AMERICAN INTERESTS

UN Reform AND

REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE ON THE UNITED NATIONS

United States Institute of Peace Washington, D.C.

The views expressed in this report are those solely of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Institute of Peace. United States Institute of Peace 1200 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036 First published 2005 Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Task Force on the United Nations. American interests and UN reform : report of the Task Force on the United Nations. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. United Nations—Evaluation. 2. United Nations—Reorganization—Evaluation. 3. United Nations—Management—Evaluation. 4. United States—Foreign relations—2001. 5. International relations. 6. Task Force on the United Nations. I. Title: American interests and UN reform. II. United States Institute of Peace. III. Title. JZ5005.T37 2005 352.11’3—dc22

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CONTENTS Foreword, by Newt Gingrich and George Mitchell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v 1. American Interests and the United Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Saving Lives, Safeguarding Human Rights, and Ending Genocide . . . . . . . . . . 27 3. In Need of Repair: Reforming the United Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 4. Deterring Death and Destruction: Catastrophic Terrorism and the Proliferation of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . 63 5. War and Peace: Preventing and Ending Conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 6. Helping People and Nations: Development and Humanitarian Assistance . . . 105 Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 A: Task Force on the United Nations Consultations, December 2004–June 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 B: Legislation Establishing the Task Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 C: The United Nations as a Series of Concentric Rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 List of Acronyms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Members of the Task Force on the United Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

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FOREWORD This report on the United Nations is a call for action. It is a call for concrete action now. In December 2004, the U.S. Congress, at the behest of Representative Frank Wolf, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, and State, mandated the establishment of a bipartisan Task Force on the United Nations. The legislation stipulated that the Task Force, to be organized by the United States Institute of Peace, should report to Congress within six months with its conclusions and recommendations on how to make the United Nations more effective in realizing the goals of its Charter. Task Force members, experts, and staff have worked energetically to carry out this mandate. This has involved extensive research, numerous interviews and meetings with individuals and organizations, and fact-finding missions around the world (see Appendix A). This report represents the results of the Task Force’s efforts. It is worth underscoring that the Task Force focused on the United Nations from the perspective of American interests and America’s international responsibilities. This is an important distinction. At the same time, core American interests in security, peace, stability, democracy, and human rights are those shared by many other countries around the world. If we are to see the United Nations recover from its present difficulties, American leadership will