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Annan optimistic on removal of UN budget cap
COPENHAGEN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Sunday he was optimistic the United Nations would avert a looming budget crisis over delayed UN reforms and remove a spending cap that has hampered the body this year.
Rich nations, pushed by the United States, imposed a limit on the UN budget in December to try to increase pressure on developing nations to approve long-delayed management reforms by June 30.
But the move backfired when developing nations revolted last month, voting down the centrepiece of the reform plan and threatening to vote for the removal of the budget cap.
Annan, in Copenhagen for talks with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told a news conference he saw a change in attitude and a better atmosphere among member states.
"There has been considerable mistrust within the membership and between groups, and I think that is dissipating and all of them seem to be working seriously towards reform," he said.
"I'm quite confident that we will find ways to cooperate and this is also the wise way to proceed."
Wealthy nations, although far outnumbered by poor countries, pay for more than 80 percent of the UN budget. US and Japanese officials have said they may come under domestic pressure to cut their payments later this year. Annan said the reform agenda was ambitious and could not be completed by the end of June, though the United Nations would be able to show considerable results by the deadline.
"With that momentum and purpose we should be able to come to an understanding and remove the budget cap so that we can go ahead with our activities and not create unnecessary upheaval by pulling the plug," he said.
The United States, Japan and the European Union have said they will support removing the budget cap if a reform package gets off the ground. Reuters
