On June 8, the House International Relations Committee approved, 25-22, a bill (H.R. 2745) that would encourage the UN to initiate a number of administrative and financial reforms. Sponsored by Chair Henry Hyde (R-IL), the measure would require the State Department to withhold up to 50 percent of the United States’ assessed UN dues if the UN does not enact 39 goals that are laid out in the bill.
In his opening remarks, Rep. Hyde explained that the committee “has been looking into the leadership and management of the United Nations over the course of two Congresses. During our oversight hearings, it has become apparent that fundamental and wide-ranging reforms are needed at the United Nations if we are to avoid repeating the recent events of mismanagement and ethical lapses, and if the challenges the future holds for the United Nations are to be successfully met.”
Of particular interest to women, H.R. 2745 would mandate the UN to adopt a single, uniform Code of Conduct for all personnel serving in UN peacekeeping operations. The bill would require the establishment of a permanent, independent body to investigate allegations of misconduct, and would include professionals with experience investigating sex crimes. The measure would require that peacekeeping personnel to provide immediate medical assistance to victims of sexual abuse or exploitation, but states that the individual found guilty of misconduct should have sole responsibility for providing long-term care or treatment. In addition, the bill would require the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations to maintain a centralized database to track cases of misconduct, and would ensure that personnel who have been found guilty of misconduct are permanently barred from participating in future peacekeeping operations.
H.R. 2745 also would mandate that any state that has failed to uphold the values embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights would be ineligible for membership in any UN human rights body.
During consideration of the bill, Ranking Member Tom Lantos (D-CA) offered a substitute amendment that would have authorized the State Department to withhold up to 50 percent of the United States’ dues if the secretary has certified that only 32 or fewer of the goals have been met. The amendment was defeated, 23-24.
The committee also defeated, 3-39, an amendment by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) that would have expressed the sense of Congress that the United States should withdraw from the United Nations.
