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U.N. chief seeks reform at his own pace
February 13, 1997
Web posted at: 5:15 p.m. EST (2215 GMT)In this story:
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Responding to U.S. criticism that reforms at the United Nations are proceeding too slowly, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday he was "personally" in charge of streamlining the organization.
In his first news conference at U.N. headquarters since taking over on January 1, Annan said U.N. reforms are a "process," not an "event."
He was reacting to criticism over his intention to present a comprehensive reform plan by late summer for approval by the General Assembly in the fall. By then, he hopes to have a deputy in place to help focus on the reform process, Annan said.
Annan took office after the United States vetoed Boutros Boutros-Ghali for a second term, claiming he was sluggish in reforming the cumbersome U.N. structure.
The Ghanaian diplomat, who has been with the United Nations for more than 30 years, said he is slimming down the U.N. bureaucracy in ways that are within his authority.
Annan said he has already asked the organization to reduce by 25 percent its paperwork in 1997, including documents from the Security Council and the General Assembly.
Rwandan tribunal mismanagement alleged
He also pledged to take disciplinary action if necessary against top officials of the international war crimes tribunal for Rwanda accused of mismanagement.
Asked at the news conference whether "heads would roll" following Wednesday's publication of an internal report highly critical of tribunal personnel, Annan replied, "If disciplinary action is required, we will take disciplinary action."
He declined to say whether punishment, if any, might include firing chief administrator, Andronico Adede of Kenya, and the deputy prosecutor Honoure Rakotomanana of Madagascar, whose offices were singled out for criticism in the report.
Annan has summoned those two to New York, along with Canadian chief prosecutor Louise Arbour, for a meeting next week to discuss the findings of a report by the U.N. inspector-general, Karl Paschke.
In his report, Paschke found mismanagement, unqualified staff, and financial waste in the tribunal's offices in Arusha, Tanzania, and Kigali, Rwanda's capital.
Related stories:
- Annan seeks more efficient United Nations - December 17, 1996
- United welcome for Annan's promise of U.N. reform - December 14, 1996
- U.N. picks soft-spoken diplomat as secretary-general - December 13, 1996
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