MR Kofi Annan, the new UN Secretary General, started work yesterday and immediately pledged he would reform the world body.
At the same time, Mr Annan (58), who was greeted by an honour guard of UN police and cheering onlookers at the organisation's New York headquarters, said he expected member states to honour their commitments to the world organisation, a veiled reference to the more than $2 billion owed to the United Nations, most of it by the United States.
"The member states have made it clear that they want changes and they have given us unanimous support," he told the crowd. "And I think together we can achieve a lot, bring about the reforms that are necessary, encourage the member states to work together, to honour their commitment to the organisation and together make the changes that are required if we are to make the United Nations as relevant as it ought to be as we move into the 21st century."
Mr Annan, who was the undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations, is the seventh UN secretary general. He is also the first from sub Saharan Africa and the first to have risen through the ranks of the UN bureaucracy.
He succeeds Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali (74) of Egypt, to the $205,809 a year post.
Dr Boutros Ghali left for his home in Cairo on Tuesday and intends to live in France for several months to write a book on his years in the UN.
The US, a supporter of Mr Annan, blocked Dr BoutrosGhali's hopes for a second term by vetoing his candidacy in November, saying he had not done enough to carry out reforms and that the world organisation needed new leadership. The Clinton administration is facing pressure from its allies and opponents alike to pay the outstanding $2.3 billion for dues and peacekeeping to the UN.
But so far the Republican dominated US Congress has shown few signs it is willing to pay the arrears quickly. Many Congressmen believe the US is contributing disproportionately to the UN in both dues and voluntary contributions, although most European countries and Japan pay more in relation to their income.
The Europeans and Japan are at present keeping the United Nations afloat.