UN reform : an attempt at a coup

2005-11-28

Richard Moore

This propaganda piece is selling the concept of "UN
reform": an attempt to make the UN even more subservient
to Anglo-American imperialist interests. I'm including a
section on this in my book.

rkm

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/27/wbolton27.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/11/27/ixportal.html

Britain opposes Bolton tactic on UN reform 
By Philip Sherwell in Washington 
(Filed: 27/11/2005) 

Britain has rejected a proposal by John Bolton, America's
combative ambassador to the United Nations, to block the
upcoming UN budget as a tactic to push throughdisputed
reforms.

The rare public disagreement between the two close allies
comes as the showdown over reforms at the UN's New York
headquarters becomes increasingly acrimonious.



John Bolton: Angered

Britain has rebuffed a Bolton move to join him in refusing
to pass the organisation's 2006 budget until member states
approve wide-ranging management reforms.

To the irritation of Mr Bolton, many developing nations
are bitterly opposed to changes that they claim are driven
by American political pressure. He suggested last week
that talks on the 2006 and 2007 budgets could be postponed
as a means to overcome the trenchant resistance from the
"G77" bloc of developing countries. He also threatened
that the United States could seek an alternative to the UN
for solving international problems in future.

Britain strongly supports the reform package, but along
with the other 24 EU states it has ruled out a budget
delay. "We are not in favour of holding any individual
items or the budget hostage to other issues but we do say
very clearly that by the end of this year we need clarity
and a determination to tackle a better management for the
United Nations," said the British ambassador Emyr Jones
Parry.

Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, said that any delay
in approving next year's budget would create a "serious
financial crisis". Mr Bolton says a temporary budget could
be passed to ensure UN operations did not grind to a halt.

The reform proposals are intended to improve the
efficiency and running of the UN bureaucracy by handing
the secretary general's office greater power to oversee
management, finance and staffing. These responsibilities
are currently the remit of the unwieldly 191-state General
Assembly, where developing nations fear losing their
influence.

The changes - agreed at the UN World Summit in September
following a damning report into the oil-for-food scandal -
are already a watered-down version of what America and the
EU had hoped for.

The stand-off is also frustrating Mr Annan, who is
desperate to introduce reforms before he leaves office
next year in an attempt to improve a reputation badly
tarnished by the scandal.

"We have to get past this political dogfight. We just hope
that both sides can sober up and reach some agreement on
this," Mark Malloch Brown, Mr Annan's British chief of
staff, told the Sunday Telegraph. "The UN needs a
first-class international public administration capable of
meeting its challenges and we don't have that right now."

Western diplomats hope that there may be progress before
the end of the year on limited changes such as new ethics
committee and overhauling the discredited human rights
commission. But they are braced for "trench warfare" on
management reforms.

"The hostility and conflict in the debate about reforms
illustrate the many fault lines in the organisation," said
a senior Western envoy. "It is going to be a long hard
slog."

Mr Bolton, a long-time and vocal UN critic, arrived in New
York four months ago with a reputation as an
uncompromising tough talker. Privately, British diplomats
express surprise that he has not made greater efforts to
cultivate them or build alliances. "You're either with him
or against him," said one.

©Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005. Terms & Conditions of reading. 

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