UN considers outsourcing, perhaps to Asian nations

UNITED NATIONS: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan wants the United Nations to consider outsourcing some of its administrative services, according to a summary of a report on management overhaul to be delivered on Tuesday.

If the U.N. General Assembly approves, this could include translation, payroll or other services moved to Asia or elsewhere out of the United States, according to U.N. sources. They said China was lobbying to provide translation services.

"We are particularly interested in exploring the benefits of possibly relocating certain administrative functions to lower-cost countries, but we will need to undertake a detailed cost/benefit analysis in each case," said a summary of the report, obtained by Reuters. It gives no outsourcing details.

Annan's survey was a response to a request by world leaders at a U.N. summit in September following scandals in the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq and the fixing of contracts.

It calls for a definition for administrative and management powers delegated to a deputy secretary-general, whose duties are currently not clearly defined, such as authority to manage the organization's operational activities.

New York, Tuesday, reuters.