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| Ambassadors: Don't Link U.N. Dues to Reforms | |
| 2005-06-14 | |
| UNITED NATIONS — Eight former U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations (search) sent a letter on Tuesday urging congressional leaders to reject a bill that would link reform of the world body to payment of American dues, warning that the legislation could actually strengthen opponents of reform. The letter, coordinated by a nonprofit group that promotes United Nations causes, said there is consensus for U.N. reform, but argued that holding back dues would plunge the United States back into the type of bitter fight with fellow member states that broke out when dues were withheld through much of the 1990s. "Withholding our dues to the U.N. is the wrong methodology," the letter said. "When we last built debt with the U.N., the United States isolated ourselves from our allies within the U.N. and made diplomacy a near impossible task." The letter was signed by eight former ambassadors, from both Republican and Democratic administrations: Madeleine Albright, John Danforth, Richard Holbrooke, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Donald McHenry, Thomas Pickering, Bill Richardson and Andrew Young. The Better World Campaign, which organized the appeal, said the only two other living former U.S. ambassadors to the U.N. were not asked to sign — former President George H.W. Bush because of his ties to his son, President Bush, and John Negroponte because he is still in government, as national intelligence director.
Representative Henry Hyde, R-Ill., has proposed legislation before the U.S. House of Representatives that would require the United States to withhold up to 50 percent of U.S. dues if the United Nations doesn't implement a range of reforms. The bill is scheduled to come up for a vote before the House on Thursday. Hyde argues that reform will be impossible without the threat of withholding dues. The bill's chances of becoming law in its current form are not clear because President Bush has said he opposes the tactic and there is no identical bill before the U.S. Senate. The United States is the biggest financial contributor to the United Nations, paying about 22 percent of its annual $2 billion general budget. After the U.S. government fell millions of dollars behind in arrears in the late 1990s, the United States almost lost its voting rights in the General Assembly. The letter said that withholding money again would "create resentment, build animosity and actually strengthen opponents of reform." "The fact is reforms cost money and withholding dues impair the U.N.'s ability to make the changes needed," it letter said. | |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #20 Use US population as a percentage of the world (4.5%). Same for the 25-40% US contribution to UN agencies. The Indians and Chinese will just love that plan... |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-06-14 20:59 |
| #19 Madeleine Albright did such a fine job managing North Korean nuclear ambitions that I'm sure we all want to heed her advice on U.N. management. gag gag |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-06-14 20:16 |
| #18 Deaf Ray? LOL! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-14 20:11 |
| #17 Yep, don't cut off the funds. Borrow the brutal Zionist Deaf Ray (aka "the Scream") instead. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-06-14 17:27 |
| #16 Pay up as long as they ship out to France or Ethiopia. Pay up with the agreement that US dues would be reduced with Japan/Brazil/India picking up the difference. Pay up but establish a Council of Democracies on the side, as a future replacement. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2005-06-14 16:46 |
| #15 Damnit, I left out a Butros. /and yes it was the important one boss. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-14 16:45 |
| #14 But Butros Butros Butros Butros Galli was a hired consulting firm. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-14 16:42 |
| #13 The reign of Butros Butros Butros Galli was indeed a golden age. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-14 16:41 |
| #12 except of course Danforth was ambassodor in 2004, succeeding Negroponte. Kofi has been SG since 1997. And i doubt it was much better under Butros Butros Galli. Or was it? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-06-14 16:13 |
| #11 LH: Maybe they have an idea of how it USED to work. Since Kofi things have seemed to have gone straight downhill. |
| Posted by: Charles 2005-06-14 15:45 |
| #10 Yup, Jean Kirkpatrick and John Danforth are just loony liberals, who have no idea how the UN works. Right. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-06-14 15:15 |
| #9 It must be like the Mafia. Once your in, your in. And never take sides against the family... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-06-14 15:12 |
| #8 So the people who pay my salary can't stop paying it and get rid of me just because they've found out I'm corrupt, steal millions from them and never do my actual job? Sweet deal. Where can I get one of those? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-06-14 15:02 |
| #7 isolated ourselves from our allies within the U.N. Uhh, tell me again who our allies within the U.N. are. Other than the few like Britain and Australia that would be even if the U.N. were not around. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-06-14 14:07 |
| #6 ...warning that the legislation could actually strengthen opponents of reform. Sounds good. More ammo for the "Get-us-the-hell-out-of-the-UN-as-fast-as-possible" camp. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-06-14 12:26 |
| #5 Jeane Kirkpatrick signed? She must be getting senile then. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-06-14 11:55 |
| #4 Better to set a new base contribution level. Use US population as a percentage of the world (4.5%). Same for the 25-40% US contribution to UN agencies. This will most likely start a race toward the bottom as other high contributors quit subsidizing this Mecca of despots and corruption. |
| Posted by: ed 2005-06-14 11:35 |
| #3 Hell no! They wouldn't get a dime then. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-06-14 11:22 |
| #2 Accountability is a Western hegemonic concept, a tool of the oppressive ruling class. |
| Posted by: Noam Chomsky 2005-06-14 11:15 |
| #1 Why not? |
| Posted by: gromgorru 2005-06-14 11:06 |