Time running out for UN reform deal ahead of General Assembly

Jean Ping, the current president of the General Assembly, has just released yet another interim draft on the reform that is to be fine-tuned for presentation to world leaders at their September 14-16 summit ahead of the General Assembly session.

The blueprint outlined 157 recommendations that expanded on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's "In larger freedom" report presented in March on preparations for the summit.

The arrival at UN headquarters of hawkish John Bolton as Washington's new UN ambassador last Monday was seen here as a US signal that it was time to speed things up.

"This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about UN reform," President George W. Bush said during a public appearance with Bolton, whom he appointed, bypassing the Senate, until a new US Congress convenes in January 2007.

Ping is to chair further consultations with his colleagues on his return from vacation August 22 to try to work out a compromise that could be sold to world leaders next month.

Member states are still trying to narrow differences on key proposals, including Security Council expansion, a universal definition of terrorism, and replacing the discredited Human Rights Commission with a leaner Human Rights Council made up of members that undertake to abide by the highest human rights standards.