Roadblocks to Reform

April 26, 2006
According to a New York Times article, a group of small developing countries is trying to block Kofi Annan’s latest attempts to reform the outdated rules and procedures of the UN. The process of reform at the United Nations has been constantly met by resistance from different international factions. This most recent attempt comes from the Group of 77, representing 132 developing nations, as they believe the proposed reforms take too much power away from the General Assembly. Developing countries hold the vast majority of the power in the General Assembly and therefore are fighting to maintain that power, rather than have it transferred to the office of the Secretary General. The biggest issue at hand is the ability to make budgetary choices, which under Annan’s proposal would now become a power of his office. Very few countries disagree that there needs to be drastic management changes throughout the United Nations, but the developing countries see this as the beginning of the end for any power and say they may have in the decision-making process in the UN. The United States has long advocated reforms at the United Nations, and sees this potential for scrapping important reforms as a major setback in the attempt to retool the aging organization. And this time, they hope that the Group of 77 does not bring their proposal of scrapping these reforms to a vote by the entire General Assembly.
To read the entire article, click here.
To read an editorial from the New York Times on this issue, click here.