Wedgwood op-ed proposes “competitive multilateralism” to make U.N. perform better
In an NY Times op-ed, political scientist Ruth Wedgwood suggests that “outside competition” may be the key to prompting institutional reform at the U.N. Wedgwood proposes that member states might consider using regional organizations (such as Nato) and non-U.N. conventions (such as the Cybercrime Convention) as transnational means of achieving common objectives, the purpose being to prompt the U.N. to perform better (via meaningful reforms) or face irrelevancy. more
UN Staff positive about UN
5320 UN staff from around the UN system responded to a survey on what they thought about the UN. The good news: 85% would join the Organisation again today, and half believe in the current reforms. Most believe bureaucracy is the UN’s biggest weakness, and two-thirds believe having connections is the best way to work your way up the career ladder. And 7 out of 10 of the respondents find their work stimulating and only a third have looked for work outside the UN since joining the Organisation. The results and background to the survey are here.
Contrasting the Perelli firing with Oil-for-Food
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
Secretariat’s whistle-blower reforms are 16 months overdue
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
UN Summit document disappoints
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.
Latest Member State thinking on reform
The Member States released a summary of their latest thinking on the reform issues ahead of the September summit. The management reform suggestions look pretty vague. Especially alarming is the request that the SG provide an implementation plan for management reform for discussion by the General Assembly in the first quarter of 2006. If there is to be any chance of beginning a large-scale overhaul before this SG leaves at the end of next year, Member States need to endorse it this September, not request more studies and reports. more
Member States should focus management…
…reform energy on profound improvements; not focus on responses to exceptional cases such as Sevan and Yakovlev
Criminal corruption, such as that found by the Volcker inquiry, or outrageous behaviour, such as the harassment described in the Office of Internal Oversight Services’ report on former UN Refugees chief Ruud Lubbers, are extremely rare at the UN. Member States should not focus too much of their management reform energy on these exceptional cases at the expense of the wider, deeper problems. There is some evidence some Member States are doing just that. more
Member State positions on Secretariat management reform ahead of the September summit
The draft outcomes document of 22 July contains the Member State thinking on internal Secretariat reform. It does contain some strong pro-reform language - and some detail. Unfortunately, it also builds in future decision-points, rather than just telling the SG to get on with it. The Aussie Permanent Representative John Dauth said it remained “A work in progress.” The management reform provisions are here: more
USG Management Burnham comment on loyalty not helpful for SG
Staff from the office of this SG - like many before them - have often complained that Member States interfere in the affairs of the Secretariat too much. They are asking for Member States to grant more explicit authority - over mandates and resourcing for example. Member States cite two reasons why they are inclined to decline this request - one old and one new. First, representatives from Member States often say that the Secretary-General has not used the authority he currently has, so why should they delegate more? Now, the new USG for Management, Christopher Burnham, may have inadvertently further weakened the SG’s hand - with a comment to the Washington Post last month saying his primary loyalty was to the USA. Reuters cited a Member State diplomat’s response: “People are saying, ‘That’s the man you want to delegate authority to, instead of the General Assembly?’” more
US critical of draft outcome document for UN Summit in September
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
