*EPF414 03/14/2002
Text: Sept. 11 Shifted U.S. Goals at the U.N., Negroponte Says
(Winning war joins building peace on agenda, he tells Congress) (3030)

The terrorist threat that surfaced September 11 has broadened U.S. goals at the United Nations, superimposing an agenda that is "all about winning a complex war" on the earlier one aimed at "building a lasting peace," the U.S. representative to the international organization says.

Ambassador John Negroponte told a House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee March 14 that, while the new agenda "is even more urgent," the old one "remains relevant and pressing."

Negroponte noted that, to address those twin goals of war and peace, the budget that President Bush has submitted to Congress for the U.S. share of UN financing amounts to more than $1,005 million dollars -- some $279 million for the regular budget, and $726 million for peacekeeping operations in the 2003 fiscal year.

The $279 million item is part of $891 million provided in the budget for contributions to international organizations overall, he said.

Negroponte cited a variety of longstanding efforts to which he said the United States remains firmly committed, even as it prosecutes the war on terrorism.

These range from the fight on AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, to sustainable global development, to the protection of human rights around the world and the provision of humanitarian assistance programs, he indicated.

Following is the text of Negroponte's statement, as prepared for delivery:

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Statement for the Record
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary
Committee on Appropriations
US House of Representatives

March 14, 2002

Ambassador John D. Negroponte
U.S. Representative to the United Nations

Mr. Chairman, it is an honor to testify before your subcommittee to supplement the statement of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bill Wood and provide my perspective from New York on US goals, objectives and budgetary requirements at the United Nations.

As I emphasized during my consultations prior to assuming my position as US Representative to the UN, I regard close cooperation and full dialogue with Congress to be an essential element of my job. My position has not changed one iota, and I look forward to a frank and productive discussion with you today.

The environment in which we find ourselves operating today is significantly different from the one of last summer, when I was preparing for potential responsibilities in New York. At that time I was prepared to execute an ambitious UN agenda. Then September 11 happened. The pre-9/11 agenda remains relevant and pressing. It is all about building a lasting peace. But the post-9/11 agenda is even more urgent - it is all about winning a complex war.

Mr. Chairman, to address these two goals of war and peace, the President has submitted a budget of $891 million for contributions to international organizations, which includes $279,327,000 for the UN regular budget, and $726,000,000 for peacekeeping operations in FY-03. Included in both the regular and peacekeeping budgets is a total of $58 million for war crimes tribunals.

These are substantial sums, but they are well justified and will be highly leveraged by means of extensive cooperation with other UN members.

Going back to the world as we viewed it last summer, let me itemize for you the elements of our agenda for peace as we headed into the 56th UN General Assembly in September:

maintaining UN budget discipline and continuing the work of building a more effective and efficient UN through reform; enhancing and rationalizing the capacity of the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations; following-through on the conclusions of a successful special UN General Assembly session focused on combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic; meeting the challenge of advancing sustainable global development, engaging in a results-oriented dialogue about what all countries can do to accelerate economic growth; calling for greater attention to fundamental freedoms, with particular emphasis on supporting and expanding democracy, protecting religious sites, improving the administration of justice, and strengthening human rights; improving the safety and security of UN personnel around the globe; reaffirming our commitment to improving the lives of children and the hungry throughout the world.

Despite the events of September 11 and some other major challenges about which I will speak, I think we have made progress in each dimension of this program. Taken together, these efforts provide impetus towards a world that is more democratic, more prosperous, and more secure.

Mr. Chairman, the approved 2002-2003 UN budget is consistent with our firm approach to maintain budget discipline. It represents an increase of 1.2 percent a year over the previous budget primarily because of inflation and currency fluctuation, but it is well below zero real growth. The amount allows the UN adequate resources for dealing with staff safety and security, peacekeeping reforms, and counter-terrorism.

We continue to push for a more effective UN. Secretary General Annan just last week announced a series of comprehensive reviews of major UN departments - Public Information, Management, Conference Services, and Central Support; and he also is calling for an analysis of low priority or obsolete mandates to free up resources for the kinds of goals that I mentioned earlier as our top priorities. These are efforts that we fully support and ones that we have been pushing for.

We welcomed the Brahimi Report on Peacekeeping Reform and are working with the UN to implement a number of measures that will improve the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations worldwide. Among them, we are exploring enhancing the Brindisi Logistical Center's capability to store equipment and stage peacekeeping operations - a measure that would significantly improve efficiency of response.

Regarding HIV/AIDS, the US is the largest contributor to the World Bank Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, jointly launched by President Bush and Secretary General Annan last year. Through our contributions, we energize support of others.

We are also pleased to note that we are moving the UN membership to a dialogue that could significantly change the paradigm for sustainable global development. We have actively pursued an agenda for the upcoming Financing for Development Conference, to be held next week in Monterrey, Mexico, that includes emphasis on private sector investment - both domestic and foreign-- and trade rather than high levels of development assistance as the basis for economic growth in the developing world. The fact that President Bush will lead our delegation to the meeting is a sign of our commitment to work in partnership with the developing world and other donors on this important issue.

Mr. Chairman, the Bush Administration remains committed to pursuing the protection of human rights around the world. Although we are not currently members of the UN Human Rights Commission, our efforts to promote fundamental freedoms through the UN and its bodies have not ceased. We continue to support human rights resolutions in the UN General Assembly aimed at eliminating abuses in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Cambodia. We continue to pursue equality for women through active involvement in the Commission on the Status of Women. Through UN-sponsored mechanisms, we continue to challenge other UN member states to improve law enforcement cooperation and social services to better protect children from trafficking and sexual exploitation. We are also actively working to prevent the use of child soldiers and seek to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society.

We are working closely with UN organizations and other donor nations to improve the humanitarian and human rights situation on the ground in Sudan. Specifically, our latest efforts include close coordination with the international community to maximize recent diplomatic gains made by Senator Danforth. In addition, we will maintain our pressure on the Khartoum regime to abide by Security Council measures, international norms, and standards of human rights and religious freedom.

Mr. Chairman, we are also working with the Western European and Others Group on substantive issues to be addressed at the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Commission. Safety and security of UN personnel is essential to the successful implementation of UN programs in the field. Between 1992 and 2001, 204 UN personnel were killed at field posts. We would not unduly put our diplomats overseas in harm's way, nor should we expect UN personnel to be exposed to unnecessary danger. With last year's budget allocation, we were able to strengthen the UN's security system with additional staff at headquarters for core functions and add nearly 300 additional security staff in the field. Having strengthened this field component of security, we must now urgently enhance safety and security measures at UN headquarters in New York.

Mr. Chairman, the US remains the most significant donor to UN humanitarian programs, and we will use our contributions and our advocacy within the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council to mobilize support from other member states. Well before September 11 the US was by far the largest donor to the humanitarian effort in Afghanistan. The US contribution to the World Food Program in 2001 was the largest ever -- just over one billion dollars.

Let me turn to our post 9/11 agenda. UN actions in response to those events alone indicate the value of the UN to US foreign policy and global security.

Mr. Chairman, as President Bush has said, the attacks of September 11 struck not just the United States but the entire civilized world. As a consequence, we have enjoyed an extraordinary level of solidarity, support and cooperation at the UN. Individual member states, the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Secretary General all have stood by our side. Within days, the Security Council and the General Assembly each passed unanimous resolutions calling the attacks on the US a threat to international peace and security.

The single most powerful response of the UN came on September 28 when the Security Council passed Resolution 1373, instructing all member states to review their domestic laws and practices to ensure that terrorists could not finance their operations or find safe haven for their adherents or their operations. The Security Council further set up a committee to monitor compliance with Resolution 1373. This committee of the whole Security Council chaired by Sir Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom has been -- and will remain -- fully engaged.

To this date, 144 out of 189 member states have submitted detailed reports on legislation and practices in their countries aimed at curbing terrorism. Much remains to be done. Those states in need of improved mechanisms will benefit from technical assistance provided by bilateral and multilateral donors. Resolution 1373 makes an important contribution to our effort to eliminate terrorist networks once and for all.

At the same time the Security Council engaged itself in the difficult work of helping rescue Afghanistan from the accumulated ravages of serving as host to global terrorism's headquarters. Together the Taliban and al Qaeda had turned the phrase "state-sponsored terrorism" on its head, making Afghanistan a "terrorism-sponsored state." But in a remarkably short time, the UN, working with the US, brokered the creation of an interim government, fostered plans for a longer-term, popularly chosen government, encouraged the creation of the British-led International Security Assistance Force, and played a major role in an international donor's conference which generated sufficient pledges to sustain progress over the next eighteen months. All the while, of course, UN relief agencies, with significant US support, rushed humanitarian aid to the desperate Afghan people.

Our work is not over here either. We must continue to work with the UN to support the fledgling Afghan government and to ensure security so that terrorism may never take root in Afghanistan again.

We also must continue to keep close watch on states that have developed weapons of mass destruction, which could be used to enhance the terrorists' destructive capabilities. In the case of Iraq, the Baghdad regime refuses to comply with Security Council resolutions, accept the return of weapons inspectors, fully declare and destroy its prohibited weapons of mass destruction and missiles, and dismantle the programs that created them. The onus for this lies with Iraq's dictator. He is the one who must open his doors to the world, not the world to him.

Let me emphasize that we do not pursue a policy designed to injure the Iraqi people. For years the US has supported and improved the UN Oil-for-Food program in order to address the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. It works, and would work better if Baghdad cooperated with it instead of cynically obstructing its benefits for the ordinary Iraqi.

In a major effort to free up trade in civilian goods, the Bush Administration proposed revamping the UN sanctions regime to focus more sharply on prohibited dual use and military technologies. Iraq strongly opposes this effort, preferring the existing, flawed regime. But we are now close to agreement on the new Goods Review List that will guide this approach, as the Council decided unanimously late last year. This will be of great benefit to the Iraqi people, without permitting Baghdad to import goods or technologies which have a military use or which can contribute to its weapons of mass destruction programs. The goal for implementing this new approach, supported by all Security Council members, is May 30. We intend to meet that goal.

Mr. Chairman, peacekeeping is a critical function of the United Nations. UN peacekeeping operations provide a third option between doing nothing and doing it ourselves -- at even greater financial costs.

Let me review for you some of the most significant peacekeeping operations.

In Sierra Leone, UNAMASIL ($145 million) has helped to restore a level of stability for the people of the region and has stopped the atrocities that were perpetrated there mainly against women and children. 45,000 Revolutionary United Front and pro-government militia have turned in their weapons. Others may have stockpiled arms, of course, but progress has been made in demilitarizing the combatants. The RUF's Foday Senkho remains in prison and will not be allowed to participate in the May elections.

In Kosovo, where UNMIK ($96 million) operates, we have seen the successful election of Ibrahim Rugova as the first president of the local Kosovar Assembly. There are inter-communal tensions in Kosovo, but thanks to NATO troops and UN administrators, the level of violence is low. The mission has been reinforced by the efforts of other countries and organizations, including the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Let me assure you that we continue to press our European allies to take the lead both in financing and senior staffing of this mission.

In East Timor UNTAET ($58 million) has prepared for Presidential elections, scheduled for April 14, and Independence Day, set for May 20. UNTAET is a major success because it began with a clearly defined mandate and well articulated draw-down strategy. Many consider it a model for UN peacekeeping efforts.

MONUC ($273 million) faces enormous challenges operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a nation the size of Western Europe. Costly airlifts must be used for all transport. Nonetheless, in those locations where MONUC is present, stability is beginning to return.

Where we can, the United States will push for ending peacekeeping mandates that are no longer needed or can be done by regional organizations. By the end of this year the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be brought to a close and the European Union will pick up the residual police assistance program that remains. Assuming further progress in normalization of relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia, the UN Mission in Prevlaka should also be closed in the next year.

These few examples vividly illustrate the value of UN peacekeeping operations. Beyond specific cases, however, I do want to emphasize that we need to have the cap on peacekeeping assessments lifted effective January 1, 2001, in order to avoid accruing arrears of some $78 million last year and a similar amount this year. Lifting the cap would allow us to comply with the terms of the agreement reached between the United States and the rest of the UN members that resulted in a reduction in our regular budget dues and peacekeeping scales of assessment.

Our effectiveness at the UN -- the ability to insist on the right priorities and demand solid results -- rests in no small measure on the goodwill we enjoy throughout the membership. Thanks to Congress, we were able to release $582 million in arrears last year. This was an important step. Now we are making excellent progress on the benchmarks required for final payments under the "Helms-Biden" legislation. We expect the UN to fulfill these conditions this summer, which will enable us to provide the required certifications to Congress, thereby allowing us to release $30 million to the UN at that time and another $214 million to other international organizations and agencies once other benchmarks have been met. This assumes that the State Department Authorization Bill will be enacted shortly.

Not all our support for the UN is widely covered in the media, but this does not make these proposed expenditures less necessary. According to the GAO, the UN headquarters building requires immediate renovations. Asbestos must be removed, faulty wiring repaired, sprinkler systems installed, and major security measures undertaken. $8,140,000 in the budget covers our assessment for the first phase of the Capital Master Plan.

Mr. Chairman, the Bush Administration is selective in turning to the UN and insists that the other members and UN management do their part. Reaction to our policies post 9/11 shows that we enjoy broad support and cooperation. By the same token, we have seen that on matters such as rescuing a country ravaged by terrorism, keeping the peace, coordinating a worldwide effort against AIDS, and obliging every member to account for how it tracks and stops the movement of terrorist funds and agents, the UN is a unique partner in troubled times.

The war against global terrorism comes first, but fortifying the conditions of peace is an agenda we will not lightly surrender. We are making progress and will not be deterred on either front.

I thank the committee for its attention and would welcome your questions.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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