That's the findings of a
BBC World Service poll that surveyed 23,500 people across 23 countries. In fact, the poll found overwhelming support for a reformed, stronger UN, with an expanded Security Council membership, and support for the removal of veto power from current permanent Security Council members.
The poll was conducted prior to Kofi Annan's announcement of a sweeping reform package for the UN, which I diarised in detail here.
The proposal to expand the Security Council, a key platform of Annan's reform agenda, was supported in 22 out of the 23 countries surveyed by the BBC poll. The results of the poll may well have lifted Annan's spirits and determination to pursue his radical reform agenda, in the face of unprecedented personal attacks on the UN Secretary-General. Read on for more...
Perhaps the most surprising result of the poll are the American responses: most Americans, certainly if they tune into Fox news, would be under the impression that Americans overwhelmingly reject the notion of a stronger and more relevant UN. But according to the BBC poll, that is not the case. Instead, 57% favour a more powerful and active UN; 70% favour expanding the Security Council with more permanent members, and perhaps most suprisingly, 57% of Americans surveyed favoured the removal of single nation veto power in the Security Council (use the link above to the poll, and open the independent window to see the results).
From the full poll, Germany, India, Japan and Brazil were the most favoured nations to join the Security Council.
The full UN General Assembly will vote on Annan's proposed reform package in September 05. Both a major distraction and weapon to defeat Annan's reform agenda are the progressive Volker reports on the Oil for Food Program scandal. Recently in his second report Volker cleared Kofi Annan of any wrongdoing with regard to whether he had influenced the awarding of a lucrative contract to a Swiss company that employed his son, Kojo.
Volker found that Kofi Annan had not exerted any influence over the bidding process, but strongly criticised him for not instigating a proper investigation. The third Volker report, due in a few months, on the actual administration of the Oil for Food Program is a ticking bomb that makes Annan's push for major reforms of the UN a difficult task, with detractors more than happy to use any information available to assassinate Annan's character & force him to resign, thus effectively derailing the UN reform effort.
There are already clear signs that the Volker reports will be a key battleground in the larger war to reform the UN, reforms that would empower it with a far stronger and more democratic mandate to act in the key areas of human rights and global security. The second Volker report gives Annan an uneasy reprieve, and publicly the White House has provided luke-warm support for him. But long-time US Republican opponents of the UN such as Norm Coleman. (R- Minnesota) have immediately used the report to call for Annan's resignation; and the lack of strong commitment to Annan's leadership, and hence his reforms from the Bush Administration no doubt signals the beginning of US resistance to the reforms, that have the potential to diminish the USA's role on the international stage.
This no doubt also explains the strong statements of support for Kofi Annan by EU leaders despite the scandal, citing his strong leadership & focus on reform as critical for the UN at this time.
It is clear at this stage that the EU will use its growing influence to try and focus the 191 member nations of the General Assembly on the reform agenda proposed for the UN, and block attempts to sideline this critical debate with the findings of the Oil for Food Program investigation. Certainly it has now already made clear its intention to do all it can to resist the reforms failing by way of a personal elimination of Kofi Annan.
Given that the reforms proposed by Annan, if accepted, represent a major increase in power and influence for several key member states, and by association, their regions, it can be hoped that the majority of nations will refuse to let the undoubted mismanagement of the Oil for Food Program by Kofi Annan distract it from the most critical agenda in the UN's history.
Despite the weakening of Annan's moral authority in pushing this agenda, the timing of the reforms still remain favourable, because the USA's global influence and standing now are arguably at an all-time low; thanks to the Bush administration's arrogant, contemptuous and aggressive unilateral approach to international relations. Bush's recent reaching out to key EU nations has done little to redress this, and the imminent loss of a key European ally in Italy, both via government and public opinion over the Sgrena affair may prove pivotal.
Given the results of the BBC poll, it will now also be interesting to see if the governments of the 22 out of 23 nations reflect the views of their surveyed citizens, in supporting the UN reform agenda in September 05. Or will we once again, as we did with the anti-war demonstrations over Iraq, see the will of the people ignored by governments?