[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 79 (Wednesday, June 15, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H4556-H4558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HENRY HYDE UNITED NATIONS REFORM ACT OF 2005

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2005, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.

[[Page H4557]]

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the leadership 
for arranging this time and affording me the possibility, the 
opportunity to discuss with the American public an important piece of 
legislation that we will be considering here in this body, the Henry 
Hyde United Nations Reform Act of 2005.
  As we can see, Mr. Speaker, the United Nations Reform Act has three 
basic policies. It is going to have oversight, accountability, and it 
is going to cut bureaucracy.
  Why is it that we need to do that? Because the United Nations has a 
history of scandals, starting with what we all know is the Oil For Food 
program, but going on in a litany of scandals, one right after the 
other. There is virtually no U.N. agency or body that has not been 
mired in scandal.
  So the Henry Hyde United Nations Reform Act is going to mandate 
United Nations budget oversight. It is going to insert accountability 
and ethics into the U.N. It is going to reform the U.N. Commission on 
Human Rights. It is going to strengthen the International Atomic Energy 
Agency, and it is going to provide accountability in the peacekeeping 
operations.
  In addition to all of that, it also addresses in one of the 
amendments that will be proposed tomorrow a problem that Donald Trump 
has been very interested in. The United Nations is now asking for an 
incredible amount of money in order to refurbish their facilities in 
Turtle Bay in New York City, and as Donald Trump said, the United 
Nations is a mess and they are spending hundreds of millions of dollars 
unnecessarily on this project.
  It is time to reform the United Nations once and for all, and as I 
said, tomorrow the House will be considering a bill that aims to 
institute long overdue United Nations reform by shedding light on the 
fact that the numerous scandals that have characterized the United 
Nations over the past decade are no accident. Rather, they are a direct 
result of a flawed structure that gives rise to passing the buck at 
best and corruption, profiteering and collusion at worst.
  The basic structure of the United Nations is broken, and it must be 
transformed to ensure transparency and that this world body is 
functioning with integrity.
  The United Nations Reform Act of 2005 strategically targets crucial 
areas to restore this broken organization.
  The goals that enshrine the United Nations charter, particularly 
those regarding international peace and security and the promotion of 
respect for fundamental human rights, have never been more significant.
  Further, with the challenges of the United States and our allies that 
we are facing in the war on terror, there is an urgent need for an 
international organization that is both credible and effective, one 
that can work together with national governments in dealing with 
concrete problems of terrorism and, most importantly, nuclear 
proliferation.
  As we learned to our horror on September 11, lives, not simply 
policies, are at stake in our efforts to reform the United Nations and 
its entities. Take the International Atomic Energy Agency for example. 
As it is currently structured, the membership criteria allows countries 
who are suspected of breaching their safeguards obligations, it allows 
them to serve in leadership positions within the agency.
  For example, Iran, a Nation that continues to be under investigation 
for breaches and failures of its safeguards obligations and has 
admitted purchasing illicit nuclear materials through the A.Q. Khan 
nuclear black market network, recently served on the Board of Governors 
of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
  Furthermore, this agency also needs a well-designed system to deter 
States from both developing nuclear weapons capabilities and colluding 
with terrorists by diverting nuclear material from the State's national 
program for terrorist use.

                              {time}  1830

  The section in the Henry Hyde U.N. Reform Act dealing with the 
International Atomic Energy Agency, reinforces U.S. priorities 
concerning the safety of nuclear materials and counterproliferation by, 
one, calling for U.S. voluntary contributions to the agency to be 
primarily used to fund activities relating to nuclear security or 
nuclear verification and inspections; two, it seeks to prioritize 
funding for inspections to focus on countries of proliferation concern; 
and, thirdly, by seeking to prevent proliferators and countries under 
the International Atomic Energy Agency investigation from benefiting 
from certain assistance programs.
  Furthermore, it seeks the suspension of privileges for member states 
that are under investigation or are in breach or are in noncompliance 
of their obligation. And it seeks to establish membership criteria that 
would keep such rogue states, such as Iran, that I just discussed, and 
Syria from serving on the Board of Governors of the International 
Atomic Energy Agency.
  The IAEA section of this bill reinforces our U.S. priorities 
concerning the safety of nuclear materials and counterproliferation. So 
we are going to make sure that we can close those loopholes.
  I was proud to work with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) on an 
amendment that he will be offering, along with the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Andrews), tomorrow on the Small Quantities Protocol. I urge 
my colleagues to support this amendment because we want to close this 
loophole from the inspections regime by calling for the International 
Atomic Energy Agency to rescind the Small Quantities Protocol.
  I also urge strong support for an amendment that our distinguished 
chief deputy majority whip, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), 
will be offering containing punitive measures against those members of 
the International Atomic Energy Agency that provide assistance to Iran 
before it dismantles its nuclear program.
  And let me turn to the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement that 
occurs every day at the United Nations. The discrimination against 
Israel is another structural and, indeed, a cultural issue that must be 
addressed. The viciousness with which Israel continues to be attacked 
at the U.N., and the reluctance of the member states to defend Israel 
or to accord it the same treatment as other states, suggests that there 
are considerable anti-Semitic components behind the policies pursued in 
the United Nations' forums.
  In addition to the multiple manifestations of anti-Semitism at the 
U.N., Israel's temporary membership status in the Western European and 
Others Group is extremely limited. Israel cannot present candidates for 
open seats in any U.N. body, it cannot compete for any major U.N. body 
seat, it cannot participate in U.N. conferences on human rights, on 
racism, and on many other issues. And despite this gross discrimination 
directed against Israel, there are several U.N. groups dedicated solely 
to Palestinian rights and there is a disproportionate representation of 
Palestinian issues in different committees and in various commissions.
  The U.N. Reform Act of 2005 seeks to end this discrimination against 
Israel. What will it do? It will expand WEOG, the Western European and 
Others Group, to include Israel as a permanent member, not a temporary 
member. It will mandate a State Department review of all U.N. 
commissions, all U.N. committees, all offices focused solely on 
Palestinian issues in order to eliminate duplicative efforts. Further, 
it will withhold proportional U.S. contributions to the U.N. until 
these recommendations are implemented.
  I am also working with my colleagues on amendments to the Henry Hyde 
United Nations Reform Act. For example, we are calling for the issuance 
and implementation of a directive by the U.N. Secretary General or the 
Secretariat to establish a series of requirements to fight anti-
Semitism at the U.N. and to ensure that all entities and efforts that 
promote the Palestinian agenda and perpetuate an anti-Israel bias on 
Israeli-Palestinian issues are addressed here in this bill.
  The scandals that have plagued the U.S. peacekeeping missions is 
another important component of this bill, and it is indicative of wider 
structural deficiencies that must be addressed and are addressed in 
this bill. Even one instance of this terrible crime is appalling and 
unacceptable; but, unbelievably, over the past decade their appearance 
is frequent.

[[Page H4558]]

  Crimes involving sexual misconduct on the part of U.N. staff is yet 
another example of the ways the U.N. is unfit to operate in its current 
state and must be reformed at all costs to restore its integrity and 
its authority. In the Congo, Burundi, and Sierra Leone, U.N. 
peacekeepers have reportedly engaged in gross sexual misconduct, 
exploitation, and even systematic rape.
  In Bosnia, the U.N. police mission has been accused of corruption as 
well as sex trafficking. But thus far the U.N. has squashed an 
investigation into the involvement of its police in the enslavement of 
Eastern European women in Bosnia in brothels.

  The U.N. Reform Act of 2005 specifically includes provisions to deter 
the most egregious instances of sexual misconduct that have occurred in 
recent years. Specifically, we will be mandating the adoption of the 
minimum standards of qualifications for senior leaders and managers.
  Furthermore, the bill will have an adoption of a Uniform Code of 
Conduct for all U.N. peacekeepers. Also, the institution of educational 
outreach programs designed to explain prohibited acts on the U.N. 
peacekeepers to local populations, and providing a means for them to 
direct complaints or allegations of abuse. And it will establish a 
permanent professional and independent investigative body dedicated to 
U.N. peacekeeping.
  The U.N. mismanagement of contracts and administration in the Oil-
for-Food program is yet another problem that we have seen; and this, 
combined with Saddam Hussein's abuse of the program through vouchers, 
surcharges, and kickbacks, enabled the Iraqi regime to make a mockery 
of the program that was ostensibly set up to help its suffering people 
by collecting an estimated $20 billion while the U.N. refused to 
intervene.
  Similar scandals have rocked the United Nations in the recent past. 
Notable examples are in 1995, the Kenya UNICEF office defrauded or 
squandered up to $10 million in agency funds. In 1996, a senior 
official was investigated on suspicion of embezzling between $200,000 
and $600,000. In 1997, 16 past or current UNDP employees were placed 
under investigation after more than $6 million was found to have been 
siphoned off over an 8-year period.
  These acts did not occur in a vacuum, but were rather part of a 
pattern of systematic financial mismanagement and corruption that have 
been going on for too many years. The Henry Hyde U.N. Reform Act of 
2005 has built-in budget certification requirements and accountability 
provisions that include holding the Secretary General accountable for 
certifying that the U.N.'s biannual budget is maintained at the 
approved level.
  By requiring transparency within the U.N. budget, creating an Office 
of Internal Oversight Services, and an Office of Ethics, we ensure that 
no one in the United Nations, from the most senior officials to the 
low-ranking employees, will be above the law.
  There will be many amendments offered that will help to further 
strengthen this bill, amendments such as the one that I have had the 
pleasure of working on with my friend and colleague, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. McCotter). He is addressing a problem that we have with 
Syria.
  Syria's continuing presence in Lebanon is in violation of the United 
Nations Security Council 1559 and other applications of international 
law. This is a test of the effectiveness of the U.N. and a test of the 
willingness of its leadership to ensure full compliance with U.N. 
mandates in order to prevent a rogue state, such as Syria, from making 
a mockery of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
  Syria continues to maintain a sizable intelligence presence in 
Lebanon, and it has recently mobilized to mount an assassination 
campaign against anti-Syrian-Lebanese political figures. Both Syria and 
Iran also continue to arm their military proxy, the terrorist group 
Hezbollah. Absent substantial international pressure, Syria will 
continue to proceed with its campaign aimed at destabilizing Lebanon's 
internal affairs in clear violation of the United Nations Security 
Council Resolution 1559 and in breach of international law.
  The McCotter amendment, cosponsored by another great freedom fighter, 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), calls on the U.S. permanent 
representative to ensure full implementation of the United Nations 
Security Council Resolution 1559, particularly relating to the presence 
of Syrian security and intelligence personnel and the disarming of 
Hezbollah and other militias. If compliance is not verified and 
certified, it calls for an adoption of a resolution by the United 
Nations Security Council to impose punitive measures on Syria and other 
foreign forces, such as Iran, who directly, or through their proxies, 
are interfering with Lebanese political independence and sovereignty.
  I am also working with my colleagues on an amendment that calls for 
the establishment of a U.N. Democracy Fund, and this will assist 
countries that are emerging democracies or democracies in transition. I 
request the support of all of our colleagues in this Chamber for these 
amendments as well as for the underlying bill.
  Mr. Speaker, just as the United States took the lead in forging the 
creation of the United Nations in the aftermath of World War II, we 
must lead the organization toward greater relevance and capability in 
this new era. The United States has waited patiently as the United 
Nations has paid lip service to nominal efforts to reform itself.
  Tomorrow, I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
vote in favor of this amendment and this measure, and, in effect, save 
the U.N. from itself. So I urge all our colleagues to vote in a 
bipartisan manner and pass the Henry Hyde U.N. Reform Act of 2005.

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