United Nations: Reforms Are Progressing, but Overall Objectives Have Not
Yet Been Achieved (Testimony, 05/10/2000, GAO/T-NSIAD-00-169).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the status of reforms
to improve the United Nations (U.N.), focusing on efforts to: (1)
restructure U.N. leadership and operations; (2) develop a
performance-based human capital system; and (3) introduce programming
and budgeting processes focused on results.

GAO noted that: (1) the U.N. has substantially restructured its
leadership and operations and partly implemented a merit-based and
performance-oriented human capital system, and these reforms have
strengthened U.N. operations; (2) however, while progress is being made,
the overall objectives of the reform have not yet been achieved; (3)
specifically, the U.N. has not yet implemented reforms to focus its
programming and budgeting on managing the Secretariat's performance; and
(4) these initiatives would enable member states to hold the Secretariat
accountable for results and are key to the success of the overall reform
because they institutionalize a shift in the organization's focus from
carrying out activities to accomplishing missions.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-NSIAD-00-169
     TITLE:  United Nations: Reforms Are Progressing, but Overall
	     Objectives Have Not Yet Been Achieved
      DATE:  05/10/2000
   SUBJECT:  Program evaluation
	     Performance measures
	     Strategic planning
	     Human resources utilization
	     International organizations
	     International cooperation
IDENTIFIER:  Somalia
	     Rwanda
	     Bosnia
	     Kosovo (Serbia)
	     East Timor (Indonesia)
	     Congo
	     Sudan
	     Tajikistan
	     UN Development Program
	     Guatemala
	     Mozambique
	     Integrated Management Information System

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Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Intrernational Operations, Committee on
Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate

For Release on Delivery
at 10:30 a.m. EDT
Wednesday, May 10, 2000

UNITED NATIONS

Reforms Are Progressing, but Overall Objectives Have Not Yet Been Achieved

Statement of Harold J. Johnson, Associate Director, International Relations
and Trade Issues, National Security and International Affairs Division

GAO/T-NSIAD-00-169

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:

We are pleased to be here today to discuss the status of reforms to improve
the United Nations (U.N.). Our remarks are based on our report prepared for
this Committee and released today, which provides a comprehensive analysis
of the reforms.

In recent years, the United Nations has had fundamental problems. In 1994,
the U.N.'s inability to procure goods and services fairly and on time
reached a crisis. Also there was an overall failure of its human resources
system to staff critical posts with the right people. Peacekeeping missions
in Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia failed to accomplish their missions. By 1997,
the Secretary General stated that the United Nations had become fragmented,
inflexible, and, in some areas, superfluous. Member states demanded
improvements. In response, the Secretary General proposed a reform program
consisting of three core elements--(1) restructuring U.N. leadership and
operations, (2) developing a performance-based human capital system, and (3)
introducing programming and budgeting processes focused on results. The
Secretary General stated that these elements formed an integrated program;
all were necessary to create a United Nations that achieved results and
continuously improved. While not all of the reform elements applied to the
entire United Nations, the overall program provided a model for a U.N.-wide
reform process. The Secretary General set the end of 1999 as the target date
to put the reforms in place. Today, I will discuss the status of the reform
program and highlight some results.

SUMMARY

The United Nations has substantially restructured its leadership and
operations and partly implemented a merit-based and performance-oriented
human capital system, and these reforms have strengthened U.N. operations.
However, while progress is being made, the overall objectives of the reform
have not yet been achieved. Specifically, the United Nations has not yet
implemented reforms to focus its programming and budgeting on managing the
Secretariat's performance. These initiatives would enable member states to
hold the Secretariat accountable for results and are key to the success of
the overall reform because they institutionalize a shift in the
organization's focus from carrying out activities to accomplishing missions.
As figure 1 illustrates, U.N. reform is an interrelated process and requires
that all core elements be in place to succeed.

 Figure 1: U.N. Reform Program--Elements Interrelated and Partially in
 Place

Source: GAO

BACKGROUND

The United Nations carries out a wide range of activities, including
peacekeeping in locations such as Kosovo, East Timor, and the Congo;
humanitarian and refugee operations in Sudan and Tajikistan; and thousands
of development, economic, social, and human rights projects worldwide.
Organizationally, the United Nations is comprised of three types of
entities. First are the member states' governing or intergovernmental
bodies, such as the Security Council and the General Assembly, which set
U.N. objectives and mandate activities in accordance with the U.N. Charter.
Second is the Secretariat, the central working unit of the United Nations,
which carries out work mandated by the governing bodies. The Secretariat
consists of the Secretary General, whom the U.N. Charter specifies as the
chief administrative officer of the United Nations, and the staff necessary
to carry out the mandated work. Third are the U.N. programs and funds, which
the General Assembly authorized to address specific areas of work of
continuing importance. Examples of the programs and funds are the U.N.
Children's Fund and the U.N. Development Program. Many of the programs are
authorized to have their own governing bodies and budgets (paid for by
voluntary contributions from participating nations). Consequently, while the
Secretary General is the U.N.'s highest-ranking official and his reform
proposals influence these programs, he does not have authority to direct the
programs to undertake reforms.

The expenses of the Secretariat are funded through regular budget
assessments of the U.N. member states. The U.N. regular budget for the
biennium 2000-2001 is $2.5 billion, of which the U.S. contribution is
assessed at 25 percent. Member states are assessed separately for U.N.
peacekeeping activities. For 2000-2001, the cost of U.N. peacekeeping
operations is estimated to be $3.6 billion, of which the United States is to
contribute 25 percent. Member states are also assessed for the costs of
international tribunals on war crimes and genocide. Finally, the United
Nations receives voluntary, or extrabudgetary, contributions for the funds
and programs-estimated to be $3.7 billion for the 2000-20001 biennium. The
United States has historically paid about 25 percent. Figure 2 shows U.N.
budgets for the last three bienniums.

Figure 2: U.N. Budgets, 1996-2001

(Dollars in millions)

EMBED Excel.Sheet.8Note: Voluntary or extrabudgetary amounts are U.N. estimates. Peacekeeping
amounts combine two annual budget cycles and are estimates for 2001.

Source: U.N. budget documents.

U.N. LEADERSHIP AND OPERATIONS SUBSTANTIALLY RESTRUCTURED

The United Nations has substantially restructured its operations, and we
found this has provided more cohesive and unified leadership for the
organization. A major problem for the United Nations has been the
fragmentation and lack of cooperation among the Secretariat departments and
the programs. To begin addressing this problem, the Secretary General formed
(1) the senior management group and (2) the executive committees. The Senior
Management Group consists of the heads of all U.N. departments and programs
and has been meeting weekly since September 1997 to collectively decide on
unified U.N. policies. Previously, the heads of some of the programs met
only once a year at the General Assembly. Now there is a regular mechanism
for developing a single U.N. direction. The four executive committees are
organized around the U.N.'s core missions--peace and security, development
operations, humanitarian affairs, and economic and social issues. Human
rights is a core issue that cuts across all U.N. missions. Consisting of the
senior managers of the departments and programs in each area, the executive
committees try to translate senior management group decisions into
coordinated action by all U.N. entities. Figure 3 provides an overview of
the U.N.'s leadership structure as it exists today and shows that the
intended goals are to carry out more unified and effective U.N. activities,
particularly in the field and at the working level where services are
delivered.

Figure 3: U.N. Leadership and Operations Substantially Restructured

We found that these reform initiatives have resulted in a more coherent and
unified leadership for the United Nations and have begun to reduce
competition among the various U.N. agencies and to foster more coordinated
actions in the field. The following examples help illustrate areas where the
reforms have made a difference.
*** End of document. ***