Mark Brennock
Foreign Affairs Correspondent
The Irish Times
31 January 1997, p. 7
The European Union has prepared proposals for major reform of the United
Nations, while rejecting suggestions that reform should be used to cut the
UN's budget.
In a detailed document given to the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan,
last week the EU is sharply critical of duplication, overlap and financial
inefficiency among the UN's 18 funds and programmes, 18 specialised
agencies and five regional economic commissions. But the paper, which has been seen by The Irish Times, says any savings made through reform must be ploughed back into the UN's development work. "Reform of UN activities in the social and economic fields is not about
cost cutting but above all enabling the United Nations to play a fully
effective role in meeting its obligations and tasks in this area.
The EU is clearly distancing itself from the approach of the US which is withholding some GBP 1bn due to the UN. Constant US political criticism of wasteful UN spending and inefficiency is seen in many developing countries as hostility to the organisation itself. The document represents the first coherent and detailed EU position on UN reform. According to EU sources, the Union is attempting to become a key player in the debate on UN reform and to counterbalance what is seen as the "scorch and burn" approach of many US political figures.
Developing countries - fearing a reduction in the developed world's commitment to development - are likely to welcome the EU position that money saved should be spent on more UN development work. The paper proposes the streamlining and possible merger of some of the UN's 41 bodies. At the moment these bodies "frequently set priorities independent of each other and mostly maintain separate administrative and managerial resources. The result is all too frequently overlap and lack of policy coherence It also calls for greater integration of UN operations on the ground in developing countries. Frequently in developing countries different UN agencies operate programmes without any significant co ordination, leading to overlaps and inefficiency.
It suggests the UN Development Programme as the body most suited to coordinating the roles of the many agencies. The document emphasises as a key UN aim the promotion of "sustainable" development to meet the needs of people without causing permanent environmental damage. Two thirds of UN activity is in the economic and social areas. The proposals include:
EU development ministers agreed last May that they should produce a strongly argued position on UN reform. Ireland's Minister of State, Ms Joan Burton, offered to take on the task during the Irish EU Presidency and the document is the result of a series of meetings in the second half of last year. The UN is acknowledged as overly bureaucratic, with many of agencies mushrooming into inefficient bodies whose work overlaps. Mr Annan wants to produce a coherent radical UN reform programme by the end of this year. The EU document has been passed to the senior Canadian diplomat Mr Maurice Strong.
