United Nations: Aiming to make the UN more effective and accountable, Secretary General Kofi Annan has proposed drastic reforms in the world body, including outsourcing of some of its work and creation of a 2,500 strong rapid action force to help millions of victims of hunger, conflict and terrorism.
The Secretary-General's comprehensive reform blueprint was called for in the Outcome Document adopted by world leaders at last September's World Summit in New York.
Annan asked the 191-member General Assembly to approve his proposal as a package and said the current rules and regulations were designed for an essentially static secretariat whose main aim was to service conferences and meetings of member States and whose staff worked mainly at the headquarters.
"Today thanks to mandates that Members States have given us, we are engaged directly in many parts of the world, working on the ground to improve the lives of the people," he added.
South Africa's UN Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, who heads the Group of 77 developing nations with a membership of 132, would like the report to be discussed by the budgetary committee.
Despite the element of urgency introduced by Annan, the proposals could get mired as developed and developing countries give them different interpretations.
While the report identifies a number of areas of potential cost savings and efficiencies, the primary financial message is that it is time to reverse years of underinvestment in people, systems and information technology to address operational deficiencies and ensure that the UN can reach the level of effectiveness expected by Member States.
Highlights of proposals
- More focus on enhancing efficiency and accountability of UN’s budget
- Modernizing the information system, staff buyouts
- Simplifying reporting procedures and hiring practices
- Simplifying increased oversight over spending.
- Flexible rapid reaction and mobile force
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