THANKLESS, UNINSPIRATIONAL or ineffectual – such words are all too easy to use about the role of the United Nations secretary general. Ban Ki-moon, the present incumbent, who was in Dublin this week, is facing into the second half of his five-year term. He has come in for criticism along these lines and defends himself vigorously against them in an interview with this newspaper today. He has a clear opportunity to take account of, and rise above them in the next 2½ years.
These comments tap into different dimensions of the job. Thanklessness comes with the turf, since the secretary general is a creature of the security council, which makes the key decisions on how the UN is organised. The council is badly in need of structural reforms to make it more representative of contemporary world realities; the long delay in making them weakens its legitimacy and frustrates its purpose, but remains the responsibility of the member states rather than UN officers. Internal reforms in the existing administration, however necessary, are subordinate to this wider need. Mr Ban is more to blame in the second case than the first, and can now move to repair that if he has the will.
Given the base from which he works, grounded in human rights universalism, Mr Ban has ample opportunity to inspire by appealing to political leaders and public opinion. It is a real soft power, but must be strategically used. Mr Ban insists he has responded strongly on climate change, healthcare and natural, humanitarian and military disasters in Burma, Haiti, Sri Lanka and Gaza. He defends his more private but firm diplomacy in Zimbabwe, Darfur and Burma as necessary to produce tangible results. His case would be more convincing if it were more forcefully expressed and if he were to distinguish clearly more vocal from quieter methods. That would inspire public confidence that he is making the most of the leadership opportunities he has available to him.
Above all, the UN needs to show it is effective in its many and diverse designated fields. That requires leadership and clarity about major objectives. Mr Ban has shown a good grasp of key issues like climate change, the energy crisis and world hunger. He has a real opportunity to demonstrate leadership on them this year ahead of the Copenhagen conference, given that so many issues involved are left hanging from this week’s G8 summit in Italy. It is time he moved more decisively into the public domain, having established his credentials to do so since being appointed in 2007.