UNITED NATIONS: Governments Back Kofi Annan’s Reforms

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Aug 11 1997 (IPS) - The UN reform plan presented by Secretary General Kofi Annan was given “crucial endorsement” by the governments of 16 countries, according to diplomatic sources.

The Secretary General’s initiative presents “the opportunity to take real and substantial steps forward,” said the declaration of 16 heads of State and government, presented to Annan by Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson in Stockholm Sunday.

The Group of 16 is made up by Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, South America, South Korea and Sweden.

“Now it is time to go from words to deeds,” said the declaration on the UN reforms and the restructuring of the secretariat presented by Annan last July.

The Group of 16, presided over by Swedish former prime minister Ingvar Carlsson, was created in 1995, at the same time as the 50th anniversary of the UN, with the aim of encouraging the reform of the entity.

Therese Gastaut, spokeswoman for the general secretariat in Geneva, said the G-16 had given momentum to the reform process, with a view to the UN general assembly which should comment on the matter next month.

The G-16 declaration deserves special attention due to the range of signatories involved, coming from the developing and industrialised countries alike, stated Gastaut.

It said that in order to “regain its central role, the United Nations needs both reform and commitment.”

“We believe that securing a sound and viable financial basis for the United Nations is an integral part of the reform efforts,” stressing the importance of all member nations paying their backdated dues unconditionally and in time.

This paragraph was especially directed at the United States, which currently owes a figure of more that a billion dollars.

The governments of the 16 countries recognised the UN reform process has been very slow, but that the present chance to remedy this should be snapped up as an “opportunity (which) should not be missed.”

They said the UN secretary general and his efforts deserved their “full support” adding that “careful consideration” would be given to the proposals.

Annan completed the presentation of his reform plan to the United Nations so that the organisation General Assembly could examine the details in the period of sessions starting in September.

The Secretary General’s initiative joins suggestions for organic restructuring with new financial austerity measures which established negative growth of the UN budget for the two year periods of 1996 to 1997 and 1998 to 1999.

Annan proposed fusing the three departments dealing with social and economic issues into one, the creation of the post of assistant secretary general and the establishment of an executive administration group.

G-16 called on the heads of State and government of all UN member nations to take the Secretary General’s proposals into consideration.

And concluded “now is the time to go from words to deeds, and for member States to take decision on actual reforms, and to ensure practical steps of implementation.”