http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4450941.stm
Last Updated: Saturday, 16 April, 2005, 04:15 GMT 05:15 UK
UN must reform or die, says Rice
Ms Rice's comments were highly critical
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said the UN cannot "survive as
a vital force" if it does not reform.
Ms Rice told journalists in the US that everyone recognised that some
things in the UN needed to be fixed.
She said John Bolton, a long-time critic of the UN and nominated as the
next US ambassador to the body, would help update, reform and strengthen it.
Her comments come as the UN is embroiled in a scandal over corruption in
its oil-for-food programme for Iraq.
It has also been dogged by accusations of sexual abuse committed by UN
peacekeepers in Africa.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has accepted that change is urgently
needed, and has proposed a series of sweeping reforms.
'Not so great'
Speaking to the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Washington, Ms
Rice said: "As important an institution as it is, one has to say that there are
some things that are not so great about the United Nations right now.
It is no secret to anyone that the United Nations cannot survive as
a vital force in international politics if it does not reform
Condoleezza Rice
US Secretary of State
Annan urges UN reform
"Everybody recognises that, and we've got to fix it.
"It is no secret to anyone that the United Nations cannot survive as a
vital force in international politics if it does not reform."
Ms Rice said Mr Bolton, who has pledged to work to improve UN
accountability and has complained of overlapping programmes and mandates, was
needed to help update and reform the organisation.
Mr Bolton has said that the UN needs US leadership to get it back on
track, and that it should focus more on human rights violations and
international terrorism.
Ms Rice's remarks were one of the sharpest attacks to date on the UN by a
senior member of the Bush administration, says the BBC's Michael Voss in New
York.
Illegal sales
Relations between Washington and Mr Annan have been strained since the UN
Security Council failed to back the US-led war in Iraq, and more recently over
revelations about corruption in the oil-for-food programme.
Iraq made billions of dollars from illegal oil sales and bribes
The $60bn (£32bn) programme allowed Saddam Hussein's Iraq to sell oil in
order to buy civilian goods and ease the impact of UN sanctions imposed after
Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
US Senate investigators have alleged that the Iraqi regime received some
$4bn (£2.13bn) in illegal payments from oil companies involved in the
programme.
Another $14bn (£7.5bn) allegedly came from "sanctions-busting" - the
illegal sale of oil to neighbouring states such as Jordan and Turkey.
Tensions were further heightened on Friday after the secretary-general
suggested that the US and Britain may have closed their eyes to the oil
smuggling.
Washington and London both deny any impropriety.
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