How much can a president accomplish in just a one-year term? Stay tuned to find out. Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann is on the downhill side of his 365 day term as president of the United Nations General Assembly, and he's got a lot on his plate. The one thing he can do, however, isn't even being cooked up.
D'Escoto's been featured in two recent articles recently, for The New Republic and the Financial Times. Each highlight the well-known tension between the UNGA prez and the underwhelming UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the U.S. of A. and the entire Security Council. Each also refer to D'Escoto's burning desires to reform the UN, UNSC, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank (i.e., the Western created and propped up global financial system), but neither underscore the sheer impossibility of any agenda in just a single year.
Technically, D'Escoto, as UNGA president, occupies the most powerful position at the UN. It is a position chosen by popular vote of the entire UN membership. Yet, perhaps because the term is so swift, the limelight and power often fall to the other position, Secretary General.
With heavy hitters (Joseph Stiglitz) and heavy hitting Leftists (Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn) on his advising teams, one would think the man has the potential to make some waves. But attendance by Western and/or industrialized countries on an upcoming conference on restructuring the world financial system (called by D'Escoto) is expected to be minimal.
D'Escoto's heroes include Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez--he proudly displays photos of both in his office. Why not take cues from these power wielding men and seek to first amend the terms of his own presidency? If one is going to reform the United Nations from the inside, why not work to create a system that will give usurpers more traction? One year terms are long enough to learn the names of Ambassadors and find the bathrooms--how can one expect major changes to occur in such a short period?
D'Escoto should work to extend the term limits of the UNGA presidency, to at least three years. Of course, the concession should be that he step down after his term so as not to make it look like a personal power grab. He should lay the groundwork for future presidents to do actual work. Next up at the helm is expected to be former Lybian foreign minister Ali Abdessalam Triki, perhaps another thorn in the side of the UNSC and other G8 countries. There's no telling what effect a lengthier presidential term might have at the UN, but it's worth a shot.
D'Escoto had admitted now is not the time to reform the UNSC. Perhaps it is too late in his term to do the same with the financial structure. He should instead pick a battle he has a chance at winning and attempt to extend the term limits of the global presidency.
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