The UN Needs to See a Shrink...

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...in outdated programs.

The United States is leading a behind-the-scenes effort to eliminate or shrink "outdated" programmes and missions ostensibly to cut costs and prune the U.N.'s biennial budget.

As part of the new cost-cutting exercise, there is a proposal to either abolish or downsize U.N. programmes and activities relating to Palestinians.

The proposal has triggered strong protests not only from the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations but also from the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).

The potential threats are against the U.N. Division for Palestinian Rights, which comes under the Department of Political Affairs, and two longstanding committees created by the General Assembly in the 1970s: the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices in the Occupied Territories.

According to Anne Bayefsky of Eye on the UN, Palestinians receive attention that is accorded to no other group:

Of all subsidiary bodies of the UN General Assembly, six focus on Palestinians, and none on any other specific people in any UN member state.

If you take a look at the list of UN Subsidiary Organs the six are:

o United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine
[established by GA Resolution 194 (III)]

o Advisory Commission on the United Nations Relief And Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
[established by GA Resolution 302 (IV)]

o Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People
[established by GA Resolution 3376 (XXX)]

o Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
[established by GA Resolution 1729 (XVI)]

o Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories
[established by GA Resolution 2443 (XXIII)]

o Working Group on the Finance of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
[established by GA Resolution 2656 (XXV)]

The proposal for reducing the number of committees is more than just a suggestion. US Ambassador John Bolton has given the proposal some teeth:

A New York newspaper quoted U.S. Ambassador John Bolton as saying that the United States would oppose the adoption of the U.N.'s two-year budget for 2006-2007 until and unless there were wide ranging changes in management, including "the elimination of outdated missions".

Ambassador Bolton has already been credited with applying the pressure that led the UN Security Council to an unprecedented condemnation of Hizbollah. The IRIS blog is already saying that John Bolton is Further Confirmation of Bush as the Best Appointer in History.

Bolton so far has seemed to been nothing like what was suggested by those who opposed his nomination by Bush. In fact, some in the UN claim to be able to work with him:

"He's an intelligent person," says Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, a Bolton opponent on any number of issues, most critically now over U.N. management reform. "He's articulate, and he's a tough negotiator. As far as I'm concerned, he's quite okay."

Mr. Akram then pays Mr. Bolton the greatest compliment possible from within the ranks of diplomats deeply suspicious of his motives for wanting the U.N, job in the first place. "I have no reason to believe he's here to destroy the institution," the Pakistani envoy says. "I can work with him."

That's one down and 189 more to convince.

See also: The UN Has the Palestinians Covered

Technorati Tags: Palestinians and United Nations and John Bolton.