Washington, D.C. (rightcommentary.com): This is has been a bad week for the United Nations. First on Wednesday came a British charity report that children as young as six were being molested by U.N. Aid workers. The report alleged that children were trading sexual favors in exchange for food, money, soap, and luxury items such as cell phones. Do not expect any prompt action from U.N.; officials want “credible information and evidence” before launching any investigations. “We have to protect the integrity and honor of UN staff who, at the end of the day, could be the victims of false allegations,” said Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kang Kyung-wha. In any language, this means U.N. Officials are only interested in covering their collective rear ends.

This was followed by a report that the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), its key anti-poverty agency, has been marred by scandals of its own. Auditors found more than $595 million worth of non-existent purchases. Worse yet, the report stated that the UNDP had no way of knowing whether it was doing business with terrorist organizations. There were a myriad of other problems, but these two struck me as being the worst. This is bad news for Barack Obama, who has championed funding for the UNDP’s Millennium Campaign as part of his campaign to fight poverty. The last thing this country needs now is to throw more money at a corrupt and scandal-ridden U.N. agency.

The latest problems at the U.N. came as John McCain’s idea for a League of Democracies seemed to be gaining support. McCain’s idea certainly is not without its faults; after all, France and Germany have proved to be fickle allies at best in recent years. Nevertheless, any proposal which provides an end-run around the U.N. bureaucracy has merit.

Last week, Senator McCain grabbed the strategic initiative on Iraq by challenging Obama to go to Baghdad with him. The latest scandals at the U.N. provide him with an excellent opportunity to stay on the offensive. It remains to be seen whether he will seize this agenda.