At Confirmation Hearing, UN Ambassador-Designate Rice Calls for Renewed U.S. Leadership at United Nations

January 16, 2009

During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, UN Ambassador-designate Susan Rice pledged to strengthen America's role at the United Nations and to undertake a determined effort to improve the performance of the world body. Facing little criticism or tough questioning from Committee members, Rice said that there "is no country more capable than the United States to exercise leadership" at the United Nations and influence the work of the organization. "My most immediate objective, should I be confirmed, will be to refresh and renew America's leadership in the United Nations and bring to bear the full weight of our influence, voice, resources, values, and diplomacy at the United Nations."

Currently a fellow at the Brookings Institution, Rice was a senior foreign policy advisor for the Obama campaign and served in the Clinton administration as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and as a senior member of the National Security Council staff. While at the National Security Council, Rice worked on issues relating to international organizations and peacekeeping, as well as African affairs. Should she be confirmed as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Rice will serve in the Cabinet.

Endorses Paying Dues in Full and On Time, Lifting Peacekeeping Cap

In order to lead from a position of strength at the United Nations, the United States "must consistently act as a responsible, fully-engaged partner," which will require full payment of America's financial obligations, Rice said. Past failures by the United States to pay our dues, and to pay them on time, have inhibited the UN's performance and undermined American influence and U.S. reform efforts within the organization, she added. Rice said that she would work with the Committee and other legislators to ensure that the United States pays its UN dues in full and on time, "as well as to pay down our newly mounting arrears and to support legislation to permanently lift the cap on U.S. payments to the UN peacekeeping budget."

Kerry Criticizes Failure to Pay Our Share at UN

In his opening statement, the Committee's new chairman, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), also called for the U.S. to meet its financial obligations to the United Nations. Stating that American support for the United Nations is “critical”, Kerry lamented the U.S. practice of routinely falling behind in its UN dues payments. “If we expect the United Nations to fulfill its important missions, we need to do better at upholding our end of the bargain—and that means paying our share in full and on time.”

Lugar Calls on Rice to Be UN Advocate

In his opening remarks, the Committee’s senior Republican, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), encouraged Rice to be a vocal advocate for the UN to the American public and Congress. Observing that Americans are “frequently frustrated with the United Nations,” Lugar said the “job of U.S. Ambassador to the UN involves not only dealing with policies and politics in New York. Our UN Ambassador must be able to communicate to Congress and the American people why it is important to pay our UN dues on time, why peacekeeping operations benefit the United States, and why cooperation at the UN is essential to U.S. foreign policy.”

Rice Says UN Can Increase Legitimacy, Leverage of U.S. Actions

While making a strong case for the importance and value of working through the United Nations, Rice also acknowledged that the UN is an imperfect organization. She said that she is "acutely aware of its shortcomings" and noted that the UN often frustrates Americans. "The UN is not a cure-all," she told the Committee, "we must be clear-eyed about the problems, challenges and frustrations of the institution. But it is a global institution that can address a tremendous range of critical American and global interests." Since it represents every nation in the world, Rice said that winning the backing of the United Nations can enhance the legitimacy and leverage of U.S. actions and help broaden support for American policies.

When difficulties arise at the United Nations, Rice said the United States should intensify its efforts there instead of turning away from the organization. "When effective and principled UN action is blocked, our frustration naturally grows, but that should only cause us to redouble our efforts to ensure that the United Nations lives up to its founding principles."

Will Push for Improved UN Performance, Oversight

During her testimony, Rice repeatedly stressed that the Obama administration will work to make the United Nations more effective and efficient. "None of us can be fully satisfied with the performance of the UN, and too often we have been dismayed." Rice noted that the organization currently has more on its agenda than ever before and said that this historic workload brings "increased expectations and increased need to shed inefficiency and implement management best practices." She said that she will bring to the United Nations high expectations for its performance and accountability.

In pressing the UN "to become a more effective vehicle for collective action," Rice emphasized that the Administration will "be prepared to listen and to learn, to seek to understand and respect different perspectives." More specifically, she called for the U.S. to work with other governments to seek "substantial and sustained improvements across the full range of management and performance challenges, including financial accountability, efficiency, transparency, ethics and internal oversight, and program effectiveness." Rice observed that there has already been important work undertaken at the UN in all of these areas, but said "we have much further to go."

Later in the hearing, the Committee's new chairman, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), criticized the slow progress of reform efforts at the UN and emphatically warned that there can be no more "business as usual attitude." He said the Committee will take up the issue and that he will work to build a bipartisan effort to ensure that the UN reform process does not get off track.

Priorities Include Peacekeeping, Climate Change, Nuclear Arms, MDGs

Rice identified four issues that she would focus on during her time at the UN, if confirmed. The first, she said, is improving the UN's capacity to effectively deploy and manage complex peace operations. The current "gap between the number and the complexity of the missions the Security Council has committed the UN to perform, and its ability to do so, has arguably never been greater," Rice said. She named climate change as her second priority, and welcomed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's strong interest in the issue. She stated that the Obama administration "will engage vigorously in UN-sponsored climate negotiations."

Third, she said it is essential to strengthen the global nonproliferation and disarmament regime, including "upholding our obligations to work constructively and securely toward the goal of a world without nuclear weapons." She said the 2010 Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference "is an opportunity to strengthen all nations' adherence to the global nonproliferation regime for the 21st century." Rice identified the interrelated threats of poverty, environmental degradation, disease, extremism, violence, and failed states as her fourth priority. To combat these threats, she said the Obama administration supports broad-based and sustainable economic development, "including making the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) America's goals."

No Decision Yet on Seeking Human Rights Council Seat

In response to questioning from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Rice said that the Administration has not yet made a decision whether to seek a seat on the Human Rights Council. The Bush administration never ran for election to the Council, which was established in 2006 to replace the UN Human Rights Commission. While acknowledging concerns about the Human Rights Council’s performance, Rice said the United States should rely on active, effective and collaborative diplomacy to ensure that only the most credible and qualified countries are chosen to lead UN bodies, including the Council. This is difficult to do, she stated, if the United States is not engaged and “firing on all cylinders from within.”

Voices Support for CEDAW, Says Children's Treaty to be Reviewed

Regarding another UN human rights issue, Rice later told Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), that she supports U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Rice said ratification of the treaty will be a priority for the Obama administration. However, she said the Administration will need to review the Convention on the Rights of the Child before requesting Senate ratification.

Pledges to Listen, Engage, Collaborate at UN

At the end of her opening statement, Rice said that, if confirmed, she will "work energetically to help renew America's leadership in the world." She told the Committee, "I will listen. I will engage. I will collaborate. I will go to the UN convinced that this institution has great current value, even greater potential, and great room still for improvement." The Committee has scheduled a vote on Rice's nomination to be held on Wednesday, January 21, 2009.