Above the Rule

The UN, talking out of its butt

UNITED NATIONS May 31 (UPI) — The United Nations called for an indoor smoking ban on World No Tobacco Day while not enforcing a ban on smoking at its own headquarters.

The World Health Organization said Thursday it wants an end to workplace smoking to protect people from secondhand smoke, while U.N. staffers are regularly exposed to smoke at U.N. World Headquarters in New York.

In New York City, smoking is banned in all workplaces. The U.N. building is exempt from local laws because of its international designation. There is a General Assembly resolution banning smoking in the building, but it is largely ignored.

Ignoring small things like this sets the precedent for something a but more serious

UNITED NATIONS: U.N. agencies paid North Korean staff and suppliers in hard currency without approval and hired only government-approved staff in violation of U.N. procedures, U.N. auditors said.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ordered the external audit following U.S. accusations that the U.N. Development Program had funneled millions of dollars in hard currency to North Korea with little assurance that Kim Jong Il used the money to help his people instead of diverting it to “illicit purposes,” including developing nuclear weapons.

So far the international community has largely failed to help North Korean refugees. I have been wondering whether it is because organizations like the UN are too weak to help or, worse, just do not care.

If the UN cannot even enforce its own rules within its organization, I think it reinforces both reasonings.