Article content

GENEVA (Reuters) — During talks on disarmament at the UN’s Geneva headquarters last month, alarm bells went off in the chamber to indicate that delegates had infringed new cost-cutting rules that restrict the length of meetings.

Screens and microphones were also shut off, forcing ambassadors to shout their speeches across the hall as events became “chaotic, confusing and noisy”, and some feared the lights would be next, according to one of several people present who described the scene to Reuters.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or UN cuts mean microphones and screens are being turned off, leaving ambassadors to shout at each other Back to video

“I was really concerned about the lights,” said the Pakistani chair, Ambassador Khalil Hashmi, who eventually managed to get a limited agreement after assembling participants in a huddle.

The disruptions – which have happened on at least two occasions – were the result of emergency measures to cut costs at UN centres such as Geneva and New York.

The cuts, now in their third month, are a response to a situation described by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as “extremely alarming”.