Last week’s budget compromise in the UN General Assembly seems to be a satisfactory, albeit interim, measure to ensure funding for the Secretariat for the first half of 2006 without perpetuating the status quo. Maintaining momentum for meaningful management reform is critical, so it is helpful that member states will have to readdress these issues in a few months’ time. more

The Secretary-General has fired Carina Perelli, the head of the UN’s Electoral Assistance Division, for harassment of staff and abuse of authority. Holding a senior official accountable for management failures is exactly what a strong leader of an organization should do. However, the standard set by the dismissal of Perelli contrasts with the low standard of accountability established by the Secretariat’s muted response to the large, ongoing and widespread management lapses reported by the Volcker Commission. more

In a disturbing sign of the UN Secretariat’s inability to implement even uncontroversial measures, the UN still hasn’t taken steps to protect staffers who accuse superiors of misconduct, 16 months after a commitment by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to “develop measures to reinforce formal protection for whistle-blowers” (see article). more

The New York Times’ 14 September editorial laments the shortcomings of the UN Summit’s Outcome Document. The article decries the lack of management reform proposals, stating that the world leaders’ declaration “should have given the secretary general the power to bypass patronage and rely on merit in choosing and retaining senior officials, creating a crucial institutional safeguard against a replay of the oil-for-food fiasco.” Low Level Panel members couldn’t agree more.

In a speech to the GA today, Deputy US Perm. Rep. Anne Patterson criticized the draft outcome document for the 14-16 September UN Summit. Of interest to the low level panel, Patterson said that the US “is committed to a package of sweeping reforms that will change the face of the United Nations [including] improved UN management practices that bring a level of transparency and accountability that has previously been lacking.” more

Now that the US right-wing onslaught against the UN has subsided somewhat, how will the UN’s leadership move forward on internal reform? Will they wait until after the September summit, and, if so, for how long? USG Chris Burnham is promising “a lean, mean operation” - how will this be achieved in the face of a highly entrenched bureaucracy, and with many member states demanding appointments for their nationals? more

UNDP’s recent round of promotions saw almost 10 times the number of senior managers receive promotions as junior staff. While only nine people were promoted to the junior-level P2 and P3 positions, 83 people were promoted to the senior-level P-5, D-1 and D-2 levels. more

Is working for the United Nations just another job? Or should one feel a sense of honour and even self-sacrifice in working for the UN? After all, our clients are ultimately the hundreds of millions of people enduring extreme poverty, tyranny and the ravages of war. more

This year is the year to begin a major overhaul of the Secretariat – for five reasons. more

Ever since Mark Malloch Brown arrived on the 38th floor of UN Secretariat headquarters in New York, the UN New York community has been speculating about how long it would take before the SG announced an internal overhaul on a scale similar to what MMB oversaw across the road at the UN Development Programme. The speculation about when has now changed to debate about whether it will happen at all. more