[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 12, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8137-S8139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COLEMAN (for himself and Mr. Lugar):
  S. 1383. A bill to seek urgent and essential institutional reform at 
the United Nations; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise to join Senator Norm Coleman in 
introducing the United Nations Management, Personnel, and Policy Reform 
Act of 2005.
  United Nations reform is not a new issue. The structure and role of 
the United Nations have been debated in our country almost continuously 
since the U.N. was established in 1945. But in 2005, we may have a 
unique opportunity to improve the operations of the UN. The revelations 
of the Oil-For-Food scandal and the urgency of strengthening global 
cooperation to address terrorism, the AIDS crisis, nuclear 
proliferation, and many other international problems have created 
momentum in favor of constructive reforms at the UN.
  We have ample evidence that the United Nations is in need of reform. 
The Foreign Relations Committee held the first Congressional hearing on 
the UN's Oil-for-Food scandal a year ago last April. Since that time, 
through the work of Paul Volcker, Senator Coleman, and many others, we 
have learned much more about the extent of the corruption and 
mismanagement involved.
  Senator Coleman's hard work as a Member of the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee and as the Chairman of the Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has 
provided the Senate with extensive knowledge of what went wrong in the 
Oil-for-Food Program. We have combined efforts to offer the Senate a 
top-down/bottom-up comprehensive look at what needs to be reformed if 
the United Nations is going to be a highly effective institution in 
this century. I would like to thank staff on the Foreign Relations 
Committee and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations who have 
collaborated for many hours during the past several weeks as we have 
finalized this bill.
  We know that billions of dollars that should have been spent on 
humanitarian needs in Iraq were siphoned off by Saddam Hussein's regime 
through a system of surcharges, bribes, and kickbacks. This corruption 
depended upon members of the UN Security Council who were willing to be 
complicit in these activities. It also depended on UN officials and 
contractors who were dishonest, inattentive, or willing to make 
damaging compromises in pursuit of a compassionate mission.
  The diminishment of UN credibility from corruption in the Oil-for-
Food Program and other scandals is harmful to U.S. foreign policy and 
to efforts aimed at coordinating a stronger global response to 
terrorism. The capabilities possessed by the United Nations depend 
heavily on maintaining the credibility associated with countries acting 
together in a well-established forum with well-established rules. 
Profiteering, mismanagement, and bureaucratic stonewalling squander 
this precious resource. At a time when the United States is appealing 
for greater international help in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in trouble 
spots around the world, a diminishment of UN credibility reduces U.S. 
options and increases our own burdens.
  The UN's ability to organize burden sharing and take over missions 
best handled by the international community is critical to the long-
term success of U.S. foreign policy. As such, the United States must 
help achieve effective reform at the UN.
  Our legislation contains a comprehensive list of reforms that the 
United States must pursue at the United Nations. Some were espoused in 
the Gingrich-Mitchell UN reform study. Others have been proposed by our 
colleague on the House side, Henry Hyde, and have already been adopted 
by the House of Representatives. Others have emerged from the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee's and the Permanent Subcommittee of 
Investigation's examination of sound management, personnel and 
oversight practices that can prevent past failures from reoccurring.
  The legislation includes a new UN procurement system that embodies 
the high standards required in modern governments and private sector 
companies, including relevant standards contained in the Foreign 
Corrupt Practices Act. It calls for a new Management Performance Board 
to hold senior UN officials accountable and a Sanctions Management 
Office to assist the Security Council in managing, monitoring, and 
overseeing UN sanctions programs. It calls for strengthened financial 
disclosure requirements for UN personnel and the creation of an Office 
of Ethics to monitor the disclosure policy and enforce a code of 
ethics. On the UN budget, it supports sunset provisions for all new 
programs mandated by the General Assembly and cost-cutting measures 
such as greater use of the internet for public information, expanding 
outsourcing of translation, and reducing the frequency of conferences 
and international meetings. It

[[Page S8139]]

promotes whistle-blower protections for UN employees and strengthens 
the UN inspector general function carried out by the Office of 
International Oversight Services (OIOS). And it calls for the creation 
of a new Independent Oversight Board to ensure the integrity and fiscal 
independence of the OIOS.
  The legislation also calls for reforms in the two functions, 
peacekeeping and humans rights protection, where the United Nations 
will need to be stronger and more effective over the next several 
decades if it is to make a major contribution to international peace 
and security.
  This legislation would provide President Bush with Congressional 
support and flexibility as he moves to generate reforms at the UN. The 
bill establishes a comprehensive agenda for creating the kind of United 
Nations the American people can support. It does not impose an 
artificial formula or rigid checklist of items that narrows our 
definition of success. Nor does it require mandated cuts in UN dues. 
Instead, the underlying premise of this legislation is that we want to 
give a President who knows how to achieve reform and is firmly 
committed to doing so the tools he needs to achieve our national 
objectives.
  We see President Bush's pledge to seek reform reinforced by his 
deeds, including his nomination of a reform-minded expert on UN affairs 
to be our ambassador at the United Nations and now his subsequent 
nomination of a trusted White House aide to be the Assistant Secretary 
for International Organizations at the State Department.
  The drive for reform at the UN is not going to occur in a national 
security vacuum. We will continue to have national security interests 
that are affected by UN agencies and UN deliberations. Without 
narrowing the President's options, this legislation gives him the 
leverage he needs. If he believes that, despite our best efforts, the 
other member states of the UN do not share our views on the urgency for 
reform, this bill grants the President full authority to withhold 50 
percent of our UN dues until reforms are implemented. But it allows the 
President to make tactical judgments in the national security interest 
about how to apply leverage and about what methods to use in pursuing 
reform.
  Secretary General Kofi Annan has proposed a substantial reform plan 
that will provide a platform for further reform initiatives and 
discussions. Other member nations have ideas for reform as well. The 
United States must be a leader in the effort to improve the United 
Nations, particularly its accountability. And this legislation provides 
the right balance, outlining the kinds of reforms that will make the 
United Nations an accountable, transparent, and well-managed 
international organization, while giving the President the authority to 
withhold contributions if reform efforts fall short.
  I thank Senator Coleman for the expertise and leadership he has 
provided in crafting this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to give 
it their full support.
                                 ______