NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS FIRST SIX WEEKS OF UN REFORM OUTLINED IN BACKGROUND NOTE FROM SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPOKESMAN

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NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS FIRST SIX WEEKS OF UN REFORM OUTLINED IN BACKGROUND NOTE FROM SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPOKESMAN

The following background information on United Nations reforms, instituted in the first six weeks of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's term, was issued today by the Secretary-General's Spokesman:

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is pursuing United Nations reform on two tracks.

First, as chief administrative officer, he is streamlining the Secretariat in ways that are within his authority. But change is a process, not an event, he says. Managerial reform will be ongoing.

Second, he will seek to work with Member governments to make those structural changes in the Organization which can be done only with their approval. He has already met with the five regional groups. In consultation with governments, and with the President of the General Assembly, he will develop a reform package by late summer. He hopes that governments would approve the package at the General Assembly this fall.

The Secretary-General, meanwhile, is already downsizing, streamlining and consolidating the Secretariat.

He has taken personal charge of the reform effort, appointing Maurice F. Strong as Executive Coordinator to assist and advise him. As part of his work, Mr. Strong is pulling together all the studies and analyses on reform done inside and outside the Secretariat.

The Secretary-General has introduced cabinet-style administration by creating the Policy Co-ordination Group, made up of senior officials from the Secretariat, as well as from the United Nations Funds and Programmes. He chairs twice-monthly meetings. This Group permits effective coordination, for the first time, among the substantive departments of the Secretariat and also operational bodies, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

- 2 - Note No. 5396 13 February 1997

The Group coordinates reform, develops policy, eliminates overlap and promotes teamwork. The work of the Group is focused on the four core areas he has identified where the United Nations has competitive advantage: peace and security, humanitarian affairs, economic and social affairs and development. (Human rights relates to all four.) Each core area is covered by an executive committee made up of the heads of all relevant United Nations bodies. As these are decision-making and management instruments, they focus on the work of the Organization.

The Secretary-General has asked each department, fund and programme to initiate internal reform reviews to improve management, simplify administration, modernize work methods and achieve effective cost savings.

He has set an example in his own office by eliminating the posts of three senior political advisers. He now invites heads of substantive departments, with an assistant, to his high-level meetings. This keeps the relevant departments "in the loop". Heads of departments, rather than one senior adviser, now brief the Security Council, making possible more in-depth sharing of information. The bottom line is that Secretariat staff feel more in control of their work, more responsible for their portfolios and better motivated to perform.

The Secretary-General has ordered a 25 per cent reduction of paperwork in 1997 by lowering the current page limit for Security Council documents from 24 to 16, and for General Assembly documents from 32 to 24.

He has established within his office an external affairs unit to engage the public at large in the work of the United Nations and to explain the United Nations in simple language to everyday people in business, universities and colleges, church groups, labour unions and private organizations. This responsibility was previously divided among three senior officials.

In sum, the Secretary-General is committed to achieving a leaner, more efficient and more effective United Nations that is relevant to the challenges of the post-cold-war world, which is also the aim of Member States.

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