The UN General Assembly on Saturday approved a top-to-bottom renovation of its landmark Manhattan headquarters building that is expected to take seven years to complete at a cost of 1,9 billion US dollar.
In adopting the resolution, the Assembly cited “the hazards, risks and deficiencies of the current conditions of the building.”
The main UN Headquarters complex was constructed in 1949 and 1950 and has not been significantly improved or maintained since then. It is extremely energy inefficient, costing the UN more than 30 million dollar a year in energy costs alone.
The New York Fire Department has long expressed its concerns that the UN Headquarters buildings do not meet current local fire, safety and building code standards. The Capital Master Plan seeks to redress these shortcomings while tightening security.
The UN also adopted new regulations aimed at restricting the future employment of UN staff members involved in handling contracts for goods and services following fraud allegations and one conviction of a procurement employee.
The post-employment restrictions were signed on Friday by outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a day after a friend of a former UN procurement official pleaded guilty in a bribery case in which the official, Sanjaya Bahel, was charged.
The UN further decided on Friday to leave unchanged for the next three years its current dues mechanism, rejecting a range of proposals aimed at raising some nations dues while lowering others.
The 192-nation General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution extending the formula through 2009 after members reluctantly concluded that no change at all was “the least worst option,” as Japanese UN Ambassador Kenzo Oshima put it.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
