[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 149 (Thursday, December 1, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: December 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  CHANGING ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to offer for the record some 
reflections on the changing role of the United Nations. Many of us 
recognize that the U.N. must change. It must change in response to the 
radical geopolitical transformations of the past five years that began 
with the unraveling of the Soviet communist empire and led to the 
largest creation of new states since the period of decolonization 
following World War II. It must change in response to the demands 
placed upon it by these new nations striving for stable independence. 
And it must change in response to the conflicts that continue to arise 
throughout the developing world. Indeed, the role played by the United 
Nations in liberating Kuwait from Iraqi occupation was a pivotal point 
in the history of the United Nations.
  There has been much debate about the role the United Nations will 
play in the future. Regrettably, there still exists in this debate 
vague notions about ideals, ideals that, however benign, detract from 
the realistic thinking necessary to keep the U.N.'s participation in 
world events relevant.
  Recently the distinguished Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed has the 
occasion to present the commencement address to the graduating class of 
Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. Ambassador Reed, who 
serves as Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Special 
Representative of the Secretary General for Public Affairs, shared some 
very realistic thinking about the future of the United Nations with the 
students and faculty of this respected institution.
  The ambassador recognized that ``there is irony in the present moment 
because for all the shortcomings of the Cold War period there was a 
stability and a sense of international coordination in those years that 
today we are lacking.''
  ``We live in an inescapably and absolutely interconnected world,'' 
the ambassador said. ``What affects one society will come to affect 
others. Environmental degradation, trade, migration, violations of 
human rights, a concern for democracy--unite and affect us all. These 
issues know no national borders.''
  He is correct to say that the U.N. ``is asked to carry out the 
multiple and difficult demands of peace-keeping, peace-making, peace-
building and post-conflict development and security...(and) it is not 
surprising that the United Nations has faced difficulty in carrying out 
such ambitious, complex tasks.'' As the Ambassador reminds us: ``The 
United Nations has entered complex crises * * * because the Security 
Council and member states have asked it to do so.

  While we will continue to debate the role the U.N. must play in many 
of these issues, I am heartened to note that the distinguished 
ambassador recognizes that there is no question that states are the 
repositories of authority and international legitimacy. I also agree 
with the ambassador when he says: ``But that authority and legitimacy 
is today called upon to answer international concerns and shared global 
problems.''
  As the ambassador told the class of 1994 of Southern Utah University: 
``It is not idealism to support the United Nations. It is realism. With 
all its merits and all its defects, the United Nations represents our 
joint experience as citizens of this planet. Our task is to improve the 
organization, to consolidate international commitment to its necessary 
purpose, and to make this a peaceful and nurturing world for the 
peoples the United Nations represents.''
  Ambassador Reed shared his realism with the graduates from my state 
when he told them: ``The United Nations cannot carry out such tasks 
alone. The organization reflects the support, political and financial, 
that it receives from the member states, including the United States of 
America, founder-member of the United Nations, host country, permanent 
member of the Security Council and its largest contributor. Without 
such support the United Nations cannot act, cannot grow, cannot improve 
its capabilities. There has been a tendency to ask the organization to 
take on task after task, without significantly increasing its 
resources. The United Nations is not perfect, but it is obviously a 
mistake to criticize it for stumbling while at the same time demanding 
that it run on one leg.''
  The ambassador's comments and observations, regardless of one's point 
of view on the United Nations, contribute greatly to our reassessment 
of the role this country should play at the United Nations. As a result 
of this debate, I hope that we will more concretely determine what 
functions the United Nations can best perform in the future.

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