44th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first special session, 1999

COMMENDING THE UNITED NATIONS FOR ITS SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF NEEDED REFORMS AND REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO AUTHORIZE AND APPROPRIATE MONEY TO PAY THE AMOUNTS OWED TO THE UNITED NATIONS BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

WHEREAS, during the past decade, the United States congress, in an effort to help build a better functioning, more effective united nations for the coming millennium, has urged the united nations to take meaningful steps toward reforming itself by: reducing inefficiencies, streamlining the organization, eliminating budgetary growth, reducing secretariat staff, working to reduce united nations costs borne by the United States, refocusing development efforts in support of open trade and free markets and taking on new and emerging global scale challenges like drug trafficking, crime, terrorism and environmental protection; and

WHEREAS, a strong and effective united nations, according to the council of foreign relations, remains an important part of a strong and effective American foreign policy, as it has since its founding in 1945; and

WHEREAS, the united nations has made demonstrable progress and shown good faith in moving to comply with American requests by:

reducing its staff by more than twenty percent in the

past decade, eliminating more than three thousand positions in the united nations secretariat, including one thousand in the past several years;

adopting a no-growth budget since 1994 and reducing the

united nations regular budget by one hundred twenty-three million dollars ($123,000,000) in its most recent budget cycle;

appointing an inspector general to root out waste, fraud

and abuse, saving more than eighty million dollars ($80,000,000) and making numerous improvements in organizational operations;

consolidating a wide variety of functions, including more

than twelve secretariat departments' executive units;

appointing an efficiency board, akin to the United States

reinventing government's initiative, that has resulted in hundreds of efficiency improvements and millions of dollars in savings; and

attracting dynamic new leaders to head key united

nations agencies and improve overall management of the united nations system; and

WHEREAS, with the end of the cold war and the rapid growth of economic globalization, the united nations is more important than ever as a forum for peace, progress and prosperity, particularly as the international institution capable of bringing all nations together to set basic standards that are prerequisites to trade, to work on common global challenges like terrorism and the drug trade, to promote the health and well-being of the world's children, to uphold basic human rights, to feed the hungry, to respond to natural disasters, to develop peacekeeping operations and mediate conflict and to address global health challenges like polio, malaria and malnutrition; and

WHEREAS, the executive and legislative branches of the United States have suggested that united nations reform would effectuate payment of United States past dues, which the United States is legally bound to honor and which now total more than one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000), or approximately one year of operations for the united nations secretariat;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that in recognition of the rapidly increasing importance of the united nations to the future stability of the world and to the future security and prosperity of the United States and other nations, and in recognition of the united nations's marked progress and good faith work toward complying with the United States reform requests, the United States congress be commended for its role in helping to reform the united nations, and that the united nations be commended for its successful implementation of these important and needed reforms; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States congress be petitioned to authorize and appropriate money sufficient to pay amounts owed by the United States to the united nations, now in arrears, and in addition, that the transfer of these funds to the united nations be authorized by the United States congress in the current budget cycle; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation and the members of the United States delegation to the united nations.