Annan hopes UN power struggle won't derail reforms
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-21 09:04

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday he hoped a power struggle at the United Nations between the major powers and developing countries would not derail U.N. reforms.

Many of the developing nations that make up a majority of the U.N. membership have expressed outrage in recent days over what they see as a power grab by the 15-nation U.N. Security Council led by the United States.

A group of countries known as the Non-Aligned Movement and a bloc of 132 developing nations and China have formally protested that the council, chaired this month by U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, was trespassing on U.N. General Assembly turf by scheduling meetings this week on procurement fraud and sexual abuse by peacekeepers.

The two blocs argued these were General Assembly matters rather than the council's, a stand Annan supported.

Bolton dismissed their concerns, saying the two U.N. bodies shared jurisdiction over the matters and the assembly was free to hold its own meetings.

"While others talk, the United States will act to solve problems," Bolton told reporters on Monday. "When we uncover problems, we want to solve them. The Security Council is perfectly capable of doing that."

Annan acknowledged the tensions triggered by the reform drive and the widespread unhappiness with the power wielded by the Security Council's five veto-equipped permanent members, the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.

But he encouraged the membership at large to take advantage of their discontent by seeking ways to strengthen the General Assembly's hand.

"I think from my discussions with member-states almost all of them realize that reform is necessary, and would want to see the organization reformed and strengthened," he said.

The White House has led the call for major reforms at the United Nations following scandals in U.N. procurement and the now-defunct Iraq oil-for-food program.

The United States argues it should have a big say in how the United Nations is run because it pays for about a quarter of the U.N. budget.

But developing nations suspect Washington is trying to use the reform campaign for its own ends, by enhancing its grip on U.N. policymaking while shielding its own actions such as its Guantanamo prison camp from international scrutiny.