Speeches and Articles by U.S. Consul General James B. Cunningham

U.S. Supports A Stronger United Nations

By James Cunningham, U.S. Consulate General, Hong Kong

(The Chinese version of this article was published by Hong Kong Economic Times on January 24, 2006, and this article is not for commercial use.)

The United Nations response to the Asian Tsunami that struck just over a year ago demonstrated the U.N.’s great potential. I was fortunate to see similar results many times when I served as Ambassador and Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2001 to 2005 and Acting Permanent Representative from January to September 2001. However, I also saw that the U.N. is a deeply troubled instution that is in desperate need of major management and structural reforms.

Today, 60 years after its establishment, the United Nations still plays 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, forced an end to Syrian occupation of Lebanon, and rallied 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.

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. We recognize the value of a strong United Nations able to take on these formidable challenges that so often no single nation can handle on its own.

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 -- 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 United States is fully committed to this reform effort. Meaningful reforms must include measures to improve internal oversight, identify cost savings, and ensure that precious resources are used for their intended purposes. These are long standing U.S. objectives that I strongly advocated during my tenure in New York.

For the United States, reform begins with re-engineering the Secretariat’s budget, management structure and policies, and other administrative changes. Based on his experience, the Secretary General had called for many of these improvements. Many world leaders endorsed the Secretary’s proposals when they signed the UN World Summit Declaration in September. Some improvements would bring greater clarity and accountability to the budget process. Other changes would protect staff from sexual harassment or from retaliation for whistle blowing and require staff to adhere to high ethical standards. Still other improvements would grant the Secretary General more flexibility in deploying staff to high priority areas. 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 serve outdated mandates, but remain funded and staffed. For example, the Trusteeship Council, set up in 1945 to provide supervision for territories preparing for self-government or independence, still has a staff in the Secretariat, even though Palau, the last territory, became a Member State in 1994. 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.

The United States has long combined a commitment to good management with generosity. Because the World Health Organization has put reforms in place to improve management, strategic planning and budgeting, and program oversight - actions that increase the confidence of stakeholders and donors -- the U.S. agreed to an increase in the base budget for the 2006-2007 biennium while our voluntary contributions to that organization also continue to increase. Because of these management improvements, the WHO is better able to respond to the health challenges and threats of our day, including avian influenza and other infectious diseases.

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 a UN that delivers all the better on its original vision.