Senior diplomats urged congressional leaders to reject legislation, which would effectively bankrupt the United Nations. Many members of Congress seem to want to wage war on the UN since the Iraq war because the UN refused to be an instrument of American foreign policy Francis Harris reports in the Telegraph,
A Republican-sponsored Bill which would cut the American contribution to the UN by half reached the House floor yesterday. As America contributes 22 per cent of the budget, such a reduction would cripple UN activities.
"Withholding US dues to the UN may sound like smart policy but would be counterproductive," the eight former ambassadors wrote. "It would create resentment, build animosity and actually strengthen opponents of (UN) reform."
The group included prominent former American representatives at the UN, including Madeleine Albright.
Their statement mirrored opposition to the Bill from the Bush administration. Nicholas Burns, the State Department's under-secretary of state said: "We cannot agree to the withholding provisions." He argued that they would "deal a great blow to our credibility in the UN system, and it would have ramifications for the reliability of the United States as a friend and partner."
Henry Hyde, the Bill's sponsor and chairman of the House international relations committee, said that he would not back down. "The constitution gives to Congress the power of the purse," he said. "We intend to exercise it in pursuit of meaningful UN reform."
The draft legislation is expected to pass although it is unclear whether it will be backed in the Senate.
There is growing anger in Washington over events at the UN. The mood in Congress has been soured by revelations about the UN's mismanagement of the oil-for-food programme for Iraq, the misconduct of its troops with women in the Congo and allegations of sexual impropriety inside UN agencies.
Comments