- $1 billion Empire State Building IPO: why it won't be like Facebook IPO
- In surprise move, GOP leaders admit defeat in payroll tax battle
- More than 30,000 Germans turn out against anti-piracy treaty ACTA
- Does Obama blueprint reduce budget deficit fast enough? (+video)
- Pentagon budget: Does it pit active-duty forces against retirees? (+video)
- Murdoch media crisis deepens with five new arrests
- How Pinterest combines the best parts of Facebook, Tumblr, and Etsy
- US, China face 'trust deficit' as China's heir apparent visits
Ted Turner Gift Poised To Boost UN
The payout begins in May. Worries about his undue influence on the world body seem allayed.
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y.
Remember last year when Ted Turner announced he would give that $1 billion to support United Nations causes? Well, those in charge of spending the cash are settling into their new offices this month and about to get down to business.
As the money starts flowing in May, a range of global concerns - population, human rights, and the environment - can expect a big boost. So can Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The gift also appears to have sparked some rethinking about an organization that is often criticized for its bureaucracy and largess.
"In a sense, it's broken the psychological logjam about the UN's financial future, relieving the pessimism and gloom over the US arrears," says James Paul, executive director of the Global Policy Forum, a New York-based UN watchdog group.
These are heady times for the UN. Mr. Annan himself appears to be riding his recent success in averting - or at least delaying - a military conflict between the United States and Iraq.
He took to the road April 19 on a highly publicized trip around the US aimed at raising awareness of the UN.
Annan will attend sold-out, support-building events in San Francisco, Hollywood, and Houston, mingling with film stars, academics, business leaders, and politicians.
When Mr. Turner announced his gift in September, UN officials were ecstatic. UN operations were suffering from the US failure to pay its $1.5 billion in back dues, and from a decline in voluntary contributions from member states. Turner's gift was a much-needed morale booster, a high-profile gesture of support for the beleaguered organization from a high-profile American.
Other analysts - and some member states - have expressed concern that the gift might actually undermine global cooperation by letting the US and other delinquent countries off the hook - or by beginning the process of "privatizing" UN operations, making them dependent on the support of wealthy individuals, rather than governments.
Timothy Wirth, former senator from Colorado and undersecretary of state, was hired by Turner to manage the gift. He appears to have since addressed many of those concerns. Working in close cooperation with Secretary-General Annan, he has put in place checks and balances geared to ensure that projects funded by the gift are in accordance with UN policy, and that they supplement - not replace - existing operations.
"We're not going to be doing things that governments ought to be doing," says Mr. Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation (UNF), the Washington-based charity Turner formed to channel the donation.
"We don't want to be in the position of substituting for governments or putting money into the sort of large disaster-response programs that they can support. We want to keep ourselves on the prevention side of the ledger," he says. "Underlying problems like population, environmental issues, and human rights haven't gotten the kind of attention they need."
