| Our Position on UN Reform |  |
UNA-BRC Stands Up For Reform
For the past half year, the Blue Ridge Chapter has been heavily involved in following the process to reform, or revitalize, the United Nations, a process that will culminate in the World Summit at the UN in New York, September 14-16. The Summit will consider reforms, together with progress on the UN Millennium Development Goals. The Board wants to let the chapter membership know of an action that we took at our last board meeting before the Summit.
The Board of the Blue Ridge Chapter agreed on a position statement in support of UN reform at its 10 September board meeting. The Board also agreed that our chapter president would send the statement in letters to the president, the two senators from Virginia, and our area representatives. While supporting reform, much of our statement expressed our concern over the last-minute efforts by our government to derail the process. This effort began in the middle of August just one month before the Summit and shortly after the appointment of UN Ambassador Bolton, so many of you might be unaware of this recent development.
A copy of the Board's letter to the president follows.
10 September 2005
President George W. Bush The White House Washington DC
Dear Mr. President:
I am writing on behalf of the Board of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA. The Board supports most of the proposals for United Nations reforms recommended by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his March 2005 report In Larger Freedom.
We are concerned about the extent to which, during the month before the September Summit, the United States administration-through our UN Ambassador John Bolton-has worked to nullify many of the reforms that were proposed by the Secretary-General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and incorporated in the Secretary-General's report In Larger Freedom. For example, we are dismayed at our country's attempt to remove any reference to the Millennium Development Goals from the Draft Outcome Document intended for signing at the Summit Meeting. We disagree with our government's effort to delete the statement that "The use of force should be considered as an instrument of last resort," and the deletion of any mention of institutions and treaties that the U.S. administration opposes, such as the International Criminal Court and the Kyoto treaty on global warming.
In fact, we are concerned that the U.S.'s last-minute insertion of more than 400 proposed amendments to the Draft Outcome Document is in reality an effort to weaken or derail any effective UN reform process.
Especially important UN reforms that we support include the following:
- The Millennium Development Goals and a commitment of 0.7% of gross national income to the goals by the developed countries by 2015.
- Expansion of the Security Council.
- The replacement of the Commission on Human Rights with a smaller Human Rights Council.
- The creation of a Peacebuilding Commission.
- The creation of a Democracy Fund at the United Nations.
- The Model Additional Protocol for enforcement of the Treaty on Nuclear Nonproliferation.
- The development of a Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism that includes the definition of terrorism in Secretary-General Annan's In Larger Freedom.
- The legality of humanitarian intervention in situations where a government will not or cannot protect its citizens against crimes against humanity.
- Strengthening the effectiveness and credibility of the Secretariat and UN administration by increasing its accountability and transparency, by adding more effective oversight to its operations, and by increasing the authority of the Secretary-General, especially in relation to hiring capable leadership.
Instead of working against UN reform, we urge the President of United States and our congressional representatives to join cooperatively with the other 190 Member States of the United Nations in working for the success of the UN reform process and for the revitalization of the UN.
Sincerely,
Helen B. Reynolds
For the Board of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA