The United States indicated on Tuesday that it might block the passage of the UN budget for the next two years, due to be adopted by the General Assembly before Dec. 31, if proposals for the UN management reform were not approved by that time.

US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told reporters that the United States has been pushing the UN Secretariat to present recommendations for management reforms this month or early next month.

"We're concerned that if the Secretariat doesn't do the work that's required by the outcome document (of the September world summit) until the end of February, we'll be in the position where the General Assembly will have adopted a budget for two years and we won't be able to take into account the mandate reviews and the rules and regulations study," he said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was requested by the outcome document to submit proposals for management reform, including reviews of the Secretariat's various mandates, to the General Assembly for decision in early 2006.

But Bolton said if Annan could not come up with the proposals before the end of the year, they would not be reflected in the new biennial UN budget.

Bolton said he had suggested to Annan and other UN member states that an interim budget be adopted to cover three or four months and then a full budget for the remainder of the biennium.

Bolton's comments came one day after Annan warned of a financial crisis for the United Nations if a budget is not adopted by year-end.

"You need the budget to be able to assess the member states and let them pay their contributions. You need the budget for us to be able to plan ahead and carry out our work, and if you do not do that, you really have no basis of even asking the member states to contribute and you may create a serious financial crisis for the organization," Annan stressed.

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2005)