Agenda

Millennium Summit & Forum

Streamlining and Reform of the UN System

by
Eva Sevcikova

Introduction
On 16 July, 1997 Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced before the General Assembly his recommendations for the most extensive and far-reaching reform of the United Nations since its founding, 52 years earlier. After a six-month planning process, a report entitled Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform was published, responding to the need for the United Nations to deliver more and better services at less cost.

Purpose
Annan has been committed to the idea of an extensive reform from the very beginning of his term as a Secretary-General in January 1997. The end of the Cold War fundamentally altered relations among Member States, regions and political blocs; new opportunities and new crises made reform essential. The "Quiet Revolution," as Annan calls the reform, has as its objective revitalization of the Organization to better fit the new global era and make the United Nations focused, coherent, responsive and cost-effective. The reform proposals affect virtually every department, and every activity of the United Nations.

According to Annan, the reforms he has proposed are “bold reforms. Their aim is simple. To transform the Organization. To bring greater unity of purpose, greater coherence of efforts, and greater agility in responding to an increasingly dynamic and complex world.” Annan's recommendations respond to Member States' increasing development, peace-keeping and humanitarian needs anticipated for the 21st century.

In Resolution A/RES/52/12, adopted in November 1997, the General Assembly affirmed “its determination to strengthen the role, capacity, effectiveness and efficiency of the United Nations and thus improve its performance in order to realize the full potential of the Organization, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and to respond more effectively to the needs and aspiration of the Member States," and commended "the efforts and initiatives of the Secretary-General aimed at reforming the United Nations.”

The proposed set of changes will carry the Organization firmly along the pathway to major and fundamental reform. Some changes have already been implemented; others require more time. Many decisions wait to be approved by Member States. It is imperative to keep in mind that such a reform represents a continuing process, not a one-day event.

Responsibility lies with Member States to make decisions regarding the series of reforms. The process of reforming a body composed of 189 countries and bringing them all to a unified decision is a hard task to accomplish. While virtually all Member States recognize the need for significant changes in the way the Organization conducts its work, there has been less agreement as to what should be the nature and direction of those changes, and how to implement them.

Although recognizing the numerous achievements and the validity of the United Nations, the Secretary-General in his statements to the General Assembly several times has referred to the Organization as "bureaucratic" and "not working as it should." He pointed to instances where the Organization had stayed "within rigid structures, working in isolation, with little or no coordination." Thus, the need for reform is evident to the Secretary-General.

A United Nations Budget that is committed to solvency and development priorities: The 1998-1999 budget proposal was significantly smaller than that of the 1997-1998 period. For the first time in a generation, there had been a negative growth in the UN budget. The proposal included, among other things, eliminating 1000 administrative posts (a 25% cut from a decade ago), 33% reduction of administrative costs (savings will be relocated to development) and 30% reduction on the use of paper and documentation. The Organization has been on the edge of financial bankruptcy mainly due to the failure of certain Member States to fulfill their obligation of paying the assessed contributions. Thus a Revolving Credit Fund was proposed at a level of up to $1 billion through voluntary contributions to assure financial solvency. A significant proposal was a new system of budgeting, the so-called result-based budgeting instead of an input accounting. A newly established Development Account will benefit from administrative savings that are generated through the streamlining and modernization of the Secretariat over the next four years (so far about $13 million has been earmarked from savings). Savings stemming from the reduction of administrative costs are anticipated to grow at least $200 million for the biennium beginning 2002. 

A United Nations structure that is leaner and more cost-effective:

Reform of the General Assembly
Among other things, changes should include reviewing the General Assembly agenda to retire the annual agenda items with low priority and further adapting the agenda to current needs. Shortening the session of the General Assembly from 15 to 12 weeks has been also suggested. A focus by the GA on a legislative discussion for a concentrated period of time on one major issue of international importance has been recommended. For certain new initiatives, Kofi Annan recommends "sunset provisions" (specific time limits by which the initiative would be reviewed by the GA).

Reform of the Security Council
A Working Group has been set up by the General Assembly to address the issue of Security Council reform. Discussions have focused on size, composition and the decision-making in the Security Council, including the right to veto and improvements in its working methods In addition to its self-reform, since 1992 the General Assembly has set up 5 working groups that have been charged with the task of reformulating overarching policies in several areas: the Security Council reform, the financial situation of the UN, agenda for peace, agenda for development and a working group on strengthening of the United Nations system (which, among other things, calls for a greater transparency in the selection process of the Secretary-General with a proposal for a one term limit).

Among other things, the General Assembly put its stamp of approval on actions involving combining programs and integrating departments, e.g. combining the Vienna-based programmes on fighting crimes, drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorism into a single office; consolidation of the Center for Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; and consolidating the UN presence at the country level into a single office under a Resident Coordinator, who works for a so-called UN House. Many other actions have been initiated to upgrade the efficiency of the UN system by increasing cooperation and restructuring the system. The Secretary-General has also initiated a move towards setting up common facilities and support services in the 134 countries where the UN has activities and provides services. Common premises have been established in several countries.

An Electronic United Nations is now becoming a possibility with the expanding use of documents in electronic form and through developing a single service to provide information technology and telecommunication infrastructure. All permanent missions in New York have been connected to the United Nations Web Site and the Optical Disk System as of June 30, 1997. Teleconferencing for regular Cabinet meetings has enabled the UN to become a real global agency and adds its share to the “communications culture’ that the Secretary-General is determined to instill throughout the Organization as one of the principal tools for its revitalization. Most recently the theme of the Economic And Social Council’s High Level Segment (ECOSOC 2000) was the use of Information and Communication Technology for Development.

Some 30 UN entities have been reorganized into four core areas: peace and security, economic and social affairs; development operations; and humanitarian affairs (human rights was designated as cutting across all four areas). An Executive Committee has been established in each of the four areas to maximize coordination of policy development, management and decision-making.

The heads of all UN agencies and entities are brought together under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General in the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC). New measures aim to avoid UN entities pursuing their activities separately and encourage them to act as one at the country level.

An Agenda for Peace, first put forth by Secretary-General Boutrus Boutrus-Ghali, has as its goal to strengthen and make more efficient the capacity of the UN for preventive diplomacy or timely and adequate preventive action, for peacemaking and for peacekeeping, and a related issue of post-conflict peace building. It goes without saying that if the Organization is to do this job well, it needs “ the continuity provided by a sufficient base of resources from the regular budget, mission budget and peacekeeping support account.” Ongoing reforms in the area of peace and security are meant to improve analytical capacity, enhance management capability in the field, improve preparedness, streamline support for the field and improve communications in the field.

A Department of Disarmament Affairs has been created (replacing the Center for Disarmament Affairs) to deal with the important role of disarmament in the furthering of international peace and security. In the post-Cold War era, many new threats are growing and thus becoming subjects for the international agenda and have to be addressed in the context of peacekeeping operations. 

A United Nations Development Group (UNDG) has also been constituted, comprising the major United Nations development programmes and funds as well as departments and relevant entities. The membership of the UNDG Executive Committee consists of the heads of UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, and WFP with provisions for the participation of other organizations in areas relevant to their interest. Greater cooperation with the IMF, the World Bank and the regional developmental banks has become particularly important dimension of coordinated action in the developmental field.

Similarly, a major restructuring is planned for the Secretariat machinery responsible for coordinating humanitarian assistance. In the area of humanitarian affairs, the UN “must develop an effective emergency response capacity, and it must also establish an effective mechanism of coordination and cooperation within the system.” The need for a more coherent and consolidated approach to humanitarian actions has been recognized. Some of the reform proposals include shifting staff and authority to the field, human resources and career development, and strengthening the rapid response mechanism. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), directed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, brings together the heads of UNICEF, UNHCR, and WFP along with other organizations to provide greater coordination in this area.

Inherent to the promotion of peace, security, economic prosperity and social equity are human rights. The post of High Commissioner for Human Rights was created in 1993; the High Commissioner was assigned principal responsibilities for the UN human rights activities. The streamlined Structure of the Human Rights Programme focuses on the following areas: a)information analysis and policy development; b) support to human rights bodies and organs; c) actions for the promotion and protection of human rights.

In order to identify priorities for UN actions, the Member States, civil society actors and other interested groups and individuals will voice their opinions at a special Millennium Assembly of the General Assembly in September 2000. The Millennium Summit will be attended by world leaders; non-governmental organizations and other representatives of civil society had an opportunity to share their views in a Millennium Forum held in May 2000. Furthermore, all substantive departments will designate an NGO liaison officer to facilitate access by civil society to the UN. More opportunities for tripartite cooperation with governments and civil society will be encouraged at the country level.

The United Nations management that is better coordinated and more accountable Establishment of a new leadership and management structure is one of the main priorities. The position of Deputy Secretary-General was created to act in the Secretary-General’s absence, share his representational duties and raise the UN profile and leadership in the economic and social spheres. Ms. Louise Fréchette from Canada was chosen as the first Deputy Secretary-General. A Senior Management Group was established as a Cabinet-style management entity to help lead the process of change, together with a steering committee that monitors and coordinates the reform process in the Secretariat.

Women play an important role in many of the new high-level appointments made by Kofi Annan. The United Nations has never had so many women in high posts, but the Organization’s goals for gender representation have yet to be achieved.

Conclusion:
The purpose of reforming the United Nations is to strengthen an indispensable institution and to prepare it to meet the challenges of the future. In the words of Kofi Annan, when he addressed the General Assembly in April 1998 a year after changes had been proposed: "We are transforming our United Nations not as an end in itself, but as a means to better carry out our mission of peace, development and human rights. We do this not to please any particular constituency, but because we must be able to better meet the needs of the world's people and of Member States. This process is not a luxury; it is not a gimmick; and it is not an imposition. Reform is our survival and our future."

Questions for further consideration:
1. How to ensure that a reform in an organization as big as the UN will not be driven primarily by the most prominent and thus the most powerful Member States at the expense of smaller Member States or certain UN activities, such as development?
2. How to mobilize and bring such a large consensus regarding the structural changes of the Organization itself?
3. What were some instances where the United Nations failed to perform its role to an optimum degree due to inefficient coordination or bureaucratic procedures? What lessons can be learned? 
4. Which are the main areas of UN operations that deserve financial attention from the resources gained after budget savings? 
5. On what basis would the Revolving Credit Fund operate and who would be responsible for its fiscal operations? 
6. What are the advantages of a result-based budget system? 
7. Which of the agenda items on the list of the General Assembly no longer carry high priority for the United Nations? 
8. How should the UN deal with the Security Council reform, especially with the suggestion of its increased membership and the existence of the right to veto?