UN REFORM: UN SECRETARY-GENERAL INTRODUCES MANDATE

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000681 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC KUNR UNGA SUBJECT: UN REFORM: UN SECRETARY-GENERAL INTRODUCES MANDATE REVIEW REPORT REF: USUN 599 USUN 561 USUN 527 ¶1. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented his report, entitled "Mandating and delivering: analysis and recommendations to facilitate the review of mandates" (A/60/733),to the General Assembly on March 30. In introducing the report, the SYG said "The review of mandates is a unique opportunity to strengthen and adapt our Organization to the priorities of today, and I am sure you will not fail to seize it." (Note: his statement is available at www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10398.doc .htm.) 2, Noting that the report responds to the request world leaders made at the Summit in September 2005 that Member States should "review all mandates older than five years", he said that while not containing the full range of analyses of the Organization's work that could be made, the report provided a framework for the review process. The SYG continued that the report highlighted patterns in the mandates and gave examples of some of the problems. He noted that along with the online registry of all active mandates older than five years originating from resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, ECOSOC and the Security Council, Member States were provided with the initial tools to undertake their review. (Note: the online registry (www.un.org/mandatereview/) identifies those mandates that have been renewed in the past five years and also includes those mandates issued since September 2000 for reference purposes so that the membership will have access to the totality of mandates.) Annan noted that while the online registry does not contain the full range of analyses, including on the effectiveness of particular mandates, it should enable Member States to review any active mandate, or group of mandates, that they believed merited examination. He said the Secretariat will provide additional information as necessary. ¶3. Recalling that the first review of mandates was conducted in 1954 when SYG Dag Hammarskjold concluded that "the very nature of the responsibilities that must be assumed by the Secretary-General and his senior staff imposes a limit on the SIPDIS volume of the tasks that can be handled effectively", he said that was even truer today, when the number of mandates was so much greater. There was only so much that the SYG and his senior managers could effectively deliver and manage, he said, especially when they were asked to do so "within limited resources." ¶4. Continuing, Annan said the aim must be to make sure that the solutions and strategies we develop to deal with global issues are complementary and mutually reinforcing, so that the Organization as a whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Member States must choose between urgent and less urgent mandates, he said. This "was not a call for the UN to do less, though that might be one result. It was a call for it to do better." He said the mandate review should help Member States to determine the priorities for the Organization. He continued that while there were real opportunities to achieve results in the short term, a full review of mandates would take time and sustained commitment. He also noted that other processes underway, including the management reform efforts, the review of governance and oversight, the examination of system-wide coherence, and the revitalization of the General Assembly, would provide the tools to implement mandates better. ¶5. GA President Eliasson, commenting on his recent appointment as Foreign Minister of Sweden, said he will remain actively involved until September (the end of his term as GA President). The mandate review will be a challenging task, he said, but he believed that "through dialogue and a constructive approach, you and we will be able to achieve good and meaningful results." He announced that Plenary informal consultations under the leadership of Co-Chairs Rock and Akram will begin next week enabling Member States to convey their initial views on the report. BOLTON