An Effective U.N. Serves Local and World Interests

Late last month, President Clinton signed an appropriations bill that included $926 million to pay United States’ arrears to the United Nations. Because it has difficult strings attached, that bill has set in motion a potential train wreck for U.S. diplomacy.

The bill provides that our U.N. debt will be paid over the next three years, but the second and third annual installments will be paid only if the U.N. General Assembly votes to reduce the U.S. regular assessment from the current 25% to 22% and to reduce our peacekeeping assessment from 30% to 25%.

Those reductions have not been negotiated with or agreed to by the U.N. They are being unilaterally imposed by the U.S. There is no guarantee that those troubling conditions--imposed on past obligations--will be accepted by the necessary two-thirds majority of the U.N. General Assembly.

If the reductions are not accepted, the U.S. will be caught in an embarrassing stalemate of its own making, and the loss of goodwill may be more costly than the millions of dollars sought to be saved.

Ventura County residents ought to care that the U.S. is not meeting its financial obligations to the U.N. Although the U.N.’s work may be off the radar screen for most county residents, many of us do appreciate and admire the U.N.

Naturally, the U.N.’s involvement in our community is minimal. The U.N. lacks the authority to dictate to its member states, including the U.S. Moreover, our house is in order: U.N. assistance is not necessary for our security or welfare. Nevertheless, the U.N. has affected some Ventura County residents:

* Maria Mahmoodi is in the U.S. Navy. Until a recent relocation, Mahmoodi was a Navy flight surgeon at Point Mugu. As a teenager, she fled bloody religious persecution in her native country, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thanks to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, young Maria was provided with legal protection and assistance in resettling in the U.S. During her time in Ventura County, Dr. Mahmoodi was a positive and useful member of our community. But without the help she got from the U.N., Dr. Mahmoodi might never have made it to this country.

* In the mid-1980s, Oxnard resident Rose Leslye Stern was doing field work for the U.S. Peace Corps in Central America. While on duty in an isolated district of Belize, Stern became quite ill and dangerously dehydrated. Fortunately, she was supplying the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) oral rehydration therapy packets, a treatment for children dehydrated from diarrhea. Stern used some of the packets herself and the danger passed. She unexpectedly shared the benefits of the U.N.’s assistance to the children.

* Entomologist Jan Dietrick owns and operates an insectary in Ventura. Consulting contracts are a vital part of her business. Last year, Dietrick had a contract with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to study Turkmenistan’s beneficial insect production program. In Turkmenistan, Dietrick participated in an exchange of information on biological pest control to allow cotton farmers to minimize their use of pesticides. Dietrick wants to return to Turkmenistan, but the FAO is too strapped for cash. Dietrick thinks there would be a reciprocal benefit for California cotton farmers if the FAO project could be continued.

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Although these stories are noteworthy, they hardly make a compelling case for meeting our financial obligations to the U.N. The real reason Ventura County residents should want full payment is that the U.N. and its agencies serve U.S. interests with great effectiveness.

The U.S. benefits from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors nuclear reactors in 90 countries--many of which would not allow access to the U.S. alone--to prevent the diversion of nuclear materials from peaceful use to weapons use.

Unlike 20 years ago, no one has to get a smallpox vaccination before leaving home because the World Health Organization coordinated the effort to eradicate that disease, saving the U.S. millions.

The regular flow of mail between the U.S. and other countries is made possible by agreements supervised by the Universal Postal Union. The International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Telecommunications Union and the International Maritime Organization set worldwide standards to ensure the safety and reliability of international travel and communications.

UNAIDS provides health officials in the U.S. and other countries with the latest information and techniques for preventing and treating AIDS.

We all benefit from a U.N. treaty that bans the production of gases that destroy the ozone layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. U.S. farmers routinely use reports from the World Meteorological Organization. U.S. workers benefit from international labor standards set by the International Labor Organization.

The World Intellectual Property Organization promotes the interests of U.S. business by working to ensure respect for trademarks and copyrights. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund help to ease debt and foster economic growth in the developing world.

The U.N. has saved millions of people from famine, and has provided food, shelter, medical aid, education and assistance to millions of refugees around the world. The U.N. has negotiated more than 170 settlements worldwide to end wars, preserve cease-fires, protect civilians, resettle refugees, oversee the conduct of elections and monitor troop withdrawals.

The U.N. brings countries together to address important environmental issues, to develop regional efforts to clean up pollution and to predict and respond effectively to natural and man-made disasters.

Through U.N. human rights treaties and standards, our American ideals of freedom, democracy, equality before the law and the dignity of the individual have become internationally accepted.

An effective and capable U.N. serves our interests well. Unfortunately, we are on track toward getting a U.N. that is bankrupt, humiliated and ineffective, unless we let our leaders know that we want our U.N. dues paid without burdensome conditions.