UN pressed by increasing requests for electoral help in countries - Annan

Increasing demands for United Nations aid with elections throughout the world - a mark of its success - require an equal increase in resources if the quality of service is not to be impaired, Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns in a report ahead of the UN General Assembly to be held later this month.

"The most important challenge facing the Electoral Assistance Division stems from its increased workload. This is a product of success," Mr. Annan states.

He stresses that the Division requires additional resources, in terms of both staff and finances if it is to meet the demands. "The existing pool of electoral staff will be severely taxed over the next several years. The quality of United Nations electoral assistance depend on the availability of properly trained staff," he says.

Mr. Annan says the provision of sufficient resources is essential in allowing the Division to fulfil its General Assembly mandate to meet every request and therefore to "maintain the consistency of approach that guarantees the integrity of the electoral assistance."

This need is best met by tapping into capacities that already exist within the world body, he states. "It would be highly useful, for example, for institutional relationships within the United Nations system to develop to allow for the temporary secondment of United Nations staff, both in the field and at headquarters, for the purpose of participating during peak periods in electoral operations," Mr. Annan notes.

Major missions that were not anticipated two years ago include those in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and possibly Iraq.