Annan unveils plans for sweeping overhaul of the United Nations

UNITED NATIONS – UN chief Kofi Annan on Tuesday called for a drastic management reform to make the world body leaner, more effective and more accountable, sparking an outcry from staff concerned about proposed outsourcing.

Annan, who is stepping down after completing his second five-year term at year-end, presented his report to the UN General Assembly in response to demands made at a summit of world leaders here last September. Called “Investing in the United Nations: For a Stronger Organisation Worldwide”, the 34-page blueprint builds on reforms initiated last year to enhance ethics and accountability and remedy lapses exposed by the Iraq oil-for-food corruption scandal, UN procurement fraud and sexual exploitation in some peacekeeping operations.One of its most controversial aspects is a proposal to outsource services such as translation, printing and publishing, medical insurance plan administration, information technology support services, payroll and staff benefits processes.At a townhall-style meeting with UN staff after his presentation to the Assembly, Annan heard strong criticism of the way the reform would be conducted.On behalf of 700 members of the staff, Rosemarie Waters, president of the Staff Union, expressed “deep disappointment over the content of the management reform …particularly the latest proposal to eradicate thousands of UN jobs as a consequence of outsourcing and offshoring.””Our current rules and regulations were designed for an essentially static Secretariat, whose main function was to service conferences and meetings of member states, and whose staff worked mainly at headquarters,” Annan earlier told the 191-member General Assembly.”That is not the United Nations of today,” he added, noting that more than 70 per cent of UN headquarters’ US$10 billion annual budget was now earmarked for peacekeeping and other field operations.”In the 16 years since the Cold War ended, we have taken on more than twice as many new peacekeeping missions than in the previous 44 years.Spending on peacekeeping has quadrupled,” he added.The 67-year-old Ghanaian noted that more than half of the UN’s 30 000 civilian staff now serve in the field, not only in peacekeeping, but also in humanitarian relief, human rights monitoring, electoral assistance and the battle against drugs and crime.Among key recommendations, Annan said the organisation should: – improve recruitment and retention of personnel capable of handling large multidisciplinary operations; – shake up the structure of top management to enable the secretary general to exercise effective authority; – increase investment in communication technology for faster information retrieval; – explore new ways to deliver services, such as relocation and outsourcing; – simplify budget and financial management processes; – increase transparency in management and budget procedures; – and create a small, dedicated office to manage the process of change, in close liaison with a small, representative group of member states.Annan also cited the need to improve geographic distribution and gender balance at the professional levels and to launch an aggressive recruitment of new talent in coming years.He said experienced staff able to be deployed rapidly and work effectively under pressure in unfamiliar circumstances would be in constant demand.The UN chief proposed that the role of deputy secretary general be redefined to grant him “formal authority and accountability for managing the organisation’s operational activities.”Last week, the UN announced that Annan’s chief of staff, Mark Malloch Brown of Britain, would take over as deputy secretary general from April 1, succeeding Canadian Louise Frechette, who is stepping down.- Nampa-AFPCalled “Investing in the United Nations: For a Stronger Organisation Worldwide”, the 34-page blueprint builds on reforms initiated last year to enhance ethics and accountability and remedy lapses exposed by the Iraq oil-for-food corruption scandal, UN procurement fraud and sexual exploitation in some peacekeeping operations.One of its most controversial aspects is a proposal to outsource services such as translation, printing and publishing, medical insurance plan administration, information technology support services, payroll and staff benefits processes.At a townhall-style meeting with UN staff after his presentation to the Assembly, Annan heard strong criticism of the way the reform would be conducted.On behalf of 700 members of the staff, Rosemarie Waters, president of the Staff Union, expressed “deep disappointment over the content of the management reform …particularly the latest proposal to eradicate thousands of UN jobs as a consequence of outsourcing and offshoring.””Our current rules and regulations were designed for an essentially static Secretariat, whose main function was to service conferences and meetings of member states, and whose staff worked mainly at headquarters,” Annan earlier told the 191-member General Assembly.”That is not the United Nations of today,” he added, noting that more than 70 per cent of UN headquarters’ US$10 billion annual budget was now earmarked for peacekeeping and other field operations.”In the 16 years since the Cold War ended, we have taken on more than twice as many new peacekeeping missions than in the previous 44 years.Spending on peacekeeping has quadrupled,” he added.The 67-year-old Ghanaian noted that more than half of the UN’s 30 000 civilian staff now serve in the field, not only in peacekeeping, but also in humanitarian relief, human rights monitoring, electoral assistance and the battle against drugs and crime.Among key recommendations, Annan said the organisation should: – improve recruitment and retention of personnel capable of handling large multidisciplinary operations; – shake up the structure of top management to enable the secretary general to exercise effective authority; – increase investment in communication technology for faster information retrieval; – explore new ways to deliver services, such as relocation and outsourcing; – simplify budget and financial management processes; – increase transparency in management and budget procedures; – and create a small, dedicated office to manage the process of change, in close liaison with a small, representative group of member states.Annan also cited the need to improve geographic distribution and gender balance at the professional levels and to launch an aggressive recruitment of new talent in coming years.He said experienced staff able to be deployed rapidly and work effectively under pressure in unfamiliar circumstances would be in constant demand.The UN chief proposed that the role of deputy secretary general be redefined to grant him “formal authority and accountability for managing the organisation’s operational activities.”Last week, the UN announced that Annan’s chief of staff, Mark Malloch Brown of Britain, would take over as deputy secretary general from April 1, succeeding Canadian Louise Frechette, who is stepping down.- Nampa-AFP