By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 13 1997 (IPS)

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is resisting Western efforts to force the merger of three U.N. departments dealing with social and economic issues.

“That would be a major decision,” says U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard. “The Secretary-General is still getting input and will eventually make an announcement.”

Eckhard says Annan would have to consult with all 185 member- states and will not be rushed into a politically sensitive decision that calls for the elimination or merger of U.N. bodies.

The New York Times reported Sunday that during talks last week with U.S. and French diplomats, Annan “refused to be pinned down” on the possibility of merging the Department of Development Support and Management Services (DDSMS), the Department of Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA), and the Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (DPCSD).

When the diplomats brought up the proposal a second time, Annan changed the subject, the Times said.

The United States proposes that the functions of these three departments be collected in a new Department of International Economic Cooperation and Sustainable Development, headed by a single Under-Secretary-General.

Washington wants to downsize eight U.N. departments to five and have them deal with political affairs, peacekeeping, international economic cooperation and sustainable development, humanitarian affairs, and administration and conference services.

But U.S. officials believe that Annan is “cautious” and “slow” in his approach towards reform of the United Nations, the Times reported Sunday.

For his part, the Secretary-General would prefer his attitude toward the reform process to be described as “patient” and “persistent”, according to Eckhard, who points out that the Secretary-General has been in office for only “a little over five weeks.”

“That is a bit early to be drawing conclusions about his progress with reform,” says Eckhard.

Last week, Annan promised a package of U.N. reforms will be ready by July or August this year. This package, to be put together with the help of all member-states, could not only include cuts in staff, programmes, and U.N. departments, but also the creation of the position of Deputy Secretary-General.

“What he was talking about in the plan concerned changes that member-states were also involved in, something that he had to negotiate with those states,” Eckhard said.

The Bill Clinton Administration engineered the ouster of former Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali primarily because he did not introduce U.N. reforms fast enough for Washington’s liking. The expectation was that Annan would be more receptive to a radical reform of the U.N. system.

But since he took over from Boutros-Ghali Jan. 1, Annan has sought to consult with the 132 developing countries of the ‘Group of 77’ before rushing into a merger that affects the interests of mostly Third World nations.

Besides the merger of the three departments, the United States also proposes a new “sunset policy” in order to provide accountability and improved performance.

Under this policy, it would be a standard practice throughout the U.N. system for programmes to end after a specified period, unless they have “conclusively demonstrated their continuing relevance and value according to established criteria.”

But a former Secretary-General of the Geneva-based U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) smells a rat in the attempts to shrink the United Nations.

“They want to dilute the U.N.’s leadership role in development issues on the ground, (arguing) that there are other actors such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to deal with economic, financial, and trade issues,” says Gamani Corea of Sri Lanka.

“I think this whole idea of reform does not bode well for the United Nations,” Corea said. “It may be necessary to keep the big powers and the public in these countries happy. But with that kind of motivation, you are not going to get a very virile United Nations.”

Asked if social and economic issues were likely to be given over to the World Bank and the IMF, leaving the United Nations to deal only with political and peacekeeping issues, Corea said he saw the beginning of such a trend.

“The two Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO form the new triumvirate,” he warned. “And most of the economic issues are being taken over by them.”

Excerpt: