also in strongly supporting him for an unprecedented third term in 1981, despite global opposition. </p>
<p>The Chinese, who opposed his second term in 1976, had to use their veto <a href="http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/03/Kurt-Waldheim-repeatedly-blocked-by-Chinas-vetoes-asked-Thursday/4809376203600/">16 times</a> to finally remove him from the UN Headquarters as his Nazi past was exposed.</p>
<p>At this point, the Security Council should not be worried about finding a replacement seven years from now. Precisely because the new selection process is so open and allows for the consideration of a long list of strong candidates, there will always be a similarly well-qualified, if not better, candidate to choose from in 2024. </p>
<p>But it’s worth noting that longer non-renewable terms have been applied with remarkable success in various international organisations and tribunals.</p>
<p>The chance that the Security Council will adopt the recommended changes is, at this point, minimal. </p>
<p>What the General Assembly can do next time, though, is take a stand against favours and reiterate the progress made towards transparency. The General Assembly should inform the Security Council that it will refuse to approve anybody, if given only one name to rubber-stamp.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66176/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vesselin Popovski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The UN has adopted a more transparent process to select its new Secretary General. But it does not go far enough.Vesselin Popovski, Professor and Vice Dean and Executive Director, Centre for the Study of United Nations, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.