Earlier this year, the Obama Administration trumpeted the recently passed United Nations regular budget as a triumph of fiscal discipline. To some degree, it is justified in that claim. The initial appropriations for the 2012–2013 budget (at $5.15 billion) are $263 million lower than the final expenditures for the 2010–2011 budget, and nearly $44 million lower than the 2012–2013 budget originally proposed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. This is only the third time since 1960 that the initial U.N. regular budget appropriation was lower than the final appropriation for the previous …
As expected, “Palestine” succeeded in gaining membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on October 31 with a vote of 107 in favor, 14 against, and 52 abstentions. The result was a foregone conclusion after UNESCO’s 58-member executive board voted 40–4 with 14 abstentions earlier this month to let the membership bid proceed. Reportedly, a number of delegations laughed when Israel voted no on membership for Palestine, and loud applause erupted in the chamber following the final vote. It is unlikely, however, that this good cheer …
President Barack Obama’s speech to the United Nations had more than a few elements of a domestic campaign stump speech. Indeed, after a few opening obligatory remarks about the history and ideals of the U.N., the President quickly launched into a detailed account of his record in office – ending the military operation in Iraq, transitioning more responsibility to Afghan authorities, and killing Osama bin Laden – clearly aimed at American voters. Even when the President moved on to highlight the accomplishments of the U.N. he did so in a …
Various news outlets are reporting that Rod Beckstrom, chief executive of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), intends to leave the organization next July. For those who are not familiar with ICANN, the organization is a nonprofit corporation charged with regulating and managing the Domain Name System under which Internet Protocol addresses and registration of top-level domains (such as .org and .com) are assigned. “Governance” of the medium has been historically minimal—led by nongovernmental entities and overseen by the U.S. government, which has exercised a light regulatory …
The United States is the largest contributor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). According the Congressional Research Service, “Since UNRWA’s inception in 1950, the United States has provided the agency with nearly $4 billion in contributions. U.S. contributions to UNRWA have steadily increased over the past decade, with nearly $228 million thus far for [fiscal year] 2010.” This support is intended to help provide food, shelter, medical care, and education for the Palestinian refugees (and their decedents) fleeing the 1948 …
The United Nations has responded in several ways to the Libyan regime’s terrible acts over the past few weeks. None of those actions, including the premature referral of Libyan to the International Criminal Court, have seemingly given Muammar Qadhafi much concern. Attacks continue, people are dying, and Qadhafi remains intent to stay in power. The carnage has increased calls for the United States and other countries to intervene in Libya by imposing a no-fly zone or undertaking more robust actions. Indeed. The U.S., France and the United Kingdom are reportedly …
On March 18, the United Nations Human Rights Council is scheduled to consider its final report of Libya’s human rights record that was conducted under the body’s Universal Periodic Review. The first part of the human rights review of the “Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya”, conducted on November 9, 2010, was an all too typical dog and pony show. Libya’s submission to the Council asserted that the regime observed and protected a host of basic human rights including freedoms of expression, religion, and association. During the review, governments lined …
As Middle Eastern and North African governments totter and fall, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has his sights set on the real crisis: getting Hollywood to produce more films on global warming. As reported in the Guardian: Ban has been on the phone to Gaddafi and other leaders in the Middle East from Hollywood, where he is trying to raise the profile of climate change and – who knows – maybe pitch a movie. You might think that Secretary-General Ban’s priorities are a bit backwards. Perhaps he could fit in …
Ambassador Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, gave the first of a series of scheduled speeches last week in Portland, Oregon. The focus of the speeches is “Why America Needs the UN” and was inspired, apparently, by congressional efforts to include U.S. payments to the U.N. among efforts to cut the U.S. budget deficit. Her speech was dominated by unstinting praise for the U.N. and arguments intended to instill that viewpoint in her audience. Describing it as hagiographic would be going too far, perhaps, but not by …
Last week, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled “The United Nations: Urgent Problems that Need Congressional Action.” At that hearing, Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R–FL) made a statement: Ambassador Susan Rice says that the U.S. approach to the U.N. is, “We pay our bills. We push for real reform.” Instead, we should be conditioning our contributions on “reform first, pay later.” In the past, Congress has gone along by willingly paying what successive Administrations asked for—without enough oversight. This is one of the first true …
