It's Time for Real Reform of the United Nations

With significant leadership by the United States, the United Nations was founded on high ideals. The pursuit of international peace and development, and the promotion of basic human rights, are core, historic concerns of the American people. At its best, the U.N. can play an important role in promoting U.S. interests and international security. But what we have been witnessing from the UN is a widespread failure to address the severe threats posed by rogue regimes, hold human rights abusers accountable, protect funds from being misused, stolen, or squandered, and police itself.

U.S. policy on the United Nations should be based on three fundamental questions: Are we advancing American interests? Are we upholding American values? And are we being responsible stewards of American taxpayer dollars?

Unfortunately, right now, the answer to all three questions is 'No.'

Here's some simple math: We pay all contributions that the UN assesses to us -- 22 percent of their annual budget -- plus billions more every year. According to the Office of Management and Budget, in Fiscal Year 2009, the U.S. contributed well over $6 billion to the UN. These billions are being spent with no strings attached at a time of high unemployment, skyrocketing deficits, crushing debt, and other great economic and fiscal challenges to our nation.

What have we gotten in return from the UN? Here are a few examples.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) fired a whistle-blower who revealed that UNDP's office in North Korea was not being managed properly, and was being exploited by Kim Jong Il's regime.

In 2008, a Senate subcommittee found that: UNDP's local staff was selected by the regime, and UNDP paid staff salaries directly to the regime in foreign currency with no way to know the funds weren't being diverted to enrich the regime; UNDP prevented proper oversight and undermined whistleblower protections by limiting access to its audits and refusing to submit to the UN Ethics Office's jurisdiction; the regime used its relationship with UNDP to move money outside North Korea; and UNDP transferred funds to a company tied to an entity designated by the U.S. as North Korea's financial agent for weapons sales.

The UNDP briefly pulled out of North Korea, but now they're back. There is a minor change: UNDP now selects its staff from a list of three candidates hand-picked by the regime, instead of the previous list of one candidate hand-picked by the regime. Apparently, that's what passes for reform at the UN.

U.S. taxpayers are also paying more than one-fifth of the bills for the UN's anti-Israel activities, including the UN Human Rights Council, a rogues' gallery dominated by human rights violators who ignore real abuses and instead relentlessly attack our democratic ally, Israel. The Council was also the fountainhead for the infamous Durban Two conference, and the Goldstone Report.

One more example: an independent Procurement Task Force uncovered cases of corruption tainting hundreds of millions of dollars in UN contracts. In response, the UN shut down the Task Force. When the head of the UN's oversight office tried to hire the chairman of the task force, former U.S. prosecutor Robert Appleton, as the top investigator, the U.N. Secretary-General blocked it.

Ironically, the UN's current chief investigator, who has reportedly failed to pursue cases, is now under investigation himself for retaliating against whistle-blowers.

It is clear that sweeping reform is needed.

Ambassador Susan Rice says that the U.S. approach to the UN is, 'We pay our bills. We push for real reform.' That is a backwards approach. Instead, we should be demanding 'reform first, pay later,' by conditioning our contributions on the implementation of real reform.

I will soon reintroduce legislation to do just that. My legislation will deny U.S. funding to several UN programs and organizations which undermine our interests. Further, my bill would change the way in which we fund the UN. Instead of making mandatory, assessed contributions to the giant, all-purpose UN regular budget, my bill will condition our funding on the UN shifting its regular budget to a voluntary basis. That way, U.S. taxpayers can pay for the UN programs and activities that advance our interests and values, and if other countries want different things to be funded, they can pay for it themselves.

Money talks. By making it clear that the UN bureaucracy cannot take our contributions for granted, the UN will be forced to get serious about reform. Otherwise, if we continue to pay up in full and on time, the UN will go on with business as usual.