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Message to the Congress Transmitting Annual Report on United States Participation in the United Nations.

September 06, 1973

To the Congress of the United States:

I am pleased to transmit to the Congress the 27th annual report on United States participation in the work of the United Nations during calendar year 1972.

This report reflects the increasing range of global concerns with which United Nations agencies are dealing. It highlights not only the opportunities but also the limits of operating through the United Nations system during an era of growing international interdependence.

In recent years, United Nations agencies have come to deal increasingly with the economic and technical agenda of the world in addition to the long-standing agenda of peace and security questions. Indeed, as this account makes clear, these agencies are now engaged in some manner in virtually every governmental activity that crosses national lines.

The United States participated actively in these cooperative efforts to help safeguard peace and lessen world tensions, to foster economic and social progress, and to cope with a wide array of legal and technological problems.

Three themes characterized our participation during 1972:

(1) Even though we recognized the limitations of the United Nations in solving or even abating many political disputes, we supported its participation where appropriate to reconcile such disputes, to curb international terrorism and outbreaks of violence, and to devise workable arrangements for peacekeeping operations. In order to serve the long-term interest of the international community, we worked in the General Assembly, the Security Council, and subsidiary bodies to have the United Nations deal evenhandedly and pragmatically with such politically-charged issues as the Middle East, decolonization, and human rights.

(2) We took the lead in seeking new arrangements and institutions to deal with worldwide social and technological concerns. Although we encountered some resistance, we pressed forward toward the goals of assuring the safety of civil aviation, protecting the environment, checking the illicit flow of narcotics, organizing relief for victims of disaster, strengthening the law of the sea, and slowing world population growth.

(3) We stressed the importance of having the United Nations act responsibly, equitably, and efficiently in ordering its financial and administrative affairs so 'that it could carry out its tasks more effectively. Progress was made in holding down the budgets of some agencies, budgeting procedures were improved, and the principle of a lower maximum ceiling for the United States assessment was endorsed. Nevertheless, the underlying financial problems were not solved and further administrative and procedural reforms are needed in the United Nations.

This report shows that, despite political and administrative shortcomings, multilateral agencies connected with the United Nations offered practical responses to worldwide problems of pressing concern to the American people. Given the fast pace of political, social, and technological change in recent years, it is not surprising that the record of accomplishments was uneven and there were setbacks as well as successes.

During 1972 developments at the United Nations were affected by certain long-term trends which both hold promise and pose problems for effective United Nations action.

--The loosening of old antagonisms, the entry of 'the People's Republic of China into the mainstream of United Nations work, and the growing importance of powers such as Japan could in the long run enable a near-universal United Nations to become a more effective instrument for dealing with serious world political and security problems.

--However, we also have to recognize that the continuing tendency to use the United Nations for propaganda advantage and to pursue political rivalries makes accommodation more difficult. For the near term, where the interests of its strongest members are engaged, the organization can deal only in a limited way with highly contentious political issues.

--The emergence in United Nations bodies and conferences of an active majority led by a number of the developing nations continued to make for some distortions in determining the areas of greatest United Nations attention. While we fully recognize the inherent right of all member nations to be heard, the voting weight of this majority, with its sometimes narrowly defined preoccupations, has tended to create imbalance and to place strains on the effective functioning of the organization.

This report reflects the growing cohesion which has taken place among the third world countries, notably with respect to colonial issues and to demands that rules of international trade and aid be altered in their favor. We were particularly concerned when, under the pressure of bloc voting, the organization adopted one-sided resolutions on certain political issues or failed to take concrete action on such important matters as international terrorism. To call this trend disturbing is not to depreciate the value to the United States of multilateral institutions in which all nations can be heard on matters that affect their security and welfare, conciliation can be pursued, and vital public services can be provided for the international community.

We attempted to adjust our policy during 1972 to take account of these changes. It became increasingly clear that for the present the most productive possibilities for United Nations action are on global problems of an economic, social, and technological nature. United Nations system expenditures reflected this concentration, with some 95 percent of the resources in 1972 going for programs designed to transfer techniques and skills to less developed nations, set standards for international behavior, and provide public services of benefit to all nations.

The following developments during the year were especially noteworthy: We were gratified by the General Assembly's endorsement of the reduction of our United Nations budget assessment from 31.52 percent to 25 percent. We believe this to be a healthy development for the organization, which should not be unduly dependent on the contributions of one member. The maximum assessment ceiling beginning next year is expected to fulfill the requirement enacted by the Congress that the United States should pay no more than 25 percent in the United Nations and in certain specialized agencies after January I, 1974. The vote of over two-thirds in favor of our position reflected a widespread recognition of the equities involved and of political reality, as well as concern for the maintenance of generous United States voluntary contributions to United Nations development programs.

Following the landmark conference in Stockholm in June, the institutional foundation was laid for international action to protect the environment and a work program was initiated for this purpose. Measures were taken to deal with environmental problems such as pollution from ocean dumping and the preservation of natural, cultural, and historic heritage areas, and a United Nations fund for the environment, which I had recommended earlier, brought pledges from a number of nations.

On the other hand, a major setback was the United Nations failure to take strong and speedy international legal action to combat international terrorism and provide adequate protection for diplomats-measures advocated by the United States and other concerned nations. The Assembly did, however, set up a committee to study the comments of governments on the problem of international terrorism and submit a report to the next session. While we regret the delay, we hope that the Assembly can make progress on this issue this fall. Progress was made in the International Civil Aviation Organization on the matter of aircraft safety.

The United Nations also advanced its programs for delivering technical assistance to developing nations and setting standards for international behavior in specific fields.

--Management reforms (notably adoption of a country programming system) were implemented which will enable the United Nations Development Program to handle an expanded program of technical assistance more efficiently.

--The organization's capacity to respond to disaster situations was strengthened by the establishment of a United Nations Disaster Relief Office in Geneva, largely as the result of a United States initiative in 1971. The United Nations carried out an unprecedented number of relief activities, notably in Bangladesh and the Sudan.

--There was growing cooperation in outer space. A United Nations working group cooperated in making available to other nations data from our first experimental satellite designed to survey earth resources, and the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, which had been negotiated by a United Nations committee, entered into force on September 1.

The momentum of international action against drug abuse was furthered in several ways: with the drafting of an amending protocol to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, through increased activity by and contributions to the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control, and through a more active role by the International Narcotics Control Board.

--The population program was placed on a sounder administrative footing by linking the United Nations Fund for Population Activities to the United Nations Development Program. Preparations were continued for the World Population Conference in 1974, which is expected to be as important as the 1972 environment conference.

--Perhaps of the greatest potential significance were the steps taken to accelerate preparations for the Law of the Sea Conference, which will conic to grips with such matters as the nature of the international regime for the deep seabed, the breadth of the territorial sea, free transit through international straits, fisheries, marine pollution, and scientific research., successful resolution of these very difficult issues would help to prevent conflict and assure that the resources in and under the oceans will be equitably and rationally utilized.

The "quiet side" of the United Nations also produced important accomplishments which are covered in this report. Especially noteworthy were the International Atomic Energy Agency's expanded "safeguards" program to prevent the diversion to weapons use of nuclear materials intended for peaceful uses: the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization's efforts at spurring agreement to control pollution from ocean dumping; the International Civil Aviation Organization's efforts to devise effective measures for safe and efficient air travel; the World Health Organization's continued campaign to suppress communicable diseases and raise the standards of health care; the Food and Agriculture Organization's work to expand agricultural production and improve nutrition; and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's activities to expand scientific communication and protect the world's cultural heritage.

All these activities clearly demonstrate the stake we have in United Nations efforts to control new technologies for the common good, to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries on matters of trade and aid, to facilitate the exchange of technical and scientific knowledge, and to set standards of behavior for international activity. To these concerns--and to the need to improve the functioning of all multilateral institutions-our nation must give increasing attention in the coming years.

RICHARD NIXON

The White House,

September 6, 1973.

Note: The message is printed in the report entitled "U.S. Participation in the UN, Report by the President to the Congress for the Year 1972" (Government Printing Office, 232 pp.).

Richard Nixon, Message to the Congress Transmitting Annual Report on United States Participation in the United Nations. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/255889

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