Annan Has a Plan to Revitalize U.N.
UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Kofi Annan will propose restructuring a U.N. human rights panel, ask for a swift decision to expand the Security Council and request sweeping changes designed to prevent new scandals in a report Monday to the General Assembly on reforming the beleaguered United Nations.
The blueprint for reform, according to a draft copy obtained by The Times, also proposes ways to keep the U.N. the primary setting for global security decisions and the key player in international development issues.
Annan has framed the plan as providing a historic opportunity to reinvent the U.N. to better meet the challenges of a changing world. But the plan is also seen here as a last-gasp bid to restore the organization's relevance at a time when both he and it are under heavy fire.
Yet the blueprint is not as bold as Annan may have liked. The reforms depend on the endorsement of the 191-member General Assembly and the agreement of world leaders who are coming to a U.N. summit in September.
Many of the ideas in the document have been floated in recent months by special panels on U.N. reform and global development that Annan commissioned. But fierce reactions from some governments led Annan to temper a proposed definition of terrorism, stop short of requiring criteria for membership on the human rights panel and caused him to refrain from choosing between two options to expand the Security Council, U.N. officials said.
Diplomats say they are prepared for six months of intense negotiations to further refine the proposals into a form that the majority of the Assembly will back. And U.S. opposition or new revelations in a series of scandals could weaken Annan's position to the point that he may not win enough support for the package.
With the U.N. still bruised by the U.S. decision to lead an invasion of Iraq without the Security Council's blessing, Annan has searched for ways to keep the Bush administration engaged in the world body and address the United States' post-Sept. 11 sense of vulnerability.
In an attempt to put the U.N. at the center of security policy, the report calls for a comprehensive anti-terrorism convention by September 2006, new measures to stem nuclear proliferation and an agreement on rules for the use of force and preemptive action.
To bolster peace and development, the report urges the creation of a peace-building body to help societies recover from war and asks developed countries to set aside 0.7% of their gross national income for development aid.
