The stars seem aligned to bring needed institutional, financial and management reforms to the United Nations.  Indeed, the US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, who has made reform his centerpiece talking point, has the perfect arsenal backing him up: He has the stage as the US Permanent Representative, he has the mandate within the State Department, he has a bipartisan goal, he has NGO support and he has the President’s backing. Better yet, he’s got real progress in New York with a UN Secretary-General who has proposed dozens upon dozens of reforms, an agreement at last fall’s World Summit endorsing wide-ranging reforms, a fine list of achievements already pocketed and US allies ready to go for more.

So why isn’t the Ambassador Bolton saying what reforms he is twisting arms to get at the United Nations?  And why are we about to face a crisis that, in a worst case scenario, would shut down the UN?

In testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, Senators seemed stumped as to why this rare opportunity for reform seemed to be passing us by with no clear agenda. What is the list of reforms the US is pursing in New York? asked Senators on both sides of the aisle. The Ambassador offered no clear list.  

Perhaps to help, Senator Lugar suggested his own list of 10 key areas. (Still a leader, as Chip Andreas points out.) Many important measures are already in the works. 

So, how is the US diplomatic effort going?  Not well, it seems. Without a clear campaign for specific reforms, other countries remain off the hook for agreeing – or not – to the US-led agenda. Critics of the US and opponents of many reforms – namely, the G-77 and China – have thrown up obstacles and opposed action on the Secretary’s proposed reforms. This has led to a fight over the budget, where developing and developed states may square off later this month. 

No one said UN reform was easy – that’s the whole point.  So what is the US strategy when it hits a bump? How much effort is the Administration putting into winning support for reform if it can not give specifics or offer its strategy to Senators eager to back up the US position? 

These questions grow just as the stakes rise.  Failure on reform looms as the US seeks to work at the UN on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, to convince the UN and its G-77 countries to support and man an expanded peacekeeping force for Darfur, and as nations gear up for a leadership battle over who should replace Secretary General Kofi Annan at the end of the year. 

A concerned Senator Chris Dodd wrote to Secretary of State Rice last week, urging that the US make every effort to lay out “clear markers of what the United States believes would constitute ‘sufficient’ reform and thereby trigger the release of further UN budget authority.” He then urged that the US “mount a diplomatic campaign to get other nations on board with reform.”

Rice should let Dodd know what the plan is. This could truly be a squandered moment, especially with strong bipartisan support for reforming the UN at many levels.  Much good work is already underway, with progress on accountability, management, oversight, modernization and peacekeeping. More is needed, but that chance will be lost if the US doesn’t role up its sleeves and take on the hard work required of diplomacy. 

That campaign should kick in now.  Avoiding the budget crisis and getting serious about reforms would also set a better stage for President Bush when he goes to address the General Assembly at the next world summit in September – just a few months away – than having a budget crisis and a reform agenda in tatters. 

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