by Kofi Annan

(Ed. note: This is an extract of the speech given by the new secretary-general of the United Nations on 16 July 1997 in New York, U.S.A.)

16 July 1997
New York
Mr. President,
Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today we take a momentous step forward. You now have before you a full programme of measures and recommendations for reforming and renewing the organization. It encompasses all of the reform measures and proposals initiated during my first six months in office. It takes us in many new directions as well. Allow me to review for you some of the highlights.

For the United Nations to pursue our core objectives, for us to carry out the tasks with which we are entrusted, we must first refine our leadership and our management. Accordingly, a senior management group will be formed that will function like a cabinet and help lead the process of change. A strategic planning unit will also be established within my office to identify and analyze emerging global issues and trends. Four executive committees, which I established in January to guide the organization in its principal areas of work, will be strengthened as well. Moreover, I will recommend to the General Assembly that the post of deputy secretary-general be established. A deputy secretary-general will assist me in leading this diverse and global organization. The deputy secretary-general will be in charge of the secretariat during my absence from headquarters and will spearhead the organization’s efforts to raise financing for development. The deputy secretary-general will also ensure the coherence of the organization’s cross-sectoral activities.

The United Nations also needs streamlining. My reforms accomplish this in several ways:

• By proposing a no-growth budget (this will be the first time in a generation that there has been negative growth, in real terms, in the U.N. budget);
• By eliminating 1,000 posts - a 25 percent cut from a decade ago;
• By reducing administrative costs by 33 percent (these savings will be reallocated to development); and
• By cutting back on documentation (by the end of this year, we will have reduced our use of paper by 30 percent).

I also want to end the persistent state of near-bankruptcy in which the organization has been living for far too long. Too many member states are failing to discharge their treaty obligation to pay their contributions in full, on time and without preconditions.

In response, I am proposing that member states establish a revolving credit fund, initially capitalized at a level of up to US billion through voluntary contributions or any other means that member states may wish to suggest. Let me be clear: assuring the organization’s financial viability is not only an essential part of reform, it is a condition for the very success of reform. Reform must enhance our ability to promote development and address the root causes of poverty and conflict. The grouping of U.N. funds and programmes engaged in development into a United Nations Development Group will foster consolidation and cooperation amongst them without compromising their distinctiveness or identity. This idea will be carried through to the field level as well where all U.N. entities will function under "one flag" in a single "United Nations House." I am proud to announce that the first such designation, effective immediately, will apply to the U.N. presence in South Africa.

Let us turn now to the question of financing for development. Put simply, we need more financial resources for development, whether from the private sector or governmental sources. I am therefore creating an Office for Development Financing. Raising such funds requires a concerted and full-time effort. My report also proposes a "development dividend" in order to shift resources from administration to economic and social activities. Our projections are that it will reach a level of at least US0 million by the year 2002. I am also proposing that a down payment be made in January 1998 from savings achieved from the current biennium’s budget.

The programme of reform you have in your hands will affect virtually every department and every activity of the United Nations. It contains proposals for increasing the speed with which we can deploy peacekeeping and other field operations. It focuses on improving our capacity for peace-building, advancing the disarmament agenda and strengthening the environmental dimension of U.N. activities. It proposes ways to combat the scourge of "uncivil society" - criminals, drug pushers and terrorists. It reorients our public information activities so that the world’s peoples better understand our goals, our role and our range of activities. It calls for simplified administrative procedures and for a thorough overhaul of human resource policies and practices. It advocates major restructuring in several areas, including economic and social affairs, human rights and humanitarian affairs. The advancement of human rights needs to be integrated into all principal U.N. activities and programmes. We need to deal more effectively with complex humanitarian emergencies. Accordingly, a new Emergency Relief Coordination Office will be established to replace the Department of Humanitarian Affairs.

The natural complement to these proposals would be certain changes of a more fundamental nature, which can be undertaken only by member states. Several of these changes relate to the General Assembly. I have suggested, for instance, that the General Assembly refocus its work on issues of highest priority and reduce the length of its sessions. I am proposing that the assembly enact "sunset provisions" - specific time limits - for initiatives involving new organizational structures or major commitments of funds. Perhaps most significantly, I urge this assembly to consider adopting a new system of budgeting - a shift from input accounting to "results-based budgeting." This approach, which many member states already use at the national level, would give the secretariat greater flexibility while maintaining strict accountability. Finally, I have recommended that member states consider establishing a commission to study the need for fundamental change in the system at large - the specialized agencies which are essential members of the U.N. family.

These are, in broad outline, the reforms that I am submitting for your consideration. I am confident of their soundness. I am convinced of their necessity and dedicated to their implementation.

We stand at the threshold of a new beginning for the United Nations. Our aspiration with this reform plan - simply and immediately - is to transform the conception, quality and delivery of the services we provide. That is what you and the world demand of us. No less do we demand of ourselves. This is my pledge to you and to the world: that starting today, we begin a quiet revolution in the United Nations.