Ghana’s Annan Begins Term as U.N. Secretary

UNITED NATIONS —  Kofi Annan began his term as U.N. secretary-general Thursday by swiftly moving to the top of his public agenda the need to reform and streamline the embattled world organization.

In a brief statement to reporters as he entered the building for his first day on the job, the 58-year-old Ghanaian, a veteran of three decades of work within the U.N., linked reform to the need for countries to pay their back dues.

“The member states have made it clear that they want changes, and they have given us unanimous support,” he said. “Together we can achieve a lot, bring about the reforms that are necessary, encourage the member states to work together, to honor their commitment to the organization and . . . make the changes that are required if we are to make the United Nations as relevant as it ought to be as we move into the 21st century.”

As 1996 ended, only 98 of the U.N.’s 185 members were paid in full, said Fred Eckhard, Annan’s spokesman. The United States is the biggest debtor, with $1.3 billion in overdue obligations. The Clinton administration favors paying the debt over several years but has been unable to persuade Congress to appropriate the money.

Annan is expected to visit Washington this month or next, responding to an invitation he received in a Dec. 17 telephone call from President Clinton.

During his visit, Annan will confer with the president and with congressional leaders, including Republicans such as Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Congressional Republicans have been among the U.N.’s harshest critics and loudest advocates of reform.

Annan also has said that reforms must grow out of a renewed consensus among member states on the role of the U.N. in the post-Cold War era.

Eckhard said Thursday that Annan will begin working with governments, through their U.N. representatives and with personal visits to national capitals, to help forge that consensus.

“His first job is a political job of nailing down governments as to what the essential work of this organization will be,” Eckhard said. “This means establishing priorities and then rearranging the administration to do that job and adjusting the finances.”

In a signal to Washington and other capitals that have pressed for reductions in the U.N. bureaucracy, Annan has asked for and received the resignations of 23 senior officials and indicated that some of those posts may be eliminated or consolidated rather than refilled, his office announced.

Eckhard said Annan is expected to appoint a special advisor on U.N. reform, replacing Maurice Strong, a Canadian official of the World Bank who held the post part time under Annan’s predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

Annan also will consult on reform with a yet-to-be-named circle of officials and experts outside the U.N. and may name a deputy secretary-general to handle many day-to-day administrative matters. The U.S. backs such an appointment.

Boutros-Ghali resisted delegating much authority, though he did place Joseph Connor, an American businessman, in charge of cost-cutting, resulting in a 10% reduction in the U.N. secretariat staff. Connor is among the senior officials who turned in resignations, all of which are effective Jan. 31.