United Nations Participation in 2015 in the United States

United States Participation in the United Nations in 2015

According to the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, of the U.S. Department of State:

In 2015 the United States continued to strengthen its leadership in a host of UN agencies and organizations in support of U.S. national interests, and to advance shared objectives. U.S. leadership in these venues is often instrumental in driving important initiatives, highlighting the need for assertive action, and blocking counterproductive measures from undemocratic member states. In the absence of active U.S. presence throughout the international system, including at the United Nations, there is scant reason to believe that U.S. national interests would or could be as energetically or successfully protected and promoted.

U.S. leadership was evident in the widest range of UN organizations and other bodies, including the Security Council, which applied its focus to the complex situations in the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Libya, Mali, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. U.S. leadership was important in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which continued to monitor and verify that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful in nature. And U.S. leadership made its mark in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), which in 2015 passed three resolutions condemning human rights abuses and violations in Syria, and contemplated accountability options for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). The HRC also renewed important thematic mandates, including that of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression – a U.S. initiative. Additionally, the HRC passed its fourth U.S.-led resolution on Sri Lanka, which was adopted by consensus and cosponsored by the Sri Lankan government, and renewed significant country-specific mandates, including ones concerning Belarus, Burma, and Iran. Finally, with U.S. leadership, the Council convened a Special Session on Burundi that concluded with adoption of a resolution authorizing the deployment of a Panel of Experts to address the deteriorating human rights situation there.

Another crucial priority for the United States at the United Nations is the ongoing effort to foster a more effective, efficient, transparent, and credible UN system. During 2015, the United States managed to reduce the level of the UN regular budget. This included the abolishment of approximately 150 posts, roughly 1.5 percent of the total number of posts funded through the regular budget, as well as reductions in travel and other costs. In addition, the United States made progress in controlling budget growth, such as in the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, which adopted a zero nominal growth budget in 2015 for the 2016-2017 biennium.

The report’s discussion of initiatives to advance U.S. interests in the UN system are organized under section headings for political and security affairs, economic and social affairs, specialized agencies, legal developments, and budget and administration.

Political and Security Affairs

The United States engages vigorously on a range of political and security issues throughout the UN system, often most visibly through U.S. leadership on the Security Council. However, U.S. actions and initiatives in the UN General Assembly, the HRC, and other bodies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also advance important U.S. priorities.

With U.S. leadership, 2015 represented another busy year for the UN Security Council, with the adoption of 90 decisions, including 64 resolutions and 26 presidential statements. These figures closely approximate the Council’s activity in 2014. Of the 64 resolutions adopted, 56 were adopted unanimously. Two resolutions were vetoed, both by Russia, on issues pertaining to the commemoration of the massacres in Srebrenica and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. In addition, the Council issued 128 press statements, just 10 fewer than in 2014, and held 245 formal meetings, 18 fewer than in 2014. The continued heightened level of activity represents the Council’s continuing interest in strengthening the direction of UN peacekeeping missions and resolving conflicts across Africa and the Middle East.

As Security Council president in December 2015, the United States oversaw an active Council calendar. It led Council efforts to adopt 10 resolutions, including resolutions to advance discussions to resolve political conflicts in Syria and Libya, as well as reverse the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria. The United States held the first-ever Council session to address the issue of trafficking in persons in the context of the activities perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which resulted in a presidential statement on this issue. The United States also convened the finance ministers of Council members to combat terrorist financing, which resulted in a resolution.

As violence in Syria entered its fifth year, the Security Council passed Resolution 2254, the first UNSC Resolution on Syria to establish a political framework for transition in the country. The United States continued to work with the UN to find a way for UN agencies and humanitarian partners to provide continued aid to millions of Syrians in need across four border crossings, even as the painful deadlock continued on a political solution to the conflict.

U.S. efforts led to Human Rights Council (HRC) support for passage of three resolutions condemning Syrian human rights abuses and violations. In addition, UN agencies including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) played critical roles in coordinating and delivering humanitarian assistance to those affected by the crisis, both inside Syria and across the region.

As the conflict in Libya expanded, the United States joined successful votes in 2015 to adopt resolutions in the Security Council urging a national dialogue by Libyan constituents to complete a peaceful, democratic transition process, strengthen Libyan institutions, and promote and protect human rights.

In December 2015 the United States used the power of the Security Council presidency to hold the second Security Council meeting focused on the human rights situation in North Korea. The United States marshalled the necessary nine votes to overcome a procedural motion by China to block the session. The United States used that session to highlight the regime’s continued widespread abuses.

Furthermore, the United States contributed to a resolution that outlined the legal framework and repercussions of child soldiers in areas of conflict; the resolution was a pivotal step forward in increasing member-state collaboration to enforce child protection in conflict areas and in advancing the agenda of Children and Armed Conflict.

As the violence in Burundi escalated, the United States supported UNSC Resolution 2248, which condemned the violence and urged the Government of Burundi to punish those committing human rights abuses. The United States also co-led a Security Council mission to Burundi in March.

In response to Russian aggression in Ukraine, the United States focused its efforts on identifying Russia’s role in supplying, training, and executing military missions in tandem with separatists in eastern Ukraine, and explored how the United Nations could support the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in its monitoring mission during periodic sessions in the Security Council. In February 2015, the Security Council unanimously endorsed the package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements and called on all parties to implement fully the “Package of measures” including a comprehensive ceasefire. Throughout the year, the United States successfully defeated efforts by Russia to present draft resolutions and press statements which would have blamed the Government of Ukraine for the crisis.

Following the continuation of violence in Yemen, the United States joined in the adoption of UNSC Resolution 2216, which called upon all Yemeni parties to rejoin the UN-sponsored peace talks and also imposed a targeted arms embargo and new targeted sanctions on individuals undermining the transition process and threatening Yemen’s peace, security, and stability. The United States also renewed the UN sanctions measures in UNSC Resolution 2204 and reiterated its support for UNSC Resolution 2140 (2014), which expressed strong support for the Yemeni government and people as they continued the country’s political transition.

The IAEA continued its efforts to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, and to address all outstanding issues regarding that program. On July 14, 2015, the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the European Union (EU), and Iran reached a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful. The JCPOA came into effect, and participants began taking steps necessary to implement their JCPOA commitments on October 18, 2015 (“Adoption Day”). January 16, 2016 marked Implementation Day of the JCPOA, when the IAEA verified that Iran had implemented its key nuclear-related measures described in the JCPOA, and the Secretary of State confirmed the IAEA’s verification. As a result of Iran’s verifiably meeting its nuclear commitments, the United States and the EU lifted nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, as described in the JCPOA. The IAEA also maintained a dedicated focus on the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea’s (DPRK, also North Korea) nuclear file, and continued to maintain readiness to establish its monitoring and verification presence in North Korea, despite its absence from the country since April 2009. The IAEA Director-General continued to report on the DPRK and Syria to the IAEA Board of Governors.

The United States devoted a significant amount of attention to Israeli and Palestinian issues at the United Nations. In monthly UNSC meetings on the situation in the Middle East, U.S. representatives unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism and consistently called for the international community to support a negotiated two-state solution and oppose all efforts that, in the U.S. view, would undermine that goal. In addition, U.S. representatives appealed to donors globally to sustain support for the Palestinian Authority and organizations that provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. The United States continued to support UN peacekeeping operations on Israel’s borders with Syria, and urged continued maintenance of the UN Disengagement Observer Force in the Golan Heights (UNDOF).

On September 28th, 2015, President Obama convened a Leader’s Summit on Peacekeeping (Summit), co-hosted by the Secretary-General and eight other UN member states. High-level leaders – mostly heads of state – of 49 countries and three international organizations attended. Participants made commitments to peacekeeping that amounted to more than 40,000 new troops and police, generating unprecedented potential uniformed capacity for UN operations. Many also made commitments to peacekeeping reforms and/or to host ministerial-level follow-on events that would motivate member states to expedite the readiness of their pledged capacities to deploy and would generate more pledges of uniformed personnel, capacity-building programs for peacekeepers, and political commitment to advance reform.

The United States made a number of commitments at the Summit, including working with the United Nations to double the number of U.S. military staff officers serving in UN peacekeeping operations; working with UN experts to identify cost-effective technology solutions to critical operational challenges, such as shortfalls in countering improvised explosive devices (IEDs), force protection, protection of civilians, collaborative planning, information-led operations, rapid deployment of the vanguard force, and expeditionary logistics; and taking steps that would allow it to pre-position defense equipment to accelerate equipping and deploying personnel to UN and regional peacekeeping operations.

In addition, at the Summit President Obama issued a new Policy Memorandum on U.S. Support to Peace Operations (Policy Memorandum), the first such guidance in over 20 years. The Policy Memorandum departs from its predecessor in a number of important ways, including its emphasis on prevention, mediation, and peacebuilding and its attention both to UN peacekeeping operations and UN special political missions. The Policy Memorandum has three areas of focus: enhancing U.S. efforts to propel peacekeeping through U.S. bilateral partnerships and capacity-building programs with regional organizations and troop- and police-contributing countries; increasing contributions of U.S. personnel to UN peacekeeping, while deepening U.S. diplomatic engagement in comprehensive political solutions that prevent the need to deploy peacekeeping operations, ensure their success in the field, and allow them to exit responsibly; and finally, redoubling U.S. commitment to advance efforts at the United Nations for systemic reform at a time when that organization has undertaken a transparent and detailed look at its own shortcomings, and has committed to make immediate changes.

The State Department worked closely with the Department of Defense and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations to identify what was needed to ensure comprehensive implementation of the Policy Memorandum, including priority actions to improve the performance and accountability of peace operations. This includes peace operations’ ability and willingness to implement mandates as well as preventing and responding to misconduct, including sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). The United States has long been a leader in pressing for reform on these issues. In response to an alarming number of allegations of SEA by UN civilian and uniformed personnel, the United States in 2015 pressed bilaterally and within UN forums for strengthened measures to prevent SEA, increasing accountability for offenders, withholding payments to troop- and police-contributing countries for personnel sent home for SEA, substantially improving oversight, and better support for victims. The United States actively supported the UN Secretary-General’s proposed measures to combat SEA. The United States also reviewed its military and police training programs to see how and where its own training could be improved. Combatting SEA was given central priority at the September 2015 Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping, co-hosted by the United States.

On September 29, 2015, President Obama hosted a Leaders’ Summit on Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism. The meeting convened leaders from more than 100 countries, 20 multilateral bodies, and 120 civil society and private sector organizations to review progress in countering ISIL, addressing the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), and countering and preventing violent extremism. Participants took note of the efforts of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL. They also expressed support for efforts to further implement UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014) on preventing the travel of, and support to, foreign terrorist fighters.

Participants welcomed progress on the comprehensive, multi-stakeholder action agenda against violent extremism developed at the February 2015 White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), which catalyzed a global movement to address the drivers of existing terrorist threats and prevent future ones from emerging. Progress has included new, inclusive national CVE strategies and programs that place increasing emphasis on the role of local communities; new initiatives involving women, youth, scholars, and clerics discrediting – both on-line and off-line – hateful ideologies and build community resilience against violent extremism; mayors and municipal leaders developing engagement programs that lift up and support ethnic and religious minority communities; additional funding and other support for practical multilateral CVE efforts, including those of the UN, the Global Counterterrorism Forum, Hedayah, and the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund; and the United Nations and other multilateral bodies intensifying their own CVE efforts, including by developing action plans, programs, and initiatives that will help sustain the global CVE movement. Participants also welcomed the update from the UN Secretary-General on the development of his plan of action to prevent violent extremism, which he planned to present to the UNGA in 2016.

Economic Development and Human Rights

In 2015, the United States continued its robust and sustained engagement at the UN General Assembly and in the HRC to promote and protect universal human rights. Action included U.S.-led initiatives at the HRC addressing freedom of opinion and expression and the situation in Sri Lanka. The United States also co-sponsored HRC resolutions on protection of civil society space; eliminating violence against women and girls; child, early, and forced marriage; and the elimination of discrimination against women. U.S. engagement also advanced other priorities, including championing freedom of religion, atrocities prevention, and defense of human rights.

The United States also played a leading role in HRC actions concerning critical country-specific issues. For example, the HRC passed three resolutions condemning human rights abuses and violations in Syria, including renewing the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria. In addition, the United States co-sponsored a resolution on North Korea, which renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights and called upon all parties concerned to consider implementation of several of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on North Korea, including the Security Council’s consideration of a referral of the situation in the DPRK to the International Criminal Court and imposition of targeted sanctions for perpetrators of what the COI considers “crimes against humanity” in that country. The HRC also renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, as well as the mandates on Belarus and Burma, passed a resolution on the situation in Ukraine, and renewed a Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea, among other significant country mandates.

In the UN General Assembly, the United States again supported and lobbied extensively on behalf of resolutions on the human rights situations in Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Burma. The resolution on Burma was adopted by consensus.

The United States also took the lead in efforts to follow up on the recommendations of the September 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. Among other things, the United States successfully pressed the HRC to adopt a resolution that launched a process to consider ways to reform the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to enhance its ability to promote the rights of indigenous people, including by advancing implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The United States took a leading role in the UN General Assembly’s considerations of ways to enhance indigenous peoples’ participation in the United Nations, introducing specific proposals for doing so and speaking out vocally in the negotiations. The United States also continued to advocate for the UN system to focus on eliminating violence against indigenous women and girls and is playing a leading role in UN discussions of ways to facilitate repatriation of sacred and culturally significant items originating in U.S. tribes.

The United States was actively engaged in shaping the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and its Sustainable Development Goals, the successor to the Millennium Development Goals. The final 2030 Agenda was adopted at a Presidential-level summit in September 2015, following extensive negotiations on its contents. The 17 Goals and 169 Targets of the 2030 Agenda will define global development priorities for the next 15 years. The final Agenda includes all core U.S. development priorities. The United States continues to be active in efforts to develop a set of detailed metrics (“indicators”) to assess progress against the 2030 Agenda.

Promoting reform and transparency and accountability in the UN’s technical and development agencies remained a top U.S. priority. The United States pressed to ensure that key UN development agencies, such as the UN Development Program (UNDP) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and key technical agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) could deliver on their missions and advanced important management, governance, and financing reforms. The United States worked to promote a culture of ethics in the agencies through strengthening their ethics offices and whistleblower protection policies and practices. The United States continues to work with the agencies and within their Boards to further improve transparency and accountability and to institute results and performance tracking and reporting systems, including through the use of baselines, indicators, and targets to measure program results established in their strategic plans.

Building on the success achieved in making public their internal audits, the United States continued to work in 2014 to institute greater performance accountability systems: to strengthen monitoring and evaluation functions to track and measure program results better, and to establish a management culture to use evaluation feedback to improve programs over time. The United States also worked with agencies toward establishing greater results-based resource allocation systems and integrated budgets and financing measures.

U.S. funding for and membership in the executive boards and committees of key UN humanitarian and development agencies once again played an essential role in the lives and well-being of tens of millions of people around the world. The United States used its leadership in executive boards, including of UNICEF, the UN Development Program, and the World Food Program, and engagement in the World Health Organization, to promote the work of these agencies to address humanitarian needs globally. The United States also engaged regularly with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to support its critical work to coordinate international humanitarian response efforts to global humanitarian crises. The United Nations played a critical role in coordinating and delivering humanitarian assistance to those affected by humanitarian crises, including in South Sudan, Iraq, Yemen, and the crisis in Syria, both inside Syria and across the region.

In 2015, the WFP gave food assistance to approximately 80 million people in 82 countries, including in countries facing severe emergencies, including Syria, Yemen, Iraq, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and El-Nino-affected countries. The WFP received $5.084 billion in contributions in 2015. As its single largest donor, the United States provided more than a third of that total – $2.007 billion – in calendar year 2015. The United States continued working with the WFP and other donors to expand the organization’s donor base.

The U.S. voluntary contribution ($30.8 million) to UNFPA’s core budget advances the U.S. government’s strategic foreign policy goals to reduce poverty, improve the health of women and their families, prevent HIV/AIDS, address gender-based violence, and provide voluntary family planning assistance worldwide. U.S. funding also supports humanitarian goals in conflict and emergency settings by increasing access to life-saving reproductive and maternal health services and addressing gender-based violence for those displaced by the crises in Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria, Iraq, and Ukraine.

Specialized Agencies and Other Bodies

Active U.S. leadership in the full range of UN specialized agencies and other bodies continued to be crucial, constructive, and sustained. These organizations are vitally important for the international system and to U.S. national interests. For example, the IAEA monitors and reports on nuclear programs in Iran, Syria, and North Korea; it also promotes the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, providing training and support in utilizing nuclear techniques in the areas of human health, agriculture, water management, and environmental protection to member states, particularly those in the developing world. In 2014 and 2015 the IAEA provided nuclear-based diagnostic kits and equipment that dramatically accelerated the diagnosis of the Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa. The IAEA – which hosts the only global ocean acidification monitoring facility at its environment laboratory in Monaco — participated in the “Our Ocean” Conference in Valparaiso, Chile in October 2015. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) develops and promotes standards and recommended practices for the safety, security, and environmental sustainability of international civil aviation, and in 2015 initiated new aviation safety measures for flight tracking and for threat warnings related to conflict zones.

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) fosters and defends the free flow of ideas and information, open access to education, democratic principles and practice, scientific knowledge, and invaluable cultural and natural heritage.

In view of Palestinian membership in UNESCO and existing U.S. legislation, the United States has not made voluntary or assessed contributions to UNESCO since October 2011. On November 8, 2013, the United States lost its vote in the UNESCO General Conference due to nonpayment of dues. The United States remains a full member of the Organization, and, through high-level U.S. engagement, was re-elected to the 58-member UNESCO Executive Board through fall 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is the critical global public health agency that has the objective of “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.” To that end, WHO cooperates with member states and technical partners across the spectrum of public health such as the International Health Regulations, technical cooperation and normative functions, and it is a key player in efforts to control and eradicate infectious disease threats, as well as addressing the range of challenges of health through the life course. In 2015, U.S.-led initiatives with WHO focused on an ongoing reform agenda, including International Health Regulations; the first Global Action Plan on Anti-Microbial Resistance to address a major public health threat; and a resolution addressing the health impact of air pollution. The United States also participates actively at WHO regional levels, particularly through the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), based in Washington, whose public health mandate is substantially aligned with that of WHO.

The United States was a driving force in bringing more than 190 countries together to adopt the most ambitious climate change agreement in history under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Paris Agreement of December 2015 establishes a long term, durable global framework to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. For the first time, all countries have committed to putting forward successive and ambitious, nationally determined climate targets and reporting on their progress toward them using a rigorous, standardized process of review.

The quinquennial 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (“Crime Congress”) took place in Doha, Qatar, in April 2015. The Crime Congress adopted the Doha Declaration to integrate crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider UN agenda to address social and economic challenges and to promote public participation and the rule of law at the national and international levels. The bi-annual Meeting of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC COSP) took place in November 2015 in St. Petersburg, Russia. U.S. efforts were key in the successful adoption of resolutions to counter money laundering and to promote the important involvement of civil society in strengthening anti-corruption efforts.

Budget and Administration

Due to strenuous efforts by the United States and other major contributors, the initial level of the regular budget for 2016-2017 represents an overall reduction of approximately $400 million compared to the final appropriation for 2014-2015.

Growth in the revised level of the 2014-2015 regular budget was limited to 2.7 percent, which resulted primarily from extraordinary one-time costs in 2015. The UN General Assembly also adopted a new UN compensation package that will reduce UN compensation costs by over $100 million annually. Regarding the scale of assessments, the 22 percent rate cap was maintained for the UN regular budget, while an agreement on UN peacekeeping rates resulted in a slightly higher U.S. assessment in 2016, followed by slight reductions in the rate in 2017 and 2018. The U.S. assessment rate is 28.57 percent in 2016, 28.47 percent in 2017, and 28.43 percent in 2018.