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Japan 'may cut funds' to unreformed UN
Bangkok Post
May 30, 2006
Washington (dpa) - The United States wants the hard-won cap on United Nations spending to be extended on June 30 in its push to bring about reform in the 60-year-old international organization, a top diplomat said Thursday.
John Bolton, who represents the US at the UN, told a US Senate panel that the move - which does not yet have wide support in New York - would "give us more time to show progress on the reform front."
The strategy is aimed at breaking down a "whip organisation" of developing countries in the General Assembly that have been blocking attempts to give more power to the secretary general and to cut down on the number of UN-funded mandates, according to Bolton's testimony.
The US, the organisation's largest contributor, has led reform pressure in the wake of corruption scandals, notably in the former oil-for-food programme for Iraq. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also been out in front in advocating for reforms.
The United States, Japan and Germany contribute the largest amounts to the UN's $1 billion-plus budget every year.
Japan, which carries 19.5% of the UN budget and wants a permanent seat on the Security Council, is so frustrated by the situation that it "might well consider" cutting its contributions to 14 or 15% of the total, Bolton told Congress.
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Senator Tom Coburn's activity on the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security
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