EDITORIAL: Big honor, big task (09/28/97)

EDITORIAL

Big honor, big task

The election of Ukraine's foreign minister, Hennadii Udovenko as president of the 52nd session of United Nations General Assembly brings politically prestigious international recognition to Ukraine, and is both personally and professionally a big honor for Mr. Udovenko.

However, this big honor comes with a big task attached: reform of the United Nations. The U.N. is in a period of transformation, and a package of proposals to reform the organization has been put forth by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The General Assembly, which Mr. Udovenko heads, is the equivalent of the U.N. legislative branch and thus is ultimately responsible for debating and approving this package of reforms. If this package goes through, Mr. Udovenko, who has repeatedly stated that he supports the proposed reforms and believes approval is the No. 1 priority of his tenure, will be remembered as the president who successfully presided over the "reform session" of the U.N., as this session is already being called.

While reform is not a glamorous issue, it is nonetheless an essential one. The U.N. is a vital forum for networking, a more or less neutral territory for debating bi- and multi-lateral issues without the pressure of direct relations, a mechanism through which less developed and less influential countries can play a role. At this point in international relations, if the U.N. did not exist, it would need to be created.

The goal of the new proposed reforms is an overhaul to make the core of the organization, chiefly the Secretariat and its programs, more efficient, thereby more effective and more fiscally responsible. The package includes changes to administrative procedures, cuts in personnel, upgrades in technology, streamlining of databases and information systems, changes to program priorities, creation of new managerial positions to diversify authority and responsibility, such as the position of deputy secretary-general, and, most importantly, putting the organization on sound financial footing.

The success of the reform process and the long-term financial health of the organization depend largely upon convincing member-states that are not paying to pay up and keep paying. Of the 12 member-states that are in payment arrears, the one with the largest debt to the U.N. is the U.S., which owes the organization $1.5 billion. Small countries that pay in full each year, and on time, are frustrated with the debtor member-states, some that carry debt loads so large that they threaten the financial health of the organization and push it perilously close to the edge of bankruptcy.

Approving the package of U.N reforms is a big task with little time, since the regular session of the General Assembly ends in December, while the spring and summer months are used for special and emergency sessions, and work in commissions. However, Mr. Udovenko has wide-ranging experience with the U.N., having devoted much of his professional career over the past three decades to the organization, including tours in Geneva, as well as several in New York, representing the Ukrainian SSR and later independent Ukraine. He has often stated his commitment to its ideals. He is respected by his colleagues and feels obviously comfortable with journalists. He also appears comfortable in his new job, giving the impression of a "common sense, no nonsense" confidence. We're confident that he'll meet the challenge of the big task ahead of him.

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