SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO.
COMMENDING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS FOR WORKING TO REFORM THE UNITED NATIONS, AND REQUESTING THAT CONGRESS PAY THE AMOUNTS OWED TO THE UNITED NATIONS.
WHEREAS, during the past decade, the United States Congress, in an effort to help build a better functioning, more effective United Nations for the coming millennium, has urged the United Nations to take meaningful steps towards reforming itself by: reducing inefficiencies, streamlining the organization, eliminating budgetary growth, reducing Secretariat staff, working to reduce UN costs borne by the United States, refocusing development efforts in support of open trade and free markets, and taking on new and emerging global scale challenges like drug trafficking, crime, terrorism and environmental protection.
WHEREAS a strong and effective United Nations, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, remains an important part of a strong and effective American foreign policy as it has been since its founding in 1945;
WHEREAS the United Nations has made demonstrable progress and shown good faith in moving to comply with American requests by:
Reducing its staff by more than 20% in the past decade, eliminating more than 3000 positions in the UN Secretariat, including 1000 in the past several years;
Adopting a no-growth budget since 1994, and reducing the UN regular budget by $123 million in its most recent budget cycle;
Appointing an Inspector General to root out waste, fraud and abuse, saving more than $80 million and numerous improvements in organizational operations;
Consolidating a wide variety of functions, including more than 12 Secretariat departments executive units;
Appointing an Efficiency board, akin to the US Reinventing Government initiative, that has resulted in hundreds of efficiency improvements and millions of dollars in savings;
And attracting dynamic, new leaders to head key UN agencies and improve overall management of the UN system.
WHEREAS, due to the end of the Cold War and the rapid growth of economic globalization, the United Nations is more important than ever as a forum for peace, progress and prosperity; particularly as the international institution capable of bringing all nations together to: set basic standards that are prerequisites to trade (e.g. standards for telecommunications, transportation and mail); work together on common global challenges like terrorism and the drug trade; promote the health and well-being of the world’s children; uphold basic human rights; feed the hungry; respond to natural disasters; develop peacekeeping operations and mediate conflict; and address global health challenges like polio, malaria and malnutrition.
WHEREAS the Executive and Legislative branches of the United States have suggested that UN reform would effectuate payment of US past dues, which the US is legally bound to honor and which now total more than $1 billion (or approximately one year of operations for the UN Secretariat).
NOW THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 140th General Assembly, the House of Representatives, concurring therein, in recognition of the rapidly increasing importance of the UN to the future stability of the word, and to the future security and prosperity of the United States and other nations, and in recognition of the UN’s marked progress and good faith work to comply with US reform requests, that the legislature of the state of Delaware, does hereby commend the United States Congress for its role in helping to reform the United Nations, and commend the United Nations for its successful implementation of these important and needed reforms, and therefore does hereby petition the United States Congress to authorize and appropriate moneys sufficient to pay amounts owed by the US to the UN, now in arrears, and, in addition, that the transfer of these funds to the UN be authorized by Congress in the current budget cycle.
This Resolution commends the United States Congress for its role in helping to reform the United States and peteitions the United States Congress to pay amounts owed to the United Nations by the United States.