18 October 2005
Bolton Says U.N. Reform Will Require Time, Hard Work, October 18, 2005 (Reform of U.N. Human Rights Commission likely in 2005)
By Merle D. Kellerhals Jr.
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton says it is likely that reform of the U.N. Human Rights Commission can be completed by the end of 2005, but other, more complex reforms will take much longer.
"We're not going to declare victory after a few cosmetic changes," he said. "Reform at the United Nations is not a one-night stand. Reform is forever."
Bolton has made overhauling the United Nations an essential priority since President Bush appointed him to the post in August. But he cautioned the committee that the 191 members of the world body should not see reform solely as an American initiative, but as a sustained, comprehensive diplomatic initiative.
"In addition to management reform, the question of reform of the fundamentally broken U.N. machinery on human rights remains a very high priority for us," he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee October 18.
The United States has argued that the current U.N. Human Rights Commission is beyond repair, and needs to be replaced by a new Human Rights Council that is open, legitimate and effective.
"Our objective is to try to finish work on the Human Rights Council before the end of this year," he said.
Bolton said one of the most important measures taken up at the recent 2005 United Nations World Summit was a Security Council resolution banning both incitement to terrorism and providing a safe haven for terrorists. (See related article.)
"We thought this was a very important resolution and, hopefully, a harbinger of additional Security Council work in the very high-priority area of counterterrorism and also counterproliferation," he said.
The United States wants the United Nations to adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
The Foreign Relations Committee met to hear testimony from Bolton and Paul A. Volcker, who headed the U.N. Independent Inquiry Committee that investigated the scandal-plagued Iraqi Oil-for-Food Program. The Senate committee has oversight of U.S. policy toward the United Nations and has been conducting hearings periodically on reform of the world body.
"During the Oil-for-Food scandal, billions of dollars that should have been spent on humanitarian needs in Iraq were instead siphoned off by Saddam Hussein's regime through a system of surcharges, bribes and kickbacks," said Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Richard G. Lugar. "This corruption depended upon members of the U.N. Security Council who were complicit in these activities."
Lugar, a Republican from Indiana, said the world depends on the credibility of the United Nations and its leadership, and "profiteering, mismanagement and bureaucratic stonewalling squander this precious resource."
The committee chair also said that a document approved by the General Assembly lacks the details needed for sustained reform.
Volcker testified, "It's clear that the U.N. needs to clean house, address its shortcomings and restore its ability to function efficiently and honestly. My concern is that the U.N. may be structurally impaired and unable to reform itself."
Countries that do not have a vested financial interest in an efficient organization dominate the world body, he said.
"Just eight countries pay almost 75 percent of the budget. It's no coincidence that the countries which pay the most for the U.N. are those most interested in reforming it," he said.
