U.S. participation in the UN: report by the President to the Congress for the year 1998

172 Pages·1999·10.8 MB·English

by  United States. Department of State. Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

United States Department ofState
United States Participation
in the United Nations
A QQQ
Report by the President 1
LssO
to Congressfor the year
DEPARTMENTOF STATE PUBLICATION 10623
Bureau ofInternational Organization Affairs
ReleasedAugust 1999
Coverphotosby: UnitedNations
Forsale by the U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328
ISBN 0-1 6-0501 31-8
United States
Participation
in the United Nations
Report by the President
to the Congress
for the year 1998

CONTENTS
Introduction
Political and SecurityAffairs 1
UN Reform
1
Economic and SocialAffairs 2
Development and Humanitarian ReliefActivities 3
Administration andBudget 3
SpecializedAgencies 4
1. Political and Security Affairs
Regional Issues 7
Middle East 7
Situation in the Middle East 7
UN Interim Force in Lebanon 7
UN Disengagement ObserverForce 7
UN Reliefand Works Agency forPalestine Refugees 8
Iraq 8
Africa 9
Working Group on Reduction ofConflict 9
Angola 12
Burundi 13
Central African Republic 13
Democratic Republic ofthe Congo (Zaire) 15
Ethiopia/Eritrea 17
Libya 18
Rwanda 19
Sierra Leone 21
Somalia 22
Western Sahara 22
Western Hemisphere 23
Cuba 23
Guatemala 24
Haiti 24
OtherAreas 25
Afghanistan 25
Bougainville 26
Cambodia 26
Cyprus 27
Georgia 28
India/Pakistan 29
Tajikistan 30
The FormerYugoslavia 30
Special Political Issues 34
International Peace and Security 34
Disarmament Issues 36
Disarmament Commission 36
Conference on Disarmament 37
FirstCommittee 38
OtherIssues 39
Committee onthe Peaceful Uses ofOuter Space 39
Non-Self-Governing Territories 39
Year2000 ComputerProblem (Y2K) 40
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UnitedStatesParticipationinthe UnitedNations- 1998
2. Reform ofthe United Nations
Reform ofthe UnitedNations 43
Secretary General's Reform Initiatives 43
Reforms in International Organizations: UN Headquarters 44
Peacekeeping Reform 45
Security Council Reform 46
3. Economic and Social Affairs
Economic and Social Affairs 47
General Assembly 47
Economic and Social Council 47
UN Conference on Trade andDevelopment 49
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) 49
Commission for Social Development 50
Regional Economic Commissions 51
Economic Commission forEurope 51
Economic Commission forLatin America andthe Caribbean ....52
Economic and Social Commission forAsiaandthe Pacific 53
Human Rights 54
Status ofWomen 56
Commission onthe Status ofWomen 56
Crime Prevention and Control 58
DrugAbuse Control 59
NGO
Committee 61
4. Development and Humanitarian ReliefActivities
UN DevelopmentProgram 63
UN Children's Fund 64
World Food Program 65
UN High CommissionerforRefugees (UNHCR) 66
Disasterand Humanitarian ReliefActivities 67
Tampere Convention 69
ReliefWeb 71
PopulationActivities 71
Human Settlements 72
5. Science, Technology, and Research
UN Environment Program (UNEP) 75
Protection ofWorld Climate 76
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) 76
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 77
UN Scientific Committee onthe Effects ofAtomic Radiation 77
6. Legal Developments
International Court ofJustice (ICJ) 79
Iran v. United States ofAmerica 79
Libya v. United States ofAmerica 80
Paraguay v. United States ofAmerica 80
Immunity from Legal Process ofa Special Rapporteur
ofthe Commission on Human Rights 81
International Law Commission (ILC) 81
UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) 82
Pending Legislation to Implementthe UN Model Law
on Cross-BorderInsolvency 82
DraftConvention on Commercial Finance 83
ii
Table ofContents
International Project Finance 83
Electronic Commerce 83
Future Work 84
International Recognition ofLaw Unification Work 84
International Criminal Court (ICC) 85
UNDecade ofInternational Law 86
Host Country Relations 86
International Terrorism 87
Strengtheningthe Role ofthe UnitedNations 88
International Criminal Tribunals forRwanda
andthe formerYugoslavia 88
Law ofthe Sea 89
7. Administration and Budget
CurrentFinancial Situation ofthe UnitedNations 91
UN
Budget 92
AuditReports 93
Financing Peacekeeping Operations 94
Scale ofAssessments 95
Committee forProgram and Coordination 96
Joint Inspection Unit 97
Office ofInternal Oversight Services 97
International Civil Service Commission 98
Human Resources Management 99
Employment ofAmericans 100
UN Joint StaffPensionBoard 102
8. Specialized Agencies and Other Bodies
Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO) 105
International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA) 107
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 108
International Fund forAgricultural Development (IFAD) 110
International LaborOrganization (ILO) Ill
International Maritime Organization (IMO) 113
International Monetary Fund (IMF) 115
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 115
International Trade Center(ITC) 116
UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 117
Universal PostalUnion (UPU) 118
World Health Organization (WHO) 120
PanAmericanHealth Organization (PAHO) 123
International Agency forResearch on Cancer(IARC) 124
JointUN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 124
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 125
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 126
Appendices
1. Address by President William J. Clinton 129
2. Principal Organs ofthe UnitedNations 135
General Assembly 135
Security Council 138
Trusteeship Council 138
Economic and Social Council 138
International Court ofJustice 139
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UnitedStatesParticipation inthe UnitedNations- 1998
3.United States Representatives 141
UN General Assembly 141
Subsidiary and OtherBodies 141
Security Council 142
Trusteeship Council 142
Economic and Social Council and Related Bodies 142
Functional Commissions 143
Regional Economic Commissions 143
Standing Committees 144
Related Subsidiary Bodies 144
SpecializedAgencies and OtherBodies 144
U.S. Permanent Representatives tothe UnitedNations
from 1946 to 1998 146
Index 147
iv
Introduction
Political and Security Affairs:
The Security Council had mixed success in 1998 responding to threats
to international peace and security. The United States provided leadership
on the Council to continue insistence that Iraq comply with all relevant
UN
Security Council resolutions, and led coalition air strikes against Iraq
whenthe Governmentcontinuedto defythe Council. The Council adopted
aU.S./U.K. initiativetotrythe PanAm 103 suspects by a Scottish court in
theNetherlands, putting additional international pressure on Libya, but by
the end of1998, Tripolihadnotturned overthe accusedterrorists. A small
number ofAfrican states violated UN Security Council sanctions against
Libya. In Africa, the situation in Sierra Leone, Congo, and Ethiopia/Eri-
trea gave continued cause for concern, notwithstanding Council efforts to
end the conflicts. Fighting resumed in Angola despite the presence of a
UN peacekeeping contingent. Serbian atrocities continued in Kosovo in
the face of Security Council appeals to stop the violence. The Security
Council unanimously adopted a resolution which condemned India's and
Pakistan's nucleartests.
In the General Assembly, U.S. efforts were instrumental in the adop-
tion ofa resolution deploring nucleartesting by India and Pakistan. How-
ever, outdated and unbalanced rhetoric from the past crept back into
several UN General Assembly resolutions on the Middle East. Over U.S.
opposition, the General Assembly also upgradedthe status ofthe Palestin-
ian observermissiontothe UN.
The size and number ofUN peacekeeping operations were relatively
stable, with approximately 14,000 peacekeepers deployed. The small UN
civilian police mission in Eastern Slavonia, Croatia, terminated on sched-
ule in October. The Security Council established two new peacekeeping
operations in the Central African Republic and in Sierra Leone. The U.S.
Government continued to work with the United Nations and other coun-
tries to improve the civilian police aspect of peacekeeping. The United
States and Argentina cohosted a civilian police workshop in December as
UN
a follow-upto the seminarin March.
UN
Reform:
During 1998, the General Assembly implemented many of Secretary
General Annan's reform proposals, which the United States strongly sup-
1
UnitedStatesParticipation inthe UnitedNations- 1998
UN
ported. Cost savings enabled the 1998-1999 budget to be reduced to
its lowest level since 1992-1993. The United States was instrumental in
obtaining a 15 percent staffing reduction in the Department ofPeacekeep-
ing Operations. The United States also continued to urge that the Security
Council be expanded, including a provision for permanent seats for Ger-
many and Japan and up to three permanent seats from the developing
countries ofAsia, Africa, and LatinAmerica andthe Caribbean.
Economic and Social Affairs:
Economic and social issues at the United Nations are considered both
in the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council as well as
in a range ofregional and specialized commissions. The prominent eco-
nomic issues debated in 1998 were the financial crisis, globalization, and
trade and development. In each case, the United States sought balanced
resolutions identifying best practices available to countries undergoing
economic challenges.
In the social arena, the United States highlighted its concern over con-
tinued violations of human rights in a number of countries. At the UN
Commission on Human Rights, the United States won support for resolu-
tions detailing human rights violations in the former Yugoslavia and in
Sudan. The Commission also approved a Chairman's statement on Kos-
ovo. A U.S. resolution identifying human rights violations in Cuba fell
fourvotes shortofacceptance. AttheGeneral Assembly, theUnitedStates
played a leading role in obtaining passage ofupdated resolutions address-
ing human rights situations in the former Yugoslavia in general and in
Kosovo specifically, and in Burma, Cambodia, Haiti, Iran, and Rwanda.
Other social commissions in which the United States is active include
the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Commission for Social
Development, andthe Commission on the Status ofWomen. Atthe Com-
mission on the Status ofWomen, the United States obtained consensus on
a resolution on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. In the
General Assembly the United States cosponsored resolutions to prohibit
traffic inwomen andgirls and female genital mutilation.
U.S. drug control objectives were supported bytwo key UN organiza-
—
tions the UN International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the
International Narcotics Control Board. In 1998, UNDCP provided drug
control assistance to 65 countries, and the United States was particularly
encouraged by UNDCP's renewed emphasis on support forelimination of
illicit cultivation ofopium and coca. The General Assemblyheld a special
session oncounteringthe worlddrugproblem, attendedby PresidentClin-
ton and 31 otherheads ofstate.
Inrecognition ofthe valuable contributions beingmadebynongovern-
mental organizations (NGOs) to the work of the United Nations, the
NGO
United States advocated expanding participation.
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