Global Policy Forum

By Colum Lynch

France has blocked a U.S. proposal to create a senior position for an American official in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, dealing a setback to Washington's efforts to enhance its oversight of such operations.

After objections from the French government, Secretary-General Kofi Annan rebuffed a request by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to recruit Jacques Klein, a former U.S. Air Force general overseeing UN operations in Bosnia, as deputy undersecretary for peacekeeping, U.S. and UN officials said.

In the last year, the UN peacekeeping force has nearly tripled in size, to 35,000 troops, with major operations opening or expanding in Sierra Leone, southern Lebanon and East Timor.

Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. chief delegate to the United Nations, has expressed concern that the UN peacekeeping operation does not have enough managerial expertise, money, equipment or well-trained troops to meet growing demands.

President Bill Clinton's administration says the new post of deputy undersecretary would enhance the effectiveness of peacekeeping, and that it should be filled by a respected American who can improve the organization's relations with Congress and the Pentagon.

The United States advocates beefing up the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York, which employs 410 people, about half as many as in the world body's Department of Public Information.

But France, which controls the top peacekeeping post, viewed the initiative as a challenge to its influence, according to diplomats. The French delegate, Jean-David Levitte, has complained that Washington already exerts excessive authority in the world body.

Mr. Levitte pointedly said at a news conference earlier this month that the European Union's 15 members together paid more than the United States does toward United Nations expenses. The EU pays for 36 percent of the organization's regular operating budget and 39 percent of its special peacekeeping budget, ''right on time with no arguments,'' he said.

''The U.S.A. is a single country, but it makes as much noise as if it was 15; whereas we are 15 but we sound as if we were just one country. I feel it is desirable for the 15 together to make their weight felt.'' French officials deny that they single-handedly blocked the U.S. proposal to create the post.

French officials deny that they single-handedly blocked Mrs. Albright's proposal to create a No. 2 post in the peacekeeping department, according to diplomats familiar with the dispute.