NEWS

House Foreign Affairs Committee

U.S. House of Representatives

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican

CONTACT: Sam Stratman, (202) 226-7875, April 23, 2007

Lee Cohen, (202) 226-1139

For IMMEDIATE Release

Ambassador Khalilzad Assumes Post at UN;

Ros-Lehtinen Urges Greater UN Action on Terrorism,

Nuclear Proliferation, Human Rights, UN Reform

(WASHINGTON) –U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today urged Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the incoming U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, to press for more rapid and wide-ranging reform of the organization’s corruption-plagued bureaucracy, including its many highly-politicized agencies including the year-old UN Human Rights Council. In their meeting last week in Washington, Ros-Lehtinen and Khalilzad agreed on the need for more effective action by the UN to combat terrorism and nuclear proliferation. In addition, the two discussed the current situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, the need to address growing anti-Israeli bias at the UN, and the deteriorating human rights situation in Cuba.

Statement of Ros-Lehtinen:

“Ambassador Khalilzad has an opportunity to jump-start the long-delayed reform of the United Nations and to persuade its members of the need to take urgent action to combat the growing threats to the world’s peace and security. Ambassador Khalilzad understands acutely, given his previous service as Ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan, the danger to global security posed by rogue states and their terrorist allies.

Ambassador Khalilzad arrives at his post at a time when the UN has been plagued by years of scandal and corruption that have significantly undermined its credibility.

His work in urging reform of the UN’s budget and administrative structures will be crucial to the viability of the world body.

I posed to Ambassador Khalilzad that U.S. funding for UN operations ought to move away from compulsory assessed contributions, to one based on voluntary contributions, to afford greater control over how U.S. funds are used.

The discussions on the potential future role for the United Nations in Afghanistan is a personal one for me as my daughter-in-law, Lindsay, just left for a tour of duty as a Marine officer in Afghanistan. She and my stepson both previously served in Iraq.”

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