If UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon were a puppet of the West, particularly of the US, as he is often criticized to be, he would ‘have supported the International Criminal Court and the Responsibility to Protect while on the hustings for the UN’s top job, nor would he have pushed so hard on climate change issues for two years of the Bush/Cheney duumvirate.’ Fact remains that Ban does not exactly enjoy a positive image in the West, even if the agenda of the president of the world’s biggest superpower moves in the same direction as the UN Charter. The Obama administration has even decided ‘to pay up U.S. arrears to the UN after decades of default.’
A recent global poll, conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org of 19,224 respondents in nations that comprise 62 percent of the world’s population, showed Ban Ki-moon to be the second most popular political figure in the world after Barack Obama.
The world’s arch-diplomat seems to have figured in some of the most appropriate places as he follows his honest heart on issues. He has gone to the ice caps and proceeded to prod world leaders to act fiercely against climate change. He met with the junta in Myanmar so no one can fault him for sitting on the silently fomenting malaise.
As head of the global organization tasked to uphold organizational views, he sticks to the ‘common global view reflected in UN Resolution 242 on the principles for Middle East peace and other resolutions.’ While he did bury ‘the recent report he had commissioned on Israeli actions in Gaza’ as part of ‘a long secretariat tradition of protecting Israel,’ he admits he ‘still has some way to go’ and have, in fact, ‘gone much further than the Obama administration in characterizing Israel’s settlements as illegal.’ Admittedly, the Middle East isn’t on top of his agenda.
Ban has also ‘appointed more women to senior positions in the organization than ever before.’ He has persuaded ‘some countries and companies to set aside differences and donate flu vaccines for developing countries.’
But the straight-talker still has a charisma deficit amid the scenario of “UN failure” versus “Western culpability.” In fact, he has been called ‘the most dangerous Korean’ right now, suggesting that he even eclipses the other Korean who collects nukes.
