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UN reform plans face hurdles from states and staff
(Daily Times)
Updated: 2006-03-09 09:18
SECRETARY General Kofi Annan錕斤拷s plans to overhaul the UN bureaucracy are
expected to face stiff resistance from developing countries and immediately
triggered protests from staff over outsourcing proposals.
Annan, introducing a 33-page report on Tuesday, sought more financial
oversight, simplified hiring and firing procedures, career planning, staff
buyouts, training and a modern information system. The costs could run to $500
million.
More controversial are plans for outsourcing or moving staff out of the
United States for some translation services, document production, printing and
publishing and information technology.
Saying too many decades had passed with partial reforms, Annan called for a
錕斤拷radical overhaul錕斤拷 and a 錕斤拷strategic refit錕斤拷 because rules and regulations 錕斤拷make
it very hard for the organisation to conduct its work efficiently or
effectively.錕斤拷
As an example, he pointed to 13,000 civilian staff, with most employed in the
field but getting fewer benefits or career advancement than the 4,200 in New
York.
After addressing the 191-nation General Assembly, Annan and his top managers
faced a raucous meeting where staff made clear that past promises of
improvements were not delivered.
Rosemary Waters, an American and head of the UN staff committee, said 700
employees would campaign among member states to halt the proposals and 錕斤拷the
constant effort of the management to erode the rights and benefits of staff,錕斤拷
especially plans to outsource.
錕斤拷Y(jié)ou say no one loses a job through outsourcing but I have to tell you Mr
secretary-general, not many people believe you,錕斤拷 said one woman who was not
identified.
Another man warned that instead of saving money, outsourcing could result in
more expenditures. 錕斤拷Y(jié)ou could find yourself with some Halliburton-style
organisations,錕斤拷 he said.
While the European Union and the United States welcomed the reforms,
especially in the wake of several scandals, developing nations are expected to
be apprehensive of losing their authority in the UN General Assembly.
No sooner had Annan spoken than a wrangle ensued over where the reform
blueprint should be discussed. Developing nations opted for General Assembly
committees where they believe they have more power while the United States, the
European Union and Japan said the full assembly should have control.
The United States has tied progress on management reform to a condition for
refinancing the UN budget on June 30.
The financial plan, reluctantly approved by the General Assembly in December,
has caused animosity between US Ambassador John Bolton and many poor nations who
feel rich countries want to cut programmes and jobs that benefit them.
Bolton told the assembly that the United States endorsed Annan錕斤拷s call for a
radical overhaul of the bureaucracy. 錕斤拷They are our objectives, and there will be
considerable hard work ahead to achieve them,錕斤拷 he said.
But Edward Luck, a Columbia University professor and UN expert, warned that
implementation usually fell short of expectations. 錕斤拷Big and small states alike
begin to fret that their relative position in the UN, built through years of
practice and maneuver, could be affected by unpredictable renovations,錕斤拷 he said.
reuters
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