Washington, Oct 31: The United States has proposed closing the United Nations office in the US capitalas part of a larger package of budget cuts and reforms tostreamline the UN budget, the State Department has said. Spokesman Richard Boucher said shutting down the UN information Centre in Washington would shave a million dollars off the UN Budget for 2004 and 2005 and as such "made fiscal sense." And he said the proposal would not significantly affect UN operations here because the office`s liaison functions with US lawmakers could be handled adequately from the world body`s New York Headquarters. "While we welcome the UN`s ongoing engagement with Congress, the UN information Centre office closure makes fiscal sense," Boucher told reporters. "We do not see a compelling need to maintain this office when the UN already (has) and excellent communications system, including the internet, and UN Headquarters are located nearby in New York," he said.
Boucher noted that the United Nations, in conjunction with the European Union, had already consolidated 12 similar facilities in Europe into one office in Brussels.
Bureau Report