U.S. underrepresented at several U.N. agencies
Obama administration officials have spoken a great deal about their drive to reinvigorate U.S. participation in international organizations, including the United Nations. But last year, the American presence and influence in several parts of the United Nations actually declined, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found. "In 2009, the United States was underrepresented, based on ...
Obama administration officials have spoken a great deal about their drive to reinvigorate U.S. participation in international organizations, including the United Nations. But last year, the American presence and influence in several parts of the United Nations actually declined, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found.
Obama administration officials have spoken a great deal about their drive to reinvigorate U.S. participation in international organizations, including the United Nations. But last year, the American presence and influence in several parts of the United Nations actually declined, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found.
"In 2009, the United States was underrepresented, based on formal and informal targets, at all five of the UN organizations GAO reviewed-the Secretariat, World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)," states a new GAO report being released today. "In addition, U.S. representation in policymaking and senior-level positions generally decreased at these UN organizations from 2006 to 2009."
Despite the fact that the United States is assessed to provide 22 percent of the U.N. budget, Americans hold only 10.2 percent of professional positions in the U.N. Secretariat, 8.3 percent in the World Health Organization, and 7.4 percent in the U.N.’s refugee agency.
The report was requested by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and George Voinovich (R-OH), the chair and ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management.
"I am greatly concerned about the United States’ underrepresentation in UN agencies, which is why I asked GAO to conduct a follow-up review. U.S. citizens working in UN organizations provide valuable expertise while strengthening our global leadership and expanding our country’s influence," said Akaka. "As I have stated in the past, providing more entry level professional opportunities in multilateral institutions is key to building a more secure future. I urge the State Department to take up GAO’s recommendations."
The primary office responsible for managing the U.S. involvement in the United Nations is the Bureau of International Organization Affairs (IO), led by Assistant Secretary Esther Brimmer. The State Department has been making some efforts since 2006 to increase American representation at the United Nations, but progress has been hampered by a variety of factors, including Americans’ lack of proficiency in U.N. languages, lengthy hiring processes, and the feeling by some that there’s not much opportunity for professional advancement, the report said.
The GAO wants State to take a closer look at the effectiveness of its methods and to report to Congress in greater detail about U.S. representation. It also recommends that State consider implementing a pilot program to fund Junior Professional Officers (JPOs) at U.N. organizations.
"State has not assessed the effectiveness of most of its current efforts to increase U.S. representation," the report stated. "Despite State’s efforts, many Americans employed at the five organizations learned about UN job opportunities through their own networks, not through State."
"This report provides several key points of action for the State Department, and I hope Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and our U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice will consider these recommendations to ensure the United States is fairly represented at U.N. agencies," Voinovich said.
UPDATE: Kurtis Cooper, spokesman for the bureau of international organization affairs, sends along this statement:
"We’ve seen the GAO report and accept its recommendations. As the largest financial contributor to the United Nations, the United States has a vested interest in ensuring that qualified Americans are well-represented within the ranks of the UN and its varied agencies and organizations, and we will continue working diligently toward this goal."
Josh Rogin covers national security and foreign policy and writes the daily Web column The Cable. His column appears bi-weekly in the print edition of The Washington Post. He can be reached for comments or tips at josh.rogin@foreignpolicy.com.
Previously, Josh covered defense and foreign policy as a staff writer for Congressional Quarterly, writing extensively on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, U.S.-Asia relations, defense budgeting and appropriations, and the defense lobbying and contracting industries. Prior to that, he covered military modernization, cyber warfare, space, and missile defense for Federal Computer Week Magazine. He has also served as Pentagon Staff Reporter for the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's leading daily newspaper, in its Washington, D.C., bureau, where he reported on U.S.-Japan relations, Chinese military modernization, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and more.
A graduate of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Josh lived in Yokohama, Japan, and studied at Tokyo's Sophia University. He speaks conversational Japanese and has reported from the region. He has also worked at the House International Relations Committee, the Embassy of Japan, and the Brookings Institution.
Josh's reporting has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, CBS, ABC, NPR, WTOP, and several other outlets. He was a 2008-2009 National Press Foundation's Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellow, 2009 military reporting fellow with the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the 2011 recipient of the InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting. He hails from Philadelphia and lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter: @joshrogin
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