UN REFORM: AMBASSADOR BOLTON MEETS WITH JAPAN'S

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000599 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC KUNR UNGA SUBJECT: UN REFORM: AMBASSADOR BOLTON MEETS WITH JAPAN'S SPECIAL AMBASSADOR FOR UN REFORM REF: A. USUN 442 ¶B. USUN 461 USUN 481 ¶C. USUN 527 ¶D. USUN 561 ¶1. SUMMARY: Ambassador Bolton met with Ambassador Takasu, GOJ Special Ambassador for UN Reform, on March 23 to review the state-of-play on UN reform. Ambassador Takasu said the management reform report (A/60/692) is problematic because it will cost several hundred million dollars to implement its major proposals. He said the immediate focus should be on the mandate review process (the report is scheduled to be introduced in GA Plenary on March 30) since it may be possible to reach some significant agreements by June, when the $950 million spending authority is expected to run out. Ambassador Takasu remarked that if we did not achieve significant results on the mandate review list we have jointly agreed on (circulated during the meeting) by June 30, the GOJ will not agree to lifting the UN budget spending cap. Ambassador Bolton said the members of JUSCANZ (Japan, U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and others should agree on which issues can be implemented under the Secretary-General's own authority and ask him to take action on them by June 30. Ambassador Bolton told Takasu that the U.S. would keep the Palestinian mandates on its list for early action. While not ruling out using savings for new management reform initiatives, Amb. Bolton said the U.S. would not agree that all savings would be automatically used for such purposes, noting that some of the savings must be given back to the taxpayer. He reiterated the U.S. position that there must be visible progress on UN reform as well as an agreed roadmap to continue the process by June 30 END SUMMARY. ¶2. Ambassador Bolton met with Ambassador Takasu, the GOJ's Special Ambassador for UN Reform, on March 23. Ambassador Ozawa and other members of Japan's UN Mission attended, as well as Ambassador Wolff and other mission and department officers. Ambassador Takasu suggested that while Japan and the U.S. should enthusiastically react to the management reform report, our strategy should be to concentrate on the mandate review process (the report is scheduled to be introduced in GA Plenary on March 30). He said that the management reform report presented problems for Japan, particularly since implementation of several of its major proposals would cost several hundred million dollars. Notwithstanding these reservations, Ambassador Takasu said that the management reform initiatives would be considered seriously. He circulated the following list of Japan's 5 priorities for management reform action, but said that he would "not cry" if none of them were implemented by this June. -- redeployment of staff and resources to meet new requirements; -- staff mobility (proposal 2); -- outsourcing (proposals 11-12); -- procurement reform (proposals 13-15); and -- improvement in program planning, including termination of the Committee for Program and Coordination (CPC) (proposals 18 and 21). ¶3. Ambassador Takasu said he expected substantive negotiations on mandate review to start at the end of April and that it might be possible to reach some significant agreements by the June 30 budget deadline. He circulated the following list of 20 items, agreed to by Japan and the U.S., that should be pursued for early decision. Takasu said the Security Council should begin reviewing mandates immediately upon issuance of the mandate review report without GA involvement. -- SC MANDATES UN Political Office in Somalia UN Office in Guinea-Bissau UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Office of the Special Represenative of the SYG in the Great Lakes Regios of Africa -- GA Mandates Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions on Central Africa Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples Special Committee on the Charter of the UN and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization Group of Governmental Experts Meetings on Disarmament Regular program of technical cooperation Subvention to UNITAR, INSTRAW, UNIDIR Follow up to Durban Declaration on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, etc. Committee on Information Mandate Authorizing payment of premium subsistence allowances Committee on Program and Coordination -- GA/ECOSOC MANDATES Committee of Experts on Public Administration UNCTAD DESA Regional Commissions Working Group on Indigenous Populations ¶4. Ambassador Bolton said the members of JUSCANZ (Japan, U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and others should agree on which issues can be implemented under the Secretary-General's own authority and ask him to take action SIPDIS on them by June 30. He also said the U.S. would not exclude the Palestinian mandates from early consideration, adding that it was also important that the U.S. Congress see that savings have been achieved. Ambassador Bolton did not rule out using savings for new management reform initiatives but did not agree that all savings would automatically be used for such purposes. Ambassador Takasu cautioned that the mandate review exercise should not be perceived as a budget-cutting exercise. While he did not agree with "compartmentalizing" (or "enveloping") - using savings derived from the elimination of mandates to automatically fund activities in the same thematic area (e.g., development) - he said we should signal that any such savings would be used for other UN activities. He also said we should somehow "build confidence" on development. He also noted that Canada, Australia and New Zealand believed that savings should go into an account for future expenditures. ¶5. In testimony next week, Amb. Bolton said he would tell the House International Affairs Committee that he anticipated early savings from the UN reform process. Two other critical achievements by June would be to implement significant management reforms and to agree on a roadmap to continue the reform process. Ambassador Takasu remarked that if we did not achieve significant results on the mutually agreed list of mandates by June 30, the GOJ would not agree to lift the UN budget spending cap. BOLTON