UNITED NATIONS MEMBER STATES PRODUCE REFORM PLAN
Press Release
GA/9285
ORG/1241
UNITED NATIONS MEMBER STATES PRODUCE REFORM PLAN
19970718 The following communique was issued on Monday, 14 July, by the Vice- Chairmen of the General Assembly's open-ended high-level working group on strengthening the United Nations system, Hans Jacob Biorn Lian (Norway) and Prakash Shah (India):Completing one of the broadest reviews of the functioning of the General Assembly and the United Nations Secretariat ever undertaken, the Assembly's open-ended high-level working group on strengthening the United Nations system achieved consensus agreement on 10 July on almost 100 measures for improving both the effectiveness and the efficiency of the world body. Agreement on the unusually broad-based package of reforms was reached after two years of research, debate and often hard-fought negotiation. Because its deliberations were open to all 185 Member States -- none of which expressed any reservations about its conclusions -- the working group's final report and recommendations are expected to be swiftly approved by the Assembly.
The leadership of the working group, chaired by the President of the General Assembly, Razali Ismail (Malaysia), and co-chaired by Ambassadors Prakash Shah (India) and Hans Jacob Biorn Lian (Norway), has regularly informed Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the working group's progress to ensure close coordination between the reform efforts at the intergovernmental and Secretariat levels. Several of the group's recommendations -- such as creating a clear pyramidal structure for senior posts and a top management group under the Secretary-General, improving staff training, rotation, performance appraisal, gender balance and requiring financial disclosures for senior management -- are already being implemented by the Secretary-General.
A great deal of time and debate was devoted to the process of selecting the Secretary-General. It was agreed that the process should be more transparent in the future, the Assembly should make full use of it power of appointment under the Charter and the President of the General Assembly could play a useful role in identifying potential candidates. In two significant steps, the group urged that the Secretary-General be appointed no later than one month before the date on which the term of the incumbent expires and that the duration of the term or terms of appointment, including the option of a single term, be considered before the appointment of the next Secretary- General.
In a major innovation, the working group has called for uniform terms and term limits -- four years, once renewable -- for the heads of programmes,
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funds and other United Nations bodies. It has encourages specialized agencies and the Secretary-General to adopt similar rules for top posts.
Acutely aware of the need to improve accountability without engaging in micro-management, the working group has put forward a number of steps to enhance reporting by the Secretary-General while calling on intergovernmental bodies to reduce the number and frequency of reports required of the Secretariat.
The group has proposed a new, accelerated schedule for the General Assembly and a series of measures to streamline and rationalize its agenda and the work of its Main Committees and other subordinate bodies. Under the new rules, the Assembly session will convene earlier in September, the general debate will be limited to two weeks, and voluntary time limits of 20 minutes in the general debate and 15 minutes in plenary and Main Committee will be observed. Following the general debate, the Secretary-General will be asked to open a forward-looking debate on the work of the Organization. This step, plus the convening of question-time opportunities for top Secretariat officials to meet with the Main Committees, will ensure a more dynamic and candid interchange between Member States and those responsible for implementing mandates.
While none of these measure individually are dramatic or revolutionary, as a package they promise to reaffirm the role of the General Assembly and to redefine Member State-Secretariat relations for an era of growing demands and fresh challenges. Through its efforts, the working groups has demonstrated the value of open-ended, consensus-based deliberations, even as it has identified a number of issued on which further work will be required in the months and years ahead.
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Note: For further information contact Edward Luck, Strengthening Working Group, tel.: (212) 963-2833.