United Nations

In our increasingly interconnected world, cooperation is the most realistic and effective way to solve global problems.  The United Nations stands today as the one place where the entire world comes together to promote democracy, protect human rights, end poverty, meet the threat of global terrorism and move us all toward a better, safer world. The United States has played a major role in establishing and promoting the United Nations, and the majority of Americans support our involvement in it.

As the need for the United Nations increases, observers agree that it must be made more effective and relevant in order to successfully tackle the challenges of a new century. The U.N. Secretariat has already undertaken a series of reforms aimed at making the U.N.’s management structures more accountable, transparent, and ethical. An Ethics Office was created to provide training to U.N. staff and to review the U.N.’s new financial disclosure policy, which widened the scope of individuals who must report and significantly lowers the bar for disclosure. An enhanced whistleblower protection policy, stronger than that of the U.S. government, has also been put into force. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has stated that he will continue to revitalize the Secretariat and will also aim to retool the institution more fundamentally to deal with 21st century realities. Constructive U.S. leadership and diplomacy can go a long way toward advancing the U.N.’s important reform agenda.

Even as constituted, though, the United Nations produces vital benefits for all who participate by facilitating better intergovernmental communication, worldwide protection of human rights, and improved international cooperation. U.N. specialized agencies make countless unheralded contributions to global prosperity, health, and security. And, according to an independent report by the RAND Corporation the U.N.’s peacekeeping and nation-building capacity is by far the most effective in the world.

Unfortunately, the United States is currently $291 million behind in its contributions to the U.N.’s regular budget and is on track to owe over $1 billion in peacekeeping dues. This practice is inconsistent with the values and wishes of Americans, who believe our country should keep its promises and fulfill the obligations that we undertake in the international community. Furthermore, the U.N.’s funding shortfall threatens to undermine its success and the momentum of its reform program.

21.    What reforms would your administration propose to help the United Nations better meet the challenges of the 21st century?

22.    Would your administration support the full and timely payment of U.S. assessments to international institutions, including the United Nations?