Op-Ed, as appeared in POLITICS section (p.3)
of Phileleftheros newspaper

December 19, 2005

(English text)...

[Ελληνικά]

U.S. Supports a Stronger United Nations

As a founding member, the host country, and the largest contributor to the United Nations, the United States is committed to supporting this world body as an instrument for peace, security, freedom, human rights and development.

Since its establishment 60 years ago, the United Nations has played a vital role in serving the needs of nations around the globe. In the past year, the Security Council acted to mitigate the violence in Sudan, force an end to Syrian occupation of Lebanon, and rally international support for Iraq's elections and transition to democratic government. Other UN agencies are called upon to address urgent transnational needs, like HIV/AIDS, the threat of avian flu, earthquake and tsunami relief, protection for refugees, and provision of food and other humanitarian assistance to millions worldwide. The UN has also played a crucial role in preserving stability in Cyprus and the leading role in international efforts to facilitate a solution that will reunite the island through a bizonal, bicommunal federation.

We look to the United Nations to help to fight terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to promote democracy, to enforce peace, and to bring relief and stability to the people of war-torn regions.

But it is clear that the United Nations today is beset with problems. Its shortcomings -- evidenced, for example, by mismanagement and corruption in the Oil-for-Food Program and sexual exploitation by UN peacekeepers causing rather than alleviating human suffering -- must be addressed if the United Nations is to survive as an institution that can continue to meet the needs of its membership.

If the UN is to achieve the great purposes for which it was founded, fundamental changes to the organization are necessary. The debate over how to fix the United Nations has now been fully joined. The United States is fully committed to this reform effort.

For the United States, reform begins with a re-engineering of the Secretariat itself, including budget, management and administrative changes. Based on his experience, the Secretary General had called for many improvements, and these were endorsed by world leaders when they signed the UN World Summit Declaration in September. Some improvements would bring greater clarity and accountability to the budget process; some would protect staff from sexual harassment or from retaliation for whistle-blowing, while requiring the staff to adhere to high ethical standards; still other improvements would grant the Secretary General more flexibility in deploying staff to areas of high priority. In other words, we want to ensure that other member states - especially those in the developing world -- get the services that we are all paying for as effectively, efficiently, and fully as possible.

Effective reform also requires efforts to ensure that the UN is using precious resources on the highest priority programs. Many UN programs are serving outdated mandates, but they remain funded and staffed. The intent of the United States is that savings from duplicative, ineffective, or obsolete programs be shifted to those of greatest value to Member States.

Management reform is needed to ensure that the United Nations achieves its intended goals efficiently and with transparency and accountability. In a world of limited resources, the contributions of UN Member States must go to the most important and effective programs, particularly those that target the intransigent health, educational, and economic problems in developing countries.

The United States remains the largest contributor to the United Nations, in terms of both assessed and voluntary contributions. Like other contributors, we favor effective, efficient, results-based management because money wasted means less funding for effective programs that can improve lives.

As the debate moves forward, we will continue to push for these needed changes and we look forward to working with all governments to ensure that improved management of the United Nations leads to improved effectiveness in achieving results for those who need them most. All nations have a stake in that - a UN that delivers all the better on its original vision.