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Canada & the UN > Newton Bowles Reports

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The Secretary-General's Reform Package

Reform is not new at the UN. Major diagnostic and therapeutic examinations go back at least thirty years. In the past decade big donors-- the Nordics, Canada-- have had a special concern about development programs, pressing for coherent inter-governmental oversight and efficient coordination inside the Secretariat. More generally, the accretion of tasks big and small, piled on by the General Assembly and compounded by staff appointments "to assure geographical representation" was choking the Secretariat. Into this scene strode the U.S.A.: Reform or else. No one likes a gun to the head, although in this case it turned out that the gun was not loaded. Nevertheless, the U.S. tantrum did speed things up. Scape-goat Boutros-Ghali was out; 1997, Kofi Annan was in. Kofi Annan made his ceremonial pilgrimage to Washington, hands were clasped: ah wilderness! Canada's Maurice Strong to the rescue, the Secretary-General's strong man to bang heads and hammer together a better house. Intermingled in this drama is the G.A.'s High Level Working Group on Strengthening the United Nations. By July 1997-- a tour de force-- the Secretary-General presented his reform package. Also in July the Working Group reached consensus on many reforms, consonant with the Secretary-General's proposals, and closed shop. Good preparation for formal consideration by G.A. '52.

The Secretary-General's reform package-- "Reviving the United Nations: A Programme for Reform"-- is comprehensive and detailed, running to 95 pages. In the main it deals with in-house reform but it also has important reform ideas that require G.A. decision.

Here are highlights of in-house reform, nearly all within the authority of the Secretary-General.

  • Create new post of Deputy Secretary-General.
  • Upgrade disarmament to a Department headed by an Under-Secretary.
  • Consolidate three Economic and Social Departments into one.
  • Consolidate and upgrade Drugs and Crime in a single office in Vienna.
  • Consolidate Human Rights Centre in Geneva within the High Commissioner's office.
  • Replace the Department of Humanitarian Affairs with an Emergency Relief Coordination Office.
  • Institute "cabinet" management of Secretariat: Senior Management Group meeting every Wednesday supported by Strategic Planning Unit.
  • Create four inter-departmental "Executive Committees" for core functions:
    • Peace and Security
    • Economic and Social Affairs
    • Development Cooperation
    • Humanitarian Affairs
  • Human Rights will participate in all four. Executive Committees will coordinate policy and operations
  • At country level, bring all UN entities together in one house under "one flag," along with decentralized authority
  • Overall reduction of costs (negative growth budget) by 25% reduction in staff (1,000 posts), 30% reduction in documents, consolidation of administrative functions and many other efficiency actions. Administrative savings should be used to support economic and social development; and a new Office of Development Financing should be established.

While the General Assembly likes to be consulted and informed on management, all of the above lie within the Secretary-General's authority except the proposed new Deputy Secretary-General. Other reforms for G.A. consideration include:

Focusing G.A. debates on high priority issues (e.g. a theme a year, like ECOSOC now)
Establishing a Ministerial Commission to review the UN Charter and the legal basis for the Specialized Agencies
Make Trusteeship Council responsible for the global environment and the global commons (oceans, atmosphere, outer space)
Designating the G.A. in the year 2000 as the "Millennium Assembly" to prepare the UN for the next century; along with a companion "People's Assembly" (A Millennium Forum)
New activities to have a time frame-- a beginning and an end (sunset)
UN budget to be based on "results"
G.A. to respect Secretary-General's responsibilities and stop intruding into appointments and so on (the S/G's wording is more polite)
Establish a Revolving Credit Fund of voluntary contributions up to $1 billion, as a stop-gap way to keep the UN afloat
So there you have, in essence, the whole reform panoply. Not quite the brave new world, but a serious and meticulous construct for what can be done today.