U.S. Funding for the United Nations

* Re “U.S. Vetoes 2nd Term for Boutros-Ghali,” Nov. 20:

The United States should stop stiffing the U.N., and should state with particularity the facts (if any) upon which it opposes the reelection of the popular and capable Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

THOMAS PRINDIVILLE

HIGGINS, Ventura

* Having served in the United Nations, I read your Nov. 19 editorial, “When All Is Said, a Debt’s a Debt,” with a mix of amusement and consternation. While I agree that the U.N. “remains an essential forum for international communication and cooperation,” it is nonetheless an institution so thoroughly flawed that I have reached the reluctant conclusion that it serves little useful purpose in its present state.

The payment of arrears to the U.N. without first securing vitally needed reforms, would reinforce a widely held belief in the organization that the U.S. possesses a bark far more powerful than its bite.

The U.N. bureaucracy has become an organization dedicated to the perpetuation and enlargement of its mandate. A perfect example of this mission creep is the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Although widely praised for its operational role in emergencies in such places as Bosnia and Rwanda, the agency has largely ignored its rather limited, but important, mandate: the protection of refugees’ legal rights. In so doing, it has strayed well beyond its mandate and onto the turf of other U.N. agencies, such as the Department of Humanitarian Affairs. Regrettably, there are many such examples of duplicated efforts and turf grabbing.

Another troubling aspect of the U.N. organization is its elite international civil service. In most instances, international civil servants enjoy a standard of living far above that offered in their home countries. In such a circumstance, tenure becomes the paramount goal.

The inefficiencies of the U.N. matter to Americans because we pay about 50% of its budget. Hard-working taxpayers have a legitimate right to demand that their taxes are put to proper use. If the only way to focus attention on the serious problems afflicting the U.N. is to withhold dues, then that action, though draconian, is proper.

ANDREW J. MICHELS

Venice