Globalaffairs

Issue 1/February-March 2007
By Rasna Warah

The appointment of Asha-Rose Migiro as United Nations Deputy Secretary-General is not only a coup for Tanzania, but also for Africa as a whole – as well as for the many women who are still under-represented in top UN managerial posts.

But the appointment should leave a bittersweet taste in the mouth of Kenyan diplomats who have yet to be appointed to any significant post within this global body.

As far as I know, no Kenyan heads a UN agency or forms part of the new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s “cabinet”. Yet Tanzania has two women at high level posts within this global body – my former boss, Mrs Anna Tibaijuka, who heads the United Nations Office in Nairobi, and now Ms. Migiro, who effectively becomes the highest ranking female within the entire United Nations system.

It is not due to lack of expertise or skill that Kenya loses out on securing top UN appointments. Kenya has a large pool of highly-qualified diplomats who have made a mark in inter-governmental negotiations.

Within the UN itself, there are many Kenyans in middle-level managerial or technical posts, though few have managed to rise to the top managerial ranks (with the exception of Salim Lone, now retired, who rose to become director of the UN’s News and Media Division, with no support from the Kenya Government).

It is not lack of clout either. Kenya is host to the headquarters of two global UN agencies and dozens of UN regional and country offices. As the host country, it carries certain privileges and responsibilities which could translate into decision-making authority, which it currently doesn’t seem to exercise.

Why? One reason could be that the Kenya Government simply does not lobby effectively on behalf of its own candidates. Even though Kenya claims to be an active and vocal member of UN decision-making bodies, such as the General Assembly, it has proved to an ineffective advocate for the appointment and promotion of Kenyans to this international organisation.

Another possible reason could be that Kenya has attained a “pariah” status within the international community due to its reputation of being among the most corrupt countries in Africa, which adversely affects its chances of gaining a top UN post.

Although all UN staff members have to sign a code of conduct that prohibits them from seeking or accepting instructions from any government (even their own) and to discharge their functions and regulate their conduct with only the interests of the organisation in mind, realpolitik dictates that this rule be flouted or ignored when it comes to what are known as “political appointments”, that serve the interests of either a lobby group (such as a regional bloc) within the UN or the interests of a major contributor to the UN budget.

This explains why, for instance, a nod from the United States or members of the European Union (among the largest contributors to the UN budget) can make or break a career in the UN.

The bids and the lobbying get more intense the higher the level of the post. It is therefore hard to imagine that Ms. Migiro’s appointment happened without the active endorsement of President Kikwete and his entire Cabinet, and without the support of key donor countries.

I am sure that the Kenya Government is fully aware that this is how the UN system of appointments and promotions operates, yet there are few, if any, attempts by Kenya’s ambassadors to the UN to take an interest in the career development of their own nationals or to push for the endorsement of Kenyan candidates for top positions within this world body.

In fact, not only do these ambassadors not endorse their own nationals, they tend to ignore them altogether.

In the 10 years that I worked for the UN, for instance, no Kenyan ambassador to the UN sent me an invitation to an official function; yet I received several invitations from other embassies, which routinely kept track of their nationals within the UN system, and at times, also lobbied on their behalf.

This lack of interest in seeing its nationals rise within the UN system is perhaps a reflection of the partisan politics in this country. When Kenya does put forward a candidate, the candidacy is probably based on tribe first, citizenship and qualifications second. This tendency, which will be the ruin of this country, has also cost Kenya a prominent standing in the international community.

Rasna Warah
Journalist

Global Affairs is not liable for author’s opinion

Retrieved from: The Daily Nation, Kenya

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