SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH SENIOR ADVISERS ON REFORM PROCESS
Press Release
SG/SM/6146
SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS WITH SENIOR ADVISERS ON REFORM PROCESS
19970120 The following statement was issued on Saturday, 18 January, by the Acting Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:Secretary-General Kofi Annan today took personal direction of United Nations reform in a 90-minute Saturday morning meeting with senior advisers that addressed the time-frame and the process for the reform effort.
With him were Maurice Strong, whom he named Friday as his Executive Coordinator for United Nations Reform; James Gustave Speth, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme; Ismat Kittani, Under-Secretary- General in his office; Joseph E. Connor, Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management; S. Iqbal Riza, his Chef de Cabinet; and senior aides.
The Secretary-General stressed that there was a window of opportunity, and urged immediate action. Reform had been discussed long enough; another group of eminent persons was not required. He now wanted a comprehensive package acceptable to all Member States.
To assemble the package, intensive and wide consultation would be needed, he said. He would work closely with governments, and would consult internally, reaching beyond New York to the United Nations system as a whole.
The Secretary-General's goal is to finalize the package by mid-summer.
Meanwhile, he is moving to streamline procedures under his direct control as chief administrative officer. In his first two weeks in office, he eliminated one layer of bureaucracy by delegating to Department heads responsibility for briefing the Security Council on threats to international peace and security. He has established a cabinet-style of administration by creating a Policy Coordination Group. Also, he set up the reform action group that met today.
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