U.N.'s transparency enhanced under Ban's leadership: senior official

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhapï¼?-- The transparency of the United Nations has greatly
improved since its current chief Ban Ki-moon took office two and a half years
ago, and his "quiet diplomacy" has helped generate "synergy" among member states,
a visiting U.N. official said Friday.
"My objective personal view is that transparency has increased a lot since the
secretary general took the senior management," Under Secretary General Cheick
Sidi Diarra said in an interview in Seoul. He is on a four-day visit to South
Korea from Wednesday at the invitation of the Diplomacy, a Seoul-based monthly
English magazine on foreign affairs.
The former Malian diplomat had meetings with foreign envoys here and senior South
Korean foreign ministry officials for discussions on pending global challenges
and received an honorary doctorate at Hannam University in Daejeon, about 160km
south of Seoul.
Diarra said among the changes under Ban's initiative are new requirements that
U.N. officials undergo annual performance evaluations and disclose their
financial assets on an annual basis for the renewal of contracts.
"These things (help the) the whole United Nations system generate more efficiency
for the public good and the population of the world," he said.
Diarra defended Ban, formerly a South Korean foreign minister, from some Western
media's criticism against his "low-profile and uncharismatic" leadership, saying
his "nice and cautious" diplomacy is the "best way to go" at a time of many
global crises.
"When powerful member states could not agree on one issue, he could shout out
about every situation, but it will generate opposition. The Secretary General's
permanent role is not to provoke opposition but to generate synergy from member
states," he said.
Diarra, who was formerly Mali's ambassador to the U.N. and now is in charge of
the U.N.'s mission for the least developed nations, expressed hope for better
relations between South Korea and African nations.
He pointed out that South Korea's neighbors -- China and Japan -- are actively
engaged in trade with Africa.
"Korean goods are well known in Africa. I hope to see more development projects
not only in natural resources but also human resources and economic investment,"
he said.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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