Crisis talks begin to salvage UN world summit
By Mark Turner at the United Nations
Published: August 26 2005

United Nations diplomats have begun crisis talks to save a mid-September summit of world leaders from what many fear could be a deeply embarrassing failure.
Kofi Annan, secretary-general, had hoped the summit - billed as the biggest gathering of leaders in history - would inject new life into the international system following the invasion of Iraq, new security threats, and warnings that poverty-reduction goals will not be achieved. It was also meant to revitalise the organisation after damaging revelations of corruption and mismanagement by senior officials.
But months of talks brokered by Jean Ping, president of the General Assembly, have instead highlighted deep disagreements over how to tackle poverty, human rights, proliferation, terrorism and management reform.
The disagreements have grown deeper with each effort to make proposals more specific.
First, an attempt to expand the Security Council recently collapsed after India, Germany, Brazil and Japan failed to secure sufficient support in their bids for new permanent seats.
The US has since thrown the rest of the package into disarray by demanding changes to almost every aspect of Mr Ping's 39-page outcome document.
Among many amendments, the US wants to delete references to the Millennium Development Goals, debt relief, climate change talks, nuclear disarmament and a strategic UN military reserve.
Diplomats said the US was calling for a line-by-line renegotiation - or alternatively, for scrapping the idea of a broad document in favour of a much shorter declaration. The problem, diplomats said, was that if countries would not compromise on certain areas in return for progress on issues they supported, the project could disintegrate.
Countries from the non-aligned movement and the group of seven leading industrialised nations, and others, have objected to proposals on a new human rights council, a peace-building commission, terrorism, and strengthening the secretary-general's capacity to make management decisions without interference by the General Assembly.
According to one UN diplomat, the final document is in real danger. We definitely have to work to prevent the US proposal from unravelling the document. The diplomat said it was possible the US bombshell would spur others to work harder for the reform package, which Europe broadly endorsed. But the mood has substantially worsened over recent days.
The idea now is for a group of 20-30 countries, which would include representatives from regional groups, the permanent five members of the Security Council, and a smattering of activist diplomats, to salvage what they can.
But recriminations are beginning over a badly managed process that did not take account of political realities, and lacked effective leadership from political and UN figures.
Many of the UN's most senior officials went on holiday for much of August, returning with only three weeks to go before the summit.