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DIPLOMATIC LICENSE
Current Events at the United Nations
Aired October 22, 2004 - 21:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm talking about $7 billion being moved in the world every year because of child trafficking. This is organized crime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: this is the case that in a sense shows the absolute corruptness of the system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're interested in corruption, and we don't make and distinction whether the corruption was by cash, check or otherwise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN ANCHOR: It is less than two weeks until the big election. The race for the White House in the United States. But an early priority for the victor will be security for another important election in Iraq in January, the month of the inauguration day in Washington.
Welcome to DIPLOMATIC LICENSE. I'm Richard Roth.
The Iraqi foreign minister complained this week about the small number of U.N. election workers actually in Iraq, but the U.N. chief elections advisor in Iraq said a list of 14 million eligible Iraqi voters has already been drawn up and in New York the secretary-general said elections in Iraq are still on target.
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KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECY.-GEN.: I think at this point it is technically possible. We still have a couple of months yet, but at this point it is still technically possible, depending upon what happens in the next couple of months.
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ROTH: The United Nations reminds everyone that the United Nations is providing assistance in what is an Iraqi-run election, about the United Nations is not willing to provide assistance to a U.S.-led effort to train Iraqi judges and prosecutors.
Top judges from the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague were invited to a London training conference for the Iraqis, which included the Iraqi judge who became famous for presiding over Saddam Hussein's arraignment.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a letter saying the U.N. judges don't have time since they are trying to close up shop on their case file, but there are also other objections.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this case, we have no specific mandate for this from a competent political organ of the United Nations and in addition we noted that we have serious doubts regarding the capability of the Iraqi Special Tribunal to meet the relevant international standards.
You know, the secretary-general recently stated that U.N. officials should not be directly involved in lending assistance to any court or tribunal that is empowered to impose the death penalty.
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ROTH: They may eventually get a functioning judicial system in place in Iraq, but it would help if kidnapping, suicide car bombings and assassinations were contained.
As Kofi Annan said this week, the same countries asking for a larger U.N. involvement in Iraq won't offer troops to protect them.
The United Nations did officially announce this week that Fiji will send 130 troops to Iraq to protect U.N. interests.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we've committed ourselves to doing is providing equipment and training for troops from Fiji who will go in to provide security for the United Nations deployment there.
They'll obviously be part of the broader coalition forcers, but the Fiji troops are going to provide close personal protection and specific protection for the U.N. deployment. And we're very happy to be supporting that, because we've got a very strong commitment to a larger U.N. presence in Iraq.
ROTH: I guess it begs the question, why wouldn't Australia send more troops just to protect U.N. workers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's in part because we've already done a lot in Iraq. We were part of the original coalition. We continue to have troops deployed in Iraq, and we think we're doing our fair share in that respect, but we're very pleased to be helping Fiji provide this specific service to the United Nations.
ROTH: Is it embarrassing, is it sad? What do you think when other countries, larger than Australia, have not been willing to send troops to help the United Nations, though they say they want to have a new democratic Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disappointing. I think we all need to be both supporting the United Nations in Iraq, which we're absolutely doing, both with this act and also more generally, and we also all need to be contributing to an outcome in Iraq which is a prosperous, stable, democratic Iraq.
The world can't afford another outcome and I think all of us in the international community have obligations in that respect.
ROTH: No offense to Fiji, but the Zarqawis of this world, other people who are kidnapping officials, are they going to hear, "Oh my God, Fiji is coming."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they ought to think carefully about Fiji troops. Let me tell you, Fiji has one of the proudest records for a small country of deployment of peacekeepers, and they've got a redoubtable record in many parts of the world, including the Middle East.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: Iraqi election calls for 550 voter registration sites. Can they be secured?
By the way, it's ironic that the vehicle to establish the roster of nearly 14 million potential voters is the controversial Oil For Food Program, with its distribution system established to provide food while the country was living under U.N. sanctions.
The names live on through lists from the officially expired program, but just coming to life, seven investigations of the Oil For Food Humanitarian Program. The probe appointed by the United Nations is run by Paul Volcker. He reported substantial progress this week, though he didn't say how and where. Instead, he named names, which so far are just that, names.
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PAUL VOLCKER, OIL FOR FOOD INVESTIGATOR: You will find it here.
ROTH (voice-over): Paul Volcker, the head of the U.N. commissioned Oil For Food investigation released the names of thousands of companies that did business with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, but the former Federal Reserve Board Chairman said he is not yet finding any of the companies guilty of corruption.
VOLCKER: We would invite people to come forward with any information they have that they think is relevant about these particular contractors and the transactions they may have had under the Oil For Food program.
ROTH: It's widely believed the Oil For Food Humanitarian Program was riddled with corruption and Saddam Hussein extorted billions of dollars in kickbacks. Volcker wants help in identifying whether the Iraqis or outside companies named maintained phony front firms to hide illegal oil sales because of bribes and payoffs.
Just before Volcker's press conference, the secretary-general of the United Nations conceded Oil For Food has damaged the world organization.
ANNAN: There is no doubt that the constant campaign and discussions have hurt the United Nations. This is not something we would like and that's why we want to get to the bottom of it and clear it as quickly as possible.
ROTH: Volcker declined to reveal any findings on Kofi Annan's son Kojo, who worked for a Swiss company that later won the bid to inspect Oil For Food shipments to Iraqi.
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ROTH: Volcker said he was getting good cooperation from countries and the Americans in Iraq, not enough cooperation from the U.S. Justice Department and Congressional committees who are all doing their own Oil For Food checkups.
He called it a complicated case where you turn over one leaf and another pops up.
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VOLCKER: I think it's fair to say that we're cutting a little closer to the bone, when you get into questions of specific behavior, about specific people, about specific companies, and I think we've had pretty good cooperation, but you begin running into perhaps a little resistance here and there, which I hope will be overcome. That's true to some extent in chasing certain bank accounts where we think we were entitled to have the information, and I think we're going to get it, but it hasn't been volunteered quite as rapidly as we might have wished.
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ROTH: Volcker said he was getting cooperation up to a point from the French bank BNP Paribus. The bank was where all Oil For Food money funneled through. A bank spokesman said it's fully cooperating.
And what about the man who allegedly personally supervised the Oil For Food bribe list? Former president and now prisoner Saddam Hussein. DIPLOMATIC LICENSE asked the man trying to follow the money.
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REPORTER: Mr. Volcker, would you like to interview Saddam Hussein? Have you made a request with the appropriate authorities, the United States, the Iraqis, to have a little talk with him?
VOLCKER: We have not. I have not thought that that would be extremely useful, but it's always a though. We have -- there are -- obviously most of all Saddam, but some of these Iraqi prisoners are sequestered in a way that and are subject to criminal charges that make it a little difficult to easily interview them.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I used to dream about beautiful things I could play with. He promised that if I was good, he would make my dreams come true, but that never happened. I can't play anymore. I am a sex slave. They force me to obey and my work never ends. I dream of being free.
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ROTH: How to bring attention to a global problem? Find a star. Singing star Ricky Martin already had setup a foundation to help children, but now he's focusing on stopping the abuses of the child sex industry.
Martin came to the United Nations, no not to sing "Living La Vida Loca," but to hold a press conference to support a U.S. government attempt to combat child sexual tourism.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you look at sex slavery around the world, one of the big components is child prostitution and one of the driving forces of child prostitution is child sex tourism.
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ROTH: President Bush has raised the child sex issue in his last two General Assembly appearances.
I asked Ricky Martin why he has made child sex tourism his issue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICKY MARTIN, SINGER: It's ridiculous. It's the year 2004 and we are still dealing with slavery.
The Ricky Martin Foundation created a project, People For Children, because some years ago some students from Harvard University sent me a letter saying, like, can you get involved. This is slavery and we have to do something about it.
I started educating myself about this issue, and the numbers and statistics are horrible.
A couple of months ago a man paid $10,000 to have sex with a 5-month- old baby. So we have to stop this. And I'm going to use my music and/or my career to talk about things that we should be concerned about.
This is an industry that is moving $7 billion a year, more than 2 million children are being forced into prostitution every year, and this happens everywhere.
ROTH: But how can the United Nations deal with something like that, where in this building things take time. There are 191 different governments. How are they going to stop a guy with a computer in Dusseldorf from sleeping with a child a Cambodia?
MARTIN: This is very difficult, and we cannot do it alone. We have the voice. We can create some sort of awareness to the masses, but we need the governments.
So I have had the opportunity to meet with different ambassadors today, to say please use me to voice this issue that is really impacting their society. Many ambassadors in Latin America have invited me personally to go to their countries and talk about this issue.
We need the government -- we have the voice, they have the power -- to create awareness on this. I mean, it's very delicate. If we don't do it with the government, you know, and I do my job of creating a very intense awareness of this issue, you know, the people are going to say where is my government, where has it been?
ROTH: How has technology and this computer world we live in affected an issue such as child sex?
MARTIN: The Internet is one of the worst enemies children around the world are facing today.
A man goes into his room, he logs himself into any child prostitution Web site and he commits crimes. He leaves his room, no one knew about him.
But enough is enough. The U.S. government and the FBI and the CIA are doing an outstanding job in finding these cases and a lot of people have been prosecuted and it's -- I mean, little by little, it's a battle. It's a battle we need to win, and in order for us to win, we have to do it with organized people and, you know, we're doing it.
ROTH: So many of the men come from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany.
MARTIN: The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Japan.
But it's all over the world. You know, it happens here. People are trafficked. The biggest -- the state in the United States with more trafficked people is Florida, for example. And at the border with Mexico, there are over 20,000 to 30,000 children that are being forced into prostitution.
ROTH: Have you personally met with some of these children?
MARTIN: For many years I have been working with an organization in India where I have been working to -- where I've been able to exchange ideas with victims that are not suffering about this problem anymore, and it's alarming. You know, their soul has been stolen from them. You know, it's very sad.
ROTH: As was discussed at the press conference you conducted earlier, people are forced to use their bodies for income.
MARTIN: That's why I'm here to talk to the governments. That's why I'm here to quote/unquote "force" them into doing something, and if they don't know about this, I'm here to show them numbers and statistics of what their country is doing to surrounding countries.
ROTH: You mentioned India before. I mean, on a personal note you took a bit of a two year retreat, right? I mean, what happened there? You were quoted as saying you needed time, you didn't have to worry about you were wearing underwear. This is the type of program where we discuss all these issues.
MARTIN: I'm really sorry to hear that.
ROTH: Is that true?
MARTIN: That's not true. Well, after -- yes, after 20 years of intense work on stage, I said hey, I think it would be great and healthy for not only me but everyone surrounding me to -- for me to take a sabbatical. And I did and I traveled around the world.
ROTH: And has this played into your decision to get more committed with the foundation on issues such as this?
MARTIN: Yes.
ROTH: Have you retired from the entertainment industry.
MARTIN: No, No. I'm not -- I cannot.
ROTH: . or the glamorization of it or.
MARTIN: Well, there are things you live with, but you don't have to go to bed with them. You know, that's.
ROTH: Well, how much -- look, you're an artist. I'm not trying to pick on you here, but I'm sure you've heard these questions. I mean, what about rock and roll videos, the way the -- the sexual nature of television, movies, these days. Do you think that plays a part along with the computer into the images a lot of these people are seeing? You know, we're not making -- giving them a pass on what they're doing but, you know, there is sex everywhere. On regular sitcoms, morning television shows.
MARTIN: And what's so bad about that?
ROTH: Well, is this affecting these guys with computers, people -- it's everything is sex. We're not talking about global issues. We're not even talking about domestic disputes and solving problems. Everything is reduced to six. You know, 8-year-old girls are dressing like 28-year-old women.
MARTIN: I know what you mean. But people just have to be, and the more you forbid something, the more people want it. So -- then again, oh my God, it's like sex. Oh, how bad is sex. What is so wrong about sex? I still don't get it.
ROTH: Well, I don't get it. Believe me. But that's my own life.
But you did "She Bangs. We've got "We're going to rock this town. I'll let her rough me up -- until she roughs me up. She walks, she talks, she bangs, she bangs, oh, baby when she moves, she's like a flower, she stings like a bee, like every girl in history."
Do you feel in any way that your -- you and millions of other singers -- jus the nature of what music has turned to. You know, in the 60s it was all peace and love and the Byrds and the Beatles. Is that any way do you feel bad about some of this music from five or six years ago?
MARTIN: Am I talking about war in my music?
ROTH: No, but just talking about.
MARTIN: I'm talking about relationships and what -- I really don't understand your question. I'm sorry.
ROTH: What do you think -- do you give a timeline to these ambassadors? Because they like to make speeches here. They like to hold meetings.
MARTIN: I am here to let them talk. I want to see what they have done. I want to hear what their country has done and what their country's plans are to eradicate prostitution.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN (voice-over): Children of endless nights. Their faces devoid of hope. Their voices can no longer be heard. These are the slaves of a new era. Please stop the sexual exploitation of children. It's time we act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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MARK MALLOCH BROWN, U.N. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: Incompetent people and lazy people and otherwise people not suitable for their jobs are able to enjoy a degree of employment protection which you frankly wouldn't have in many other systems.
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ROTH: No, we're not talking about your company. The topic is the United Nations. That's Mark Malloch Brown, the director of the United Nations Development Program, one of the larger U.N. agencies. He was talking about the way the United Nations is setup, how hard it is to take action against a staff member.
And in one particular case, I'm not talking about being late or smoking in your office. Try suspicion of murder.
Some six years after the Rwanda genocide, a formal eye witness account of someone's actions was sent to the United Nations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH (voice-over): 10 years ago, genocide erupted in Rwanda. Investigators still believe one of the killers was a United Nations employee.
Callixte Mbarushimana, a Rwanda Hutu, had been hired as a computer technician, but a U.N. investigator says when the slaughter began, Mbarushimana took over the U.N. aid compound and then joined in the killing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He armed himself. He was seen walking around with a rifle, pistol and possibly grenades in his belt. And then he set about tracking down and killing his Tutsi colleagues and their families.
ROTH: Tony Greig (ph) was the lead investigator for the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal on the Rwanda genocide. He says Mbarushimana knew exactly where his Tutsi coworkers were hiding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The evidence was quite clear that he had killed at least two -- we had eye witness accounts to at least two colleagues, plus their families, which put it up to about 15 or 20 people.
ROTH: But what really now stuns the United Nations is that Mbarushimana has just successfully sued for a year's back pay on grounds he was unfairly fired.
CALLIXTE MBARUSHIMANA, FMR. U.N. WORKER: What I say first is that I was not involved in any kind of massacre in 1994.
ROTH: Eye witnesses disagreed, but Mbarushimana was never indicted by the U.N. tribunal. Instead the case was dropped.
Callixte Mbarushimana was not considered a big fish as prosecutors faced a deadline to wind up cases.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had it in their grasp to indict him, to have him arrested and to be brought back to Arusha (ph) for trial, and they turned that down.
ROTH: After the Rwanda genocide, Mbarushimana went on to get two more United Nations jobs.
Mbarushimana was dismissed in 2001 after an arrest warrant arrived from the Rwandan government, but a judge in Kosovo refused to extradite him. Mbarushimana then went to France where he sought back pay from the United Nations. A panel which handles disputes between the United Nations and its staff members ruled he was entitled to six months pay and last month on appear awarded him 13 months salary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's terrible. It's unspeakable. And it's a reflection of a system where the secretary-general and myself, as the top managers, don't control this.
MBARUSHIMANA: I have been persecuted for a long time. I have suffered enough, my family has suffered enough as well because of bad actions. Those allegations, which were unfounded, and they would really like to end this now.
ROTH: Mbarushimana says he should have gotten three years pay and calls Rwanda's war crimes trials a witch hunt. The Rwanda government says it still wants the former U.N. employee extradited from France.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are plenty of evidences which have been established as to his participation in the genocide. There is no doubt about this.
ROTH: But a senior U.N. official said "anyone with that serious a charge shouldn't be eligible to get pay until the charges are cleared up."
Both the United Nations and the Rwandan government say they want the case revived.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
There has been no payment yet to Mbarushimana and if the case is taken up by a war crimes court, a verdict would determine if he ever gets that U.N. money.
That's DIPLOMATIC LICENSE. I'm Richard Roth, in New York. Thanks for watching.
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