United Nations: Progress on Management Reform Efforts Has Varied

The United States has been a major advocate of UN management reform initiatives. In 2007, the U.S. advanced the UN Transparency and Accountability Initiative (UNTAI) to promote more efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability among UN agencies and the UN Secretariat. UNTAI's goals include public access to all relevant documentation related to operations and activities, whistleblower protection policies, financial disclosure programs, an effective ethics office, independence of respective internal oversight bodies, and adoption of international accounting standards. According to State Department officials, UNTAI has had a important impact on implementation of the UN management reform agenda in the above areas. Under the UNTAI initiative, the State Department through its Bureau of International Organization and US missions at United Nations Agencies in New York and abroad has developed and implemented a management reform assessment tool monitoring progress and providing a basis for constructive dialogue within the UN system. The results of this effort is integrated into U.S. Government reports on UN management reform. The Secretary of State and the Permanent U.S. Representative to the United Nations are reporting through a variety of mechanisms on progress made in the UN Management Reform Agenda which include: the State Department's Annual Report on UN Operations; the President's Annual UN General Assembly statement on UN operations; and a variety of USUN management reform fact sheets.