Kofi speaks some truth:

"We have reached a point at which the commission's declining credibility has cast a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations system as a whole and where piecemeal reforms will not be enough," Annan told delegates.

"The commission's ability to perform its tasks has been overtaken by new needs and undermined by the politicization of its sessions and the selectivity of its work," Annan said.

I agree wholeheartedly. What I disagree with is the 'logical' conclusion the UN bureaucrats arrive at from this newfound revelation:

The United Nations needs a new, permanent human rights body if it is to prevent appalling suffering around the world, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday.

Speaking at the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Annan said that the world body is failing to protect against human rights abuses, particularly in Sudan's conflict-ravaged Darfur region, and should be replaced by a council with greater authority.

With the abysmal track record that the UN has in protecting humanity, letting them form another council with greater authority makes absolutely zero sense. The UN missions themselves, designed to alleviate suffering, have merely contributed to it.

The Food-for-Oil program increased Saddam's power (and the bank accounts of many others) at the expense of the citizens of Iraq. The Food-for-Flesh program (aka U.N. Mission in Congo (aka MONUC)) brought peacekeepers from around the world to deliver pedophilia, rape, and prostitution to the people of Congo.

The commission itself includes a significant number of egregious human rights violators. In 2003, Libya was overwhelmingly elected chair of the commission, despite the fact that the African nation itself was under UN sanctions at the time. Welcome, Mr. Fox. Your job is to guard this here Chicken Coop.

When the UN refused to take action in Sudan, I was initially frustrated that they failed to take action against what they themselves described as "acts of genocide". My opinion has changed; not about what is happening in Sudan, but that the UN made a sound decision. Sudan has enough difficulties already...there is no need to add the corruption of the UN and the bad habits of the peacekeepers to the mix.

The solution to this problem is for the UN to clean house and trim the bureaucracy. There is no benefit in simply whitewashing over the past issues by creating a brand-spanking-new commission. The underlying issues are not within the commission itself but are deep within the culture of the UN. Any new body built on this foundation will inherit the same issues of its predecessors.