UN risks shutdown
2006-06-06 21:40
Brussels - The UN faces a potential shutdown if the
United States and Japan carry out a threat to withhold funds, a
top UN official said on Tuesday.
This could result in the security council not being able to meet and peacekeepers around the world would be left adrift.
But, said Shashi Tharoor, he hoped the big donors would pull back from the brink and not stop funds from July 1 as they had threatened to do unless stalled management reforms were enacted.
"I don't think anyone wants to see the United Nations shut
its doors," Tharoor told Reuters.
"I don't think either of these countries, which have been
longstanding supporters and pillars of the organisation, would
want ... a global crisis where you couldn't convene the security
council because you couldn't afford to pay the interpreters."
Developing nations last month blocked the centrepiece of
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's reform programme, a move western
nations said could lead to a drastic funding cut-off this summer.
US ambassador John Bolton voiced willingness to extend the
deadline to September 30.
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However, diplomats said developing countries seem intent on adopting their version of the budget and effectively daring Washington to shut the place down.
"The UN isn't a body which can afford not to be available
24/7, because there are peacekeepers who are awaiting
instructions from New York.
There are humanitarian operations
that depend on staff in New York," Tharoor said.
"There are ... genuine challenges in the political process
in New York that require electricity bills to be paid, phones to
be able to ring, interpreters to be able to function."