The United Nations reports that Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented to Member States his proposals for a fundamental overhaul of the United Nations Secretariat called “Investing in the UN”. He states that the organization’s rules, systems and culture need significant retooling and investment if the UN is to fulfill growing expectations and demands placed on it by the international community.
These new measures, an important number of which will require Member State approval, seek to modernize the UN’s management practices which, while having been subject to incremental change over the years, have not been subject to a comprehensive review.
The SG made specific proposals for overhauling the ICT infrastructure of the organization, in particular the appointment of a Chief Information Technology Officer. He notes how various IT management systems in the organization operate automonously and that the various ICT divisions at the UN don’t coordinate with each other. Moving beyond this inefficient situation will require strong leadership at the Assistant Secretary General level Mr. Annan argues.
A webcast of the Secretary General presenting his proposals to the General Assembly is available on the UN website.