110 HR 937 IH: To withhold United States contributions to the United
U.S. House of Representatives
2007-02-08
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.Congress finds the following:
(1)The United Nations Development Program
(UNDP) has for years operated in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(North Korea) in violation of United Nations rules and internal auditing
recommendations. Examples of such violations include the following:
(A)The local staff of
the UNDP in North Korea is dominated by employees who are hand-picked by the
Government of North Korea. The Government of North Korea provides only one
candidate for each position and does not provide detailed qualifications, work
experience, or personal details to the UNDP.
(B)The salaries of
the local staff of the UNDP in North Korea are paid to the Government of North
Korea and not to the individual staffers. Such local staff are instead provided
with cash food stipends against UNDP regulations.
(C)Officials of the
Government of North Korea have performed financial and core managerial
functions of UNDP activities in violation of UNDP regulations.
(D)The UNDP pays cash
to local suppliers of the Government of North Korea in violation of UNDP
regulations.
(E)The UNDP provides
funding to programs and projects controlled by the Government of North Korea
without appropriate audits or other oversight in violation of UNDP
regulations.
(2)According to the United States Department
of State, in 2005 the Government of the United States contributed $108 million
to the general fund of the UNDP. This amount accounts for 11.8 percent of the
total funding of the UNDP.
(3)The Government of
North Korea has developed and tested nuclear weapons in violation of
international treaties.
(4)North Korea
continues to pose a threat to East Asia and the world in the form of its
nuclear weapons program.
(5)The Government of
North Korea maintains a police state wherein citizens are prevented from access
to the outside world.
(6)Kim Jong-Il and
other senior officials of the Government of North Korea have used their power
to purchase personal luxuries, possibly with UNDP funds, while citizens face
starvation.
(7)Representatives of
the Government of North Korea are members of the executive board of the UNDP,
thereby governing the amount of UNDP assistance that North Korea will receive
and overseeing UNDP programs around the world.
(8)The Government of
North Korea maintains a state of war with the democratically-elected Government
of the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
(9)Former Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein used United Nations programs to launder approximately $100
billion into his regime in what has become known as the Oil-for-Food
Scandal
.
(10)Illicit funding
of this kind undermines the strong sanctions that have been imposed by the
United States and the United Nations against North Korea.
2.It is the sense of
Congress that—
(1)the United
Nations—
(A)should ensure that the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) enforces its rules regarding financing, staffing,
accounting, and auditing of its activities in the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea (North Korea);
(B)should authorize an external investigation
of all UNDP activities in North Korea; and
(C)should ensure that—
(i)any
local staff of the UNDP in North Korea who may have committed crimes are
prosecuted in the appropriate court of law; and
(ii)any
local staff of the UNDP in North Korea who have violated UNDP regulations are
appropriately sanctioned; and
(2)the President should instruct the United
States representative on the Executive Board of the UNDP to use the voice,
vote, and influence of the United States to ensure that—
(A)the UNDP ceases
any activities in North Korea that are in violation of UNDP regulations;
(B)the UNDP conducts
a full audit, open for review to all members of the Executive Board, of UNDP
activities in North Korea since 1998; and
(C)the UNDP establishes regulations to ensure
that no funds allocated to UNDP activities in North Korea are provided to the
Government of North Korea.
3.Withholding of
United States contributions to the United Nations Development
ProgramThe Secretary of
State shall withhold any United States contribution to the general funds of the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) until such time as the Secretary
certifies to Congress that the UNDP meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A)
through (C) of section 2(2) of this Act.