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The following statement by Ambassador Kennedy was released by
the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York on January
31. USUN PRESS RELEASE - January 31, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Statement by Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform, on the Report of the High Level Panel on Reform, January 31, 2005
I would like to thank you and your staff for arranging this meeting and those that will follow to exchange ideas on ways Member States can build a more effective UN capable of meeting the challenges of the Twenty-First Century. The United States appreciates the considerable effort of the sixteen members of the High-Level Panel and welcomes its report. Let me underscore that the United States remains committed to efforts to build a more effective UN. We are open to looking at all options for UN reform, and will consider many of those of the High-Level Panel. The United States will evaluate any UN reform proposals in terms of whether they would achieve the objective of a more effective, efficient UN able to meet new challenges, consistent with the UN Charter. Deliberations on UN reform should not be limited to the recommendations of the panel's report. These recommendations should be but a first step in a more sweeping introspection and broader reform effort that UN Member States should undertake. Ultimately, broad consensus among Member States - both within the organization as a whole and in regional groups - will be essential to implementing any reforms. Mr. President, President Bush, in his remarks in Halifax on December 1, called on other nations to work with us to make multilateral institutions and actions more effective in meeting the unique threats of our time. During his address to the General Debate of the 59th General Assembly on September 21, President Bush emphasized that "the American people respect the idealism that gives life to this organization." He added, "Defending our ideals is vital - but it is not enough. Our broader mission as UN members is to apply these ideals to the great issues of our time. Our wider goal is to promote hope and progress as the alternatives to hatred and violence." The High-Level Panel Report is in the spirit of that noble perspective and gives us a number of proposals, ideas and suggestions that will help us reach agreement on how to reform this body. I would like to take a moment to address briefly a number of the issues raised by the Panel's extensive report: · The United States strongly agrees with the Panel's emphasis on the need for a more effective international response to threats posed by terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, and failed states. · We support the Panel's endorsement of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and call for compliance with all Security Council resolutions on terrorism and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We agree that a definition of terrorism needs to exclude state military operations and underscore that the fact of occupation does not justify the targeting and killing of civilians. Further, we commend the Panel's recognition that norms governing use of force by non-State actors have not kept pace with those pertaining to States, and its recommendation that the UN must achieve the same degree of normative strength concerning non-State use of force as it has concerning State use of force. We strongly commend the Report's recommendation that states should join all twelve international terrorism conventions and protocols and adopt the Financial Affairs Task Force (FATF) nine Special Recommendations. We strongly support the Report's call for the Secretary General to promote a strategy to combat terrorism that includes efforts to counter extremism and intolerance. · The Panel's recommendations for improving UN capabilities on peacekeeping and post conflict peace-building are of interest and should be given careful consideration. · We strongly support the Report's call for a collective commitment to sustainable growth and poverty eradication. · We would also like to see a universal commitment in the UN to promoting democracy and market-based economic systems. The Panel also cites a very important principle that comes out of the Monterrey Consensus, namely, each country has primary responsibility for its own economic and social development. The international community can help, but there is no substitute for domestic policies and institutions that promote growth. If the UN system is to be effective, it must help countries implement good governance and market-based policies that encourage entrepreneurship and business formation. · The Panel's emphasis on confronting the security implications of HIV/AIDS and strengthening international cooperation to contain outbreaks of infectious diseases is particularly important and timely. · The Panel is going in the right direction with its ideas for Secretariat reform. Mr. President, In putting together its recommendations on a Peacebuilding Committee and a Peacebuilding Support Office, the High-Level Panel is rightly focused on the need for better coordination within the UN system and the donor community to plan and manage more effective post-conflict assistance. We welcome the Panel's focus on human rights. In fact, human rights are reflected throughout the Panel's Report and its recommendations make clear that support for human rights is critical to peace-making as well as peace-building. As a body working to protect and promote human rights around the world, the UN Commission for Human Rights faces a variety of challenges if it is to better meet its mandate. The rigidity of regional groupings, bloc voting on resolutions and the presence of egregious human rights violators on the Commission are, among otherthings, undercutting the Commission's ability to promote and protect human rights. The attack on country-specific resolutions, the Commission's primary tool in calling attention to specific human rights situations, is troubling. The United States believes that universalization of the Commission, as recommended by the High-Level Panel, may not be the best way to enhance the effectiveness of the Commission for Human Rights in carrying out its mandate. Instead, the United States believes we need to look at a mix of structural and procedural reforms aimed at improving the Commission's membership and its ability to implement its vital mandate more effectively. We look forward to further engagement with Member States to ensure that the Commission for Human Rights lives up to its mandate. Mr. President, We also applaud the Panel's acknowledgement that the Security Council needs to be more proactive in dealing with increased threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and must address their means of delivery, and act decisively and earlier. With regard to the use of force, we will be discussing this matter further, but think that it is important to highlight several aspects today. We agree with the Panel's reaffirmation that Article 51 includes the right of anticipatory self-defense, and that Article 51 should not be re-written. Anticipatory action is an element of the inherent right of self-defense that pre-dates and remains lawful under the UN Charter. We would emphasize that the right of self-defense must today be understood and applied in the context of new threats posed by global terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. In recognition of the inherent and fundamental nature of self-defense, the United States opposes any reinterpretation of the UN Charter that would require Security Council approval as a precondition to a state using force in self-defense. Mr. President, I would like to reiterate the United States' position on Security Council reform. The United States remains open to considering recommendations, including those of the High-Level Panel, concerning UN Security Council reform. We will evaluate all proposals to reform the Security Council in terms of their effectiveness. We believe that broad consensus -- both within the organization as a whole and in regional groups -- will be needed to advance any structural reform of the Security Council. In suggesting two models for an expanded Council, the Panel clearly recognizes the significant challenges that the international community must address in considering any Council expansion. Mr. President, The United States has long advocated budget reform and wise financial stewardship as well as greater transparency in order to strengthen the UN. We are closely examining the Report's recommendations on strengthening financial accountability and efficient use of resources in the UN system. We will support initiatives that will ensure greater accountability from the UN, lead to increased transparency, and vastly improve the stewardship of the financial resources contributed by its Member States. I wish to make clear from the outset that implementation of reforms should advance through reprioritizing of resources and people so that the total UN budget and personnel levels do not increase as a result of our efforts. · First, the United States believes that any reform recommendations that require funding must be offset by reducing obsolete, inefficient and lower-priority programs. · Second, we should not rush to judgment on those reforms on which we are unlikely to achieve consensus and we should avoid a "package deal" that would link reforms achieved by consensus with those that remain contentious. · Finally, we believe that those reforms that can be agreed by consensus should be adopted and implemented immediately. We should not delay the implementation of reforms for the sake of having a reform package for the High-Level Event in September of this year. The United States looks forward to engaging with fellow Member States on ideas that we will be putting forward ideas on budget and administrative reforms Mr. President, In conclusion, these remarks represent our preliminary views. We have listened with interest to the views expressed over the last three days and we await the views of other Member States because it is through such dialogue that true progress can be made. We believe that proposals to reform the UN - those of the High-Level Panel as well as others -- deserve full, careful discussion and that the focus of preparations for the High-Level Event to be held on the margins of the 60th General Assembly should remain focused reviewing implementation of the Millennium Declaration. We seek to work together to have the UN live up to its intent, its purposes, its promise. Thank you. (end text) |