International Bulletin - Spring 1997
Report on the United Nations
This winter at the United Nations has not been a quiet one. Over the past two months, the following Commissions have met, with many non-governmental organizations attending: the Population Commission to discuss problems of migration, Social Development to focus on productive employment and sustainable live1ihoods (the second major program area was approved two years ago at the World Summit in Copenhagen), Status of Women to discuss women & the environment and women in the economy. In April there will be the fifth meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development which is preparing for the Special Session of the General Assembly (GA) on the Earth Summit + 5 in late June, an update on what has happened since the Rio Conference on the Environment & Development in '92. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been very involved with all of these meetings, and with the Status of Women in particular. So, you can see the emphasis of the UN's work on the world's major social and humanitarian problems - 80% of its total. Additionally, there are committees working on the access of non-governmental organizations to the GA and its various committees.
Last but not least, are the reform processes underway at the UN, and its financial affairs. The SG has already announced the following:
- downsizing of the Secretariat by 1,000 jobs,
- a new budget for '98-'99 down nearly $150Mn,
- consolidation into one department of the current three on economic policies,
- a new coordination Committee that will meet more often with the SG,
- a code of conduct for UN personnel,
- the consolidation of Conference Services (serving primarily the GA) into a new Department of Administration and Management,
- transfer of administration funding to development programs,
- the placing of the UN Development Programme as the body responsible for overseeing all development work and coordinating all agencies at the country level (including the UN Information Centers),
- a 25% decrease in documentation,
- reorganization of the UN's communications and information to the various publics, and
- increased emphasis on more women in high-level posts.
This is only the beginning of a larger package of reforms to be announced in July.
The Security Council is considering various proposals to expand its membership to 19 or 24 countries on both a permanent and revolving basis (at present there are the permanent five with veto power, and 11 others on a revolving basis). The US is backing only Germany and Japan for permanent seats.(but without veto power)
Finally, there are many discussions on revising the International Court of Justice, creating an International Court for Criminal Justice, and on the future of the Trusteeship Council.
Hopefully, all of this will influence the US Congress to loosen our purse strings and pay our arrears, now amounting to $1.6Bn.
The UNA-USA has published its Global Policy project on "The Crisis and Reform in United Nations Financing" which should have an affect in Washington. Our new Assistant Secretary of State Princeton Lyman briefed the UNA-USA on plans for funding the UN and paying our arrears, with $100Mn to be paid this year and $900Mn+ next year. This subject will be the major topic at UNA-USA's National Convention in Washington June 4th - 7th, with visits to Capitol Hill on June 5th.
The other major subject at the convention will be the new Strategic Plan for UNA-USA. This includes a mission statement, a section on basic principles for operations and advocacy, revision and expansion of the Board of Directors and many sections on education and public outreach, development of resources, better communications and corporate programs (with respect to the latter, the SG has issued a strong statement asking for ore corporate and private sector support for the UN).
Last Modified: November 29, 2002