[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 110 (Wednesday, August 1, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8562-S8563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  NOMINATION OF JOHN NEGROPONTE TO BE THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR TO THE 
                             UNITED NATIONS

  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I will speak for a few minutes about a 
problem that is hamstringing American foreign policy today, and that is 
the stalled nomination of John Negroponte to be the American Ambassador 
to the United Nations.
  Even the critics of American foreign policy would agree that America, 
and the world, are best served by having an outstanding, experienced, 
professional diplomat at our U.N. mission in New York. Indeed, such a 
personal representative of the President would provide enlightened 
perspective to our friends and allies on occasions when we cannot 
support particular U.N. initiatives. He would also symbolize America's 
robust commitment to international engagement, and work with like-
minded nations whenever possible to advance our mutual interests and 
values, in the spirit of cooperation the United Nations was created to 
foster.
  Regrettably, the Senate has stalled ambassador Negroponte's 
nomination process. The President announced his intention to nominate 
this 37-year veteran of the Foreign Service in March and sent his 
nomination to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in May. But his 
nomination has been held up due to concerns about human rights abuses 
in Honduras during his tenure as Ambassador there.
  It is worth pointing out that Ambassador Negroponte has been 
confirmed by the Senate five times--as recently as 1993, well after his 
assignment to Honduras, as President Clinton's Ambassador to the 
Philippines. He did not then undergo anything like the ordeal he has 
been subjected to this year.
  In the midst of the debate over Ambassador Negroponte's 
qualifications for the U.N. assignment, the United States got booted 
off the U.N. Human Rights Commission for the first time in its 
history--a defeat that raises credible doubts about the integrity of 
that institution and its commitment to the very values it exists to 
promote. Sudan, Libya, Syria, Cuba, and China are now members of this 
body, forged by the vision of Eleanor Roosevelt in the early post-World 
War II era--and we are not.
  Victims of persecution around the world, and advocates for their 
cause in our country, shall long rue the day the Commission was 
tarnished by this unfortunate vote. Many professionals agree that had 
we had an ambassador in place early in this administration, we would 
now be a member in good standing of the Human Rights Commission. We 
also recently lost our seat on the International Narcotics Control 
Board, another avoidable consequence of our vacant U.N. ambassadorship.
  Ambassador Negroponte has the strong support of Ambassador Richard 
Holbrooke, his predecessor at the United Nations. Upon hearing the 
first reports of the President's intent to nominate Ambassador 
Negroponte, Ambassador Holbrooke said: The United States is lucky, the 
U.N. is lucky. . . . He is a real professional. . . . I would be 
thrilled.
  Secretary of State Colin Powell recently called John Negroponte: one 
of the most distinguished foreign service officers and American public 
servants I have ever known.
  The U.N. General Assembly convenes in mind-September for its annual 
session. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee should immediately 
schedule a confirmation hearing for Ambassador Negroponte, to take 
place in early September when the Senate reconvenes, in order to have 
him confirmed and in place to represent our Nation in New York this 
fall.
  Ambassador Negroponte has served Democratic and Republican Presidents 
with distinction over the course of his diplomatic career. In the 
spirit of bipartisanship and the proud tradition of

[[Page S8563]]

American internationalism at the United Nations, I urge my colleagues 
to move quickly to allow this good man to serve our country once again.
  Madam President, I have had the opportunity of knowing Ambassador 
Negroponte when he was Ambassador to Mexico, Ambassador to Honduras, 
and Ambassador to the Philippines. The nomination is now stuck. 
Unfortunately, we need to act as quickly as possible.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have a letter from Mr. 
George Shultz, former Secretary of State, printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                                    July 17, 2001.
                                              Hoover Institution--


                                 on War, Revolution and Peace,

     Hon. Joseph R. Biden,
     Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman, I am writing to support the nomination 
     of John Negroponte to be our Ambassador to the United 
     Nations. I know him well; I have worked with him closely. I 
     believe he will do an outstanding job at the UN.
       While I was Secretary of State, John Negroponte served in 
     three different positions: (1) Ambassador to Honduras; (2) 
     Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International 
     Scientific and Environmental Affairs; and (3) Deputy National 
     Security Advisor in the last fourteen months of the Reagan 
     administration.
       In Honduras, John did an outstanding job under especially 
     difficult circumstances. There was turmoil and instability 
     throughout Central America, and assisting Honduras to stay on 
     an even keel was an enormous challenge. Despite the 
     difficulties, Honduras managed to maintain relative calm and 
     peace compared to neighboring El Salvador, Guatemala and 
     Nicaragua and made the transition from military to civilian 
     rule during his time there. Honduras has had five free 
     elections for a civilian president since 1981, and there will 
     be another such election later this year. Much of the 
     groundwork for the return to democracy and rule of law in 
     Honduras was laid during John's tenure.
       John's work as Assistant Secretary for Oceans and 
     International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, his next 
     assignment, is an excellent example of the richness and 
     diversity of his background and experience. As Assistant 
     Secretary for OES, John oversaw the negotiation of the 
     Montreal Protocol for the Protection of the Stratospheric 
     Ozone Layer on behalf of the United States. This was a 
     milestone multilateral environmental agreement at the time 
     and I well remember the conviction and skill with which John 
     worked to gain support within the U.S. government and to 
     conclude such an agreement with other countries. The Senate 
     vote to consent to ratification was 83 to 0. John's portfolio 
     in OES included addressing the issue of acid rain and its 
     impact on Canada, and dealing with fisheries in the South 
     Pacific. He personally negotiated and renewed a space 
     cooperation agreement with the Soviet Union, satisfying the 
     technology transfer concerns of a wary and skeptical DOD 
     along the way. And at my request, John worked with former 
     Citibank CEO Walter Wriston to organize a symposium at the 
     National Academy of Sciences about the impact of information 
     technology on foreign policy.
       As Deputy National Security Advisor, John dealt with the 
     entire range of national security issues confronting the 
     President and the National Security Council. Among the 
     important issues with which he had to deal on a daily basis 
     at that time were the Iran-Iraq war, the end of Soviet 
     military involvement in Afghanistan, and two summits between 
     President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev.
       Although it was after my tenure as Secretary of State, I 
     also had the opportunity to visit John both in Mexico City 
     and Manila where he subsequently served as Ambassador. I can 
     attest to the outstanding job he did at each of those posts. 
     John was instrumental in both the conception and negotiation 
     of the NAFTA, which has brought dramatic, positive changes to 
     the U.S./Mexico economic and political relationship.
       John has had a broad and deep variety of foreign policy 
     experience at eight foreign postings and assignments in 
     Washington at both the State Department and the White House. 
     This experience is excellent preparation for the challenges 
     of a UN assignment.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                 George P. Shultz.

  Mr. McCAIN. Finally, Madam President, we really need to have the 
United States represented at the United Nations. This has been a long 
process for Mr. Negroponte. I know my good friend and chairman of the 
Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden, shares my concern about the 
United Nations. He is a committed believer in the United Nations and 
the importance of its functions. I hope we will move forward as quickly 
as possible with Mr. Negroponte's nomination to represent the United 
States at the United Nations.

                          ____________________