UN: Ireland's Ambassador to the United Nations, David Cooney, has been appointed by general assembly president Jan Eliasson as joint chair of a key working group on UN reform.
The General Assembly Working Group on Management Reform and Mandate Review prepares proposals for the member states on a wide range of issues, including oversight and accountability, governance, human resources management and priorities for the work of the general assembly.
The task of the co-chairs is to find the broadest possible degree of consensus in various areas of UN activity, seeking to overcome wide differences of opinion and approach among member-states on many issues.
At the insistence of the US and others, a cap was imposed last December on spending at the UN, which would have left secretary-general Kofi Annan without funds to run the organisation from about the middle of this year, in the absence of further reforms.
The cap was lifted last week, even though strong differences remain on a range of his proposed management reforms.
Welcoming the appointment, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said Mr Cooney, a former political director in the department, "commands the respect of his peers right across the spectrum for his close knowledge of the issues involved in the complex area of UN reform".
Mr Ahern said the appointment also reflected Ireland's "long-standing commitment to the central role of the UN in international peace and security, development and human rights".