I used to work for the government and represented my country in various UN-committees and working parties. Getting just 2 countries (let alone 200) to agree on the wording of a document could be a painstaking process. Considering how, say a UN resolution is interpreted (and misinterpreted) in one language, just think – with the translation off by just a nuance, the effects could be enormous.

My experience with google translate has been hit & miss. From my experience, the words are usually translated correctly, and in simple language Google Translate is allright, but it breaks down in the more complex uses (subjunctive, conditional, etc.)

@Abbie: Your suggestion was the first one that came to mind for me, too, but the NYT article suggested that a considerable number of UN members have limited Internet access or tech exposure. Personally, I wondered how true that was– a lot of the representatives are educated abroad and tend to come from the higher socioeconomic strata, so… who knows?
But with all that paper and money, something’s gotta give!