Global Policy Forum

United Nations Foundation
February 13, 2007

Testimony by Timothy E. Wirth
President, The United Nations Foundation
and The Better World Fund

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Committee on Foreign Affairs
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and greetings to the members of the Committee. It is a privilege to be with you today and to participate on this panel with such distinguished colleagues. Senator Mitchell's leadership of our country and around the world is well known and he is respected here and internationally for not only the content, but also the tenor of his wisdom. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Ambassador Bolton for his recently completed service as Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations. He was a tireless and plainspoken representative of the Administration, and few U.S. Ambassadors have been as knowledgeable about the intricacies of the UN or worked as hard as Ambassador Bolton.

Today's hearing comes at a time of great challenge and opportunity for the world. In the United States and around the globe, there is a pervasive sense that the world is stuck. On the economic front, trade talks and the fight to eradicate poverty are stuck. On the security front, the international community has not forged the will necessary to give meaning to the recently agreed "responsibility to protect," and, therefore, genocide continues to unfold in Darfur. The search for peace in the Middle East is stuck, and the situation in Iraq is central to this condition. Global non-proliferation efforts are stuck. And efforts to address perhaps the greatest long-term challenge, global climate change, are similarly bogged down.

Overall, it seems fair to observe that there is little sense of common purpose around the world. In fact, the reality is that misunderstandings among countries and cultures appear to be growing. But within these challenges and complexities lie great opportunities for the United States - this Administration and this Congress - to find common ground and to forge common cause with the international community. Especially by working with and helping to lead the United Nations, our nation has the opportunity to lead the world in addressing forthrightly, fairly and without fear the great global challenges of the 21st century.

Let me begin, Mr. Chairman, by noting that the planets are lining up for something of a "multilateral moment." Every day, it is more and more apparent that the great global challenges of the 21st century - from terrorism and proliferation to climate change and poverty - require international cooperation. Even if one wanted to pay all the bills or take all the risks, these cross-cutting global issues demonstrate that no single government and no single sector is capable of solving these challenges alone. There must be a global partnership - public and private, North and South. New global partnerships can help to clear the path to a more peaceful, prosperous and just world in the 21st century.

The rationale for global partnerships and working through the United Nations is three-fold: burdensharing, effectiveness and reputation.

Burdensharing: It is far cheaper for the United States and other nations to share the costs and burdens of international security than it is to go it alone. Most U.S. taxpayer dollars spent through the United Nations and other major multilateral institutions are leveraged three-fold or more. So when the U.S. puts 25 cents towards a UN project, the rest of the world generally adds in 75 cents. For example, when Representatives Rohrbacher and Delahunt asked the Government Accountability Office to do a cost comparison of U.S.- and UN-led peacekeeping, the GAO found that UN peacekeeping was at least eight times less expensive than fielding American forces. So using UN peacekeeping costs eight times less - and keeps American soldiers out of harms way. Similar multipliers are found in refugee assistance, global health, food assistance and disaster relief. Cooperation with the UN is a bargain.

Effective Problem-Solving: The efficacy of international cooperation is a second rationale: the challenges faced by the United States and the world today simply cannot be addressed solely by the United States or any other nation.

. We can't fully succeed in combating terrorism without a global effort.
. The global effort to eliminate poverty and reach the Millennium Development Goals will never be successful without broad public and private efforts or without effective global norms and institutions.
. The urgency of climate change demands a global effort of unprecedented diplomacy and economic cooperation. It doesn't matter if carbon is emitted in Denver or Delhi; we all bake together and we are all going to have to solve it together and we have lost a decade.
. The instruments for managing nuclear proliferation need to be renewed and strengthened. Our neglect of decades of cooperative work has helped to speed the erosion of global cooperation and trust. We need to reverse course and return to broad and trusting cooperation.

Public Diplomacy: Third, at a time when every measure shows that global opinion of the U.S. has been flagging, getting our relationship right with the UN would contribute substantially to the improved status of the United States worldwide. A recent poll by the BBC across 25 countries found that nearly one person in two (49%) feels the U.S. is playing a mainly negative role in the world. The UN is the world's stage, and our priorities and actions at the UN - whether we pay our dues or listen carefully to the views of others - have real consequence. Fulfilling our financial commitments to the UN and making every effort to play a constructive role there will go a long way toward alleviating any misunderstandings about the U.S. as an example of compassion and tolerance, justice and freedom, peace and cooperation.

On January 1, Ban Ki-moon became Secretary-General of the UN. A product of the South Korean success story and inspired in part by President Kennedy, Mr. Ban brings a fresh perspective to the UN. Selected with the support of the United States and with the unanimous endorsement of the membership of the UN, the new Secretary-General has identified the right priorities for the first leg of his tenure:

. restoring a spirit of cooperation among the UN member states,
. encouraging peace in the Middle East,
. curtailing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in places like North Korea and Iran,
. stopping the genocide in Darfur,
. breaking the logjam surrounding UN reform efforts, and
. engaging the UN more aggressively in the issues of energy and climate.

The new Secretary-General has also clearly signaled his understanding of the importance of a strong, productive relationship between the UN and its largest financial contributor, the United States. His first steps have been impressive and sophisticated.

. his early and productive engagement with President Bush, senior Administration officials and the leadership of Congress and this Committee;
. his appointment last week of an American to the post of Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, the position once held by the great American Ralph Bunche;
. his fast and forthright response to the U.S. request for investigation of certain activities in North Korea;
. his precedent-setting move to make his financial disclosure statement public; and
. his commitment to acting swiftly and decisively on UN reorganization and reform, including the strong management controls and practices that have been a priority agenda item for the United States.

These initiatives can be solidified by the quick confirmation and arrival of Ambassador Khalilzad as the U.S. Permanent Representative at the UN. Finally, Mr. Chairman, this Congress is starting anew and with many new Members bringing a fresh perspective to international affairs. In this regard, I note your gracious reception of the new Secretary-General here in Washington last month and efforts to introduce him to policy, business and civic leaders in the Capitol.

With this background, it is fair to ask what we all need to do to help reach the promise of a strengthened global partnership between the United States and the United Nations. Americans know the UN can do better. But extensive public opinion polling over the last fifty years shows that the vast majority of Americans

. Value the UN,
. They want to share our burdens,
. They want a stronger and more effective UN,
. And they want the U.S. and the UN to cooperate together in solving the world's problems.

While this relationship has had its ups and downs, and while the UN often doesn't tell its story very well and is a juicy target for political attack, again most Americans are supportive and hopeful about the UN, with good cause:

. The list of UN accomplishments is long, and the record that I have attached to my testimony is strong, mostly little understood, but reflective of what the U.S. and the UN have done together.
. The vast majority of the UN's dedicated workforce (some 63,450 people worldwide in the UN system, less than the United States' Department of Education or the workforce of the Coca Cola Company) are working around the world to help feed, shelter, educate, and immunize people in abject need. A few may have parking tickets, but most aren't even in places with street lights or parking meters.
. The UN's peacekeeping missions (which have grown to include some 100,000 troops) now bring a collective armed force - second in size only to the U.S. - to some of the most conflict ridden places in the world, places where we have a stake, but don't want to go. The cost of all 18 of these critical, life-saving missions is less than the transportation budget for the State of Virginia - and the cost to the United States is only one quarter of that.
. In some 60 countries, UN staff are helping nations develop democratic systems of governance, from the elections in Iraq, to building an impressive and lasting governing coalition in Afghanistan, stabilizing fragile conditions in many West African countries, and holding steady the Haitian challenge right off our shores. We want them to succeed, and they are accepted by and have more legitimacy to work with nascent governments than the United States or any other government could muster alone.

As I said before, the UN is not always good at telling its own story. And of course it isn't perfect - no bureaucracy is. But the UN is not the caricature - the dysfunctional, bloated or corrupt institution - that its most shrill opponents depict. Even the complex Oil-for-Food issue was distorted and blown out of proportion. The truth is that the UN's record of accomplishment dwarfs - yes, dwarfs - its blemishes. And the truth is that key international affairs objectives of the United States have been advanced through the UN.

All of this background, Mr. Chairman, may help to illuminate the importance of the next steps that the U.S. can and must take. Together, the Administration and the Congress have an opportunity to strengthen - rapidly and effectively - the UN as an institution and the important U.S.-UN relationship. Everyone will benefit.

I think the agenda for action has at least 10 points that deserve attention:

1. Rebuild Trust. Above all else, Mr. Chairman, I would argue that the new Secretary-General has it right - that the central challenge is one of rebuilding a spirit of partnership and trust at the United Nations. None of the opportunities related to UN reforms and international cooperation are going to happen unless we can collectively create an environment of trust. This must be the top priority. I am happy to sense a potential change in tenor on the part of American political leaders towards this essential institution.

2. Reform. Second, is the reform agenda. The United States Institute of Peace (or Gingrich-Mitchell) report has underscored the importance of the UN and the importance of change and reform so that the UN has the appropriate systems and structures in place to handle the demands of the 21st century. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the U.S. government were determined to enact a substantial number of management reforms at the UN last year and some significant progress was made.

. Additional resources were provided for UN oversight;
. The General Assembly passed plans to improve UN financial tracking and information technology systems;
. New ethics and financial disclosure regulations were established;
. A Central Emergency Response Fund, Peacebuilding Commission, and Democracy Fund were created;
. The old Human Rights Commission was abolished and replaced by a new Human Rights Council - which for the first time requires nations to run UN-wide to get admission onto a UN human rights body; and
. Finally and largely unnoticed in the press, the United Nations has been pressing ahead with a plan to streamline and consolidate UN field operations in five pilot countries and is hopeful that this so-called "ONE UN" approach to delivering services will save hundreds of millions of dollars and improve outcomes in the field - where UN services count most.

Unfortunately, some of the more structural reform efforts, especially changes in the budget and personnel systems, were stalled last year. Member States were close to agreeing on an overall framework for mandate review to proceed, until a few governments (including the United States) expressed reservations. These significant reform issues need to be taken up again and are a priority for the new Secretary-General and key Member States. None of these changes will occur without persistent, diplomatic leadership from the United States.

3. Security Council: Hovering behind many of the reform and budget efforts is the awkward issue of Security Council reform. The U.S. push for reforms last year excluded this major issue from the overall UN reform umbrella. Therefore, the push for reform was often perceived by many members of the UN as an effort to curtail the General Assembly without concomitantly addressing issues related to the Security Council. These concerns were exacerbated by the imposition of the budget cap, which was similarly perceived as an effort by a smaller group of donor countries to condition UN funding on a specific agenda. This approach was not successful, and the U.S. garnered only limited buy-in from much of the rest of the world, even though it was broadly recognized - including among the G-77 - that the UN needed improved personnel, managerial, and oversight systems.

I'm hopeful that the presence of a new U.S. Ambassador to the UN, a new Secretary-General with fresh staff, the experienced leadership of Deputy Secretary-Designate Negroponte, and a renewed multilateral approach to American foreign policy will enable the U.S. to take another and broader cut at UN reform. Even if the P-5 cannot agree on modes for Security Council reform this year, we ought to at least recognize that this central reform needs further, serious exploration. If we could do this, I expect we'd find a much deeper well of support for management reform among the G-77.

4. Funding: It's time for the U.S. to pay its bills to the UN on time and in full. You will remember, Mr. Chairman, the funding crisis of the late 1990s, during which the U.S. was more than one billion dollars in arrears at the UN. Through the work of this committee, the Helms-Biden compromise, and the personal financial contributions of Ted Turner that crisis was averted and the U.S. returned to a modicum of stability in its financial relationship with the UN.

Unfortunately, we are already heading back down this familiar deficit path. Our estimate is that the U.S. now has about $770 million in structural arrearages at the UN, and the recent budget submission by the Administration would make the situation even worse. This year's proposed budget short-changes three key UN accounts. In the International Organizations and Programs (IO&P) account, the budget envisions reductions, including a dramatic 30% cut for the UN Development Program. In the Contributions to International Peacekeeping (CIPA) account, the budget leaves the United States with a $500 million shortfall for its commitments. And in the Contributions to International Organizations (CIO) account, the budget leaves the U.S. $130 million too short - meaning that the State Department will have to determine which U.S. treaty obligations will go unmet among 44 treaty-based international organizations, whether that means short-changing the UN, or WHO or another organization. These deficits would be especially damaging now, just after the U.S. completed a very complicated budget negotiation at the UN, in which the U.S. had to work very hard to maintain the current level of assessment.

Part of this arrears issue is the U.S. debt at the UN arising from the gap between the U.S. assessed levels for UN peacekeeping operations (27% until January 2007, when the U.S. assessment rate was reduced to 26%) and an outdated, congressionally-mandated 25% cap on peacekeeping expenditures. The U.S. negotiated the higher ceiling and has voted for every peacekeeping mission. Yet in effect, the U.S. is saying that while it votes yes, it won't pay. This is not sustainable; this is not good budgeting; and this is not good diplomacy.

5. Peacekeeping: Beyond funding, the U.S. should support the structures of UN peacekeeping with whatever logistical support we can provide. UN peacekeeping has tripled in size to record levels because of Security Council requests in recent years; 2007 finds the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) over-stretched, under-staffed and in need of new mechanisms to facilitate flexibility and deployments for missions like the joint AU-UN one to Darfur. The U.S. does not generally provide troops for UN peacekeeping forces but can and should help to enhance DPKO operations - whether that is in helping to streamline managerial structures in New York or providing advice on intelligence or doctrine development.

6. Israel and the UN: It is a most opportune time to get right Israel's relationships at the United Nations. The new Secretary-General has signaled his appreciation for this fact, which was also a priority for Secretary-General Annan. The adoption of the U.S.-led holocaust resolution and the second annual holocaust observance at the UN were positive steps. But more can be done. I would encourage the Administration to push as a matter of diplomatic priority for the full, permanent, and world-wide inclusion of Israel in the Western European and Others (WEOG) regional group at the United Nations. The problematic nature of Israel's relationship at the UN is a festering sore that inhibits a full and constructive U.S. approach to the UN.

7. Climate Change: The rapid emergence of the climate issue will require much greater attention from the United States. In 1992, the U.S. Senate ratified the basic climate treaty (The Framework Convention on Climate Change) and led the negotiations for the first steps toward implementation (The Kyoto Protocol - 1997). Little has happened in the last 10 years, while the scientific evidence has solidified, global carbon markets have grown, and an increasing number of global U.S. companies are asking for decisions and long-term predictability for a carbon-constrained economy. As the home of the Climate Convention, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and a number of diverse agency actions and norm-setting requirements, the UN will be a major factor in the needed international negotiations, and the climate issue has been identified as an important priority by the new Secretary-General. The U.S. should support and help to lead these important efforts.

8. Darfur and the Responsibility to Protect: Darfur will haunt the international community as Rwanda has for the last decade, especially if no resolution is reached on the organizational efforts necessary to implement the concept of "The Responsibility to Protect." While much has been written about the need, implementation steps have been elusive and will require careful diplomacy and close cooperation between the U.S. and the UN - and I commend the U.S. Presidential Special Envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios's recent efforts in this area.

9. Reengaging on Key International Treaties: The United States also has much to gain - substantively and diplomatically - by reengaging in key treaties and other cooperative international efforts. Ratifying the long-delayed Law of the Sea Treaty and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women would be very positively received around the world. Similarly, your prospective legislation, Mr. Chairman, to support the creation of an international nuclear fuel bank could provide a significant boost to the world's flagging non-proliferation regimes - which is another major opportunity for global partnership. In this regard, Mr. Chairman, our sister organization in the Turner philanthropic network, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, led by the distinguished former Senator Sam Nunn, is a global leader and has a whole series of recommendations for enhancing cooperative efforts on non-proliferation.

10. Human Rights: For three years, steps have been taken to reform the human rights machinery in the UN. Unfortunately, the U.S. chose not to participate in the new Human Rights Council, making it less likely that the new organization can become the effective voice needed in the international community. Congress can help by reviewing this decision and urging the Administration to run for the new Council this year.

Of course there are other initiatives to pursue to strengthen the U.S.-UN relationship. For example, agreement on the finance package to rehabilitate the aging UN plant is close to completion. A new privately financed Visitor Center can be one of a number of measures designed to encourage the UN's relationship with its host, New York City. And this Committee can encourage the State Department to review the financial package available to Foreign Service Officers working in New York City, so that the highest quality officers continue to be attracted to the important UN assignments. I also applaud the Administration's efforts to harness the talent and idealism of the American people by continuing to do its utmost to help Americans get jobs at the UN. The more Americans get jobs at the UN, the better the UN's understanding of the United States, and vice versa.

Conclusion:

Mr. Chairman, the global challenges that lie ahead are daunting -- but those same challenges present us with a golden opportunity to improve and strengthen the UN and reorient American foreign policy for the better.

Let's seize this moment. The allies of the United States and, indeed, the world are looking to you and the Administration for leadership. It is imperative for the U.S., the world's leader, to engage to meet these global challenges. Let's show our support for the United Nations and other international institutions by paying our dues on time and in full. Let's lend legitimacy to multilateral institutions by supporting and abiding by their rules and procedures. In Iraq, North Korea, Iran and Darfur, the UN system is advancing U.S. interests. Let's give the UN and other multilateral institutions the resources they need to do their work effectively. Immediate legislative action to remove the peacekeeping cap will send a signal that our new strategy embraces international collaboration and alliances.

The principles of the United Nations and the multilateral system are the principles of equality, democracy, and law. They are the principles of the United States. For more than sixty years, they and the multilateral system have provided the mechanisms through which the world's leaders have contemplated, discussed and solved global problems.

Let's use our influence, Mr. Chairman, from the Congress and the President on down, to revitalize and support the UN and our other multilateral institutions.

History demands nothing less of us.

APPENDIX 1

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE VALUE OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Maintaining Peace.

A 2005 RAND study compared the effectiveness of sixteen U.S. and UN-led peace missions and found the UN to be almost twice as effective. In seven out of eight missions, UN peacekeeping got to the end goals of peace and stability; the U.S.-led missions succeeded in only four of eight missions. RAND attributed the UN's greater success to its deeper experience at peace making and nation building and to the fact that the UN left a softer footprint than U.S.-deployed missions. The U.S. and the world have, of course, implicitly recognized this by voting for dramatic expansions for UN peacekeeping in the past few years - virtually tripling the number of UN forces deployed around the world and opening missions in key places like Lebanon and Haiti.

The World's 9-1-1 Service.

The same sort of success can be seen in UN-led humanitarian efforts. After the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, the UN and its agencies built 200 health care centers, rebuilt 25,000 permanent shelters, fed 2 million people, provided safe drinking water to 1.5 million people, and vaccinated 2.5 million children for measles. After the earthquake that struck the Pakistan-India border, UN relief agencies, such as OCHA, the World Food Program, the World Health Organization, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the UN Refugee Agency worked through the winter to provide food, health, shelter, and education for millions of displaced persons. And in the Darfur region, the UN is helping more than 2.5 million war-affected persons, despite government restrictions and the direct targeting of humanitarian workers. As a result, there has been a two-thirds reduction of deaths among internally displaced persons. The World Food Program, for example, is feeding between 2.3 and 2.8 million people every day and has cut malnutrition rates in half. In fact, 30 million people in 50 countries today depend on UN relief agencies for their survival.

Combating Disease.

In health programs, the UN coordinates a number of programs to combat diseases like AIDS, avian flu, polio, measles, and malaria. To tout just a few: the UN has recently expanded access to anti-retroviral AIDS therapy ten-fold in Sub-Saharan Africa; an FAO program eliminated human cases of avian flu in Vietnam last year, though Vietnam was previously one of the world's hardest hit nations; a UN-led partnership reduced the number of reported polio cases from 350,000 to less than 2,000 -- a drop of more than 99 percent; a UN-led program has helped cut measles deaths worldwide by sixty percent, saving the lives of seven and a half million children between 1999 and 2005; and the UN and its agencies are providing tools and programs to prevent the death of the 500,000 women worldwide during pregnancy or childbirth.

Monitoring and Reigning in WMD.

In the key area of non-proliferation, the United Nations system serves as the world's principal platform for stemming and tracking the proliferation of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. A key agency in this, of course, is the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was established at the United States' recommendation in 1957. Since the 1990s, the IAEA has undertaken inspections and investigations of suspected violators of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; it currently inspects nuclear facilities in over 140 nations. In 2003, IAEA verification efforts unmasked Libya's hidden nuclear weapons program. Libya has since renounced this program. The IAEA also assists member states in securing radioactive sources that might otherwise end up in the hands of terrorists and detecting and interdicting against illegal trafficking of materials. As a result, over 100 radioactive sources have been identified and secured.

Sanctioning Rogue States.

In the Security Council, the UN is working to impose sanctions regimes to reign in countries like Iran, North Korea, and Sudan that are operating outside international legal norms. There is evidence that such sanctions work. UN sanctions are widely credited with bringing an end to Libya's WMD program. Following North Korea's nuclear test in October, the Security Council imposed a series of economic and commercial sanctions. North Korea subsequently agreed to return to six-party diplomatic talks. On December 23, 2006, the Security Council unanimously approved a resolution with sanctions intended to freeze Iran's nuclear program. The resolution bans the import and export of materials and technology that could be used to enrich or process uranium or construct ballistic missiles. The Security Council has also frozen the assets of 22 Iranian officials and institutions and imposed targeted sanctions on Sudanese individuals.

Advocating for the World's Environment.

In the environment, negotiations conducted through the United Nations' Montreal Protocol motivated the world's governments to restrict the release of ozone-depleting chemicals. As a result, there has been a measurable shrinking in the size of the ozone hole over the earth. The recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change brought together 2,500 scientists from 130 nations, including the U.S., to draw attention to and increase pressure for action on global warming.

Promoting Global Development.

The United Nations established and has been promoting the Millennium Development Goals, eight markers aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, combating disease, and ensuring environmental sustainability by 2015. The United Nations' seminal Human Development Report moved the world's governments to take into account factors like the quality of life and political freedoms in determining what promotes or inhibits economic growth and development.

Promoting Democratic Norms.

The United Nations is the world's leading agency for promoting representative democracy. More than half of the world's nations have relied on the UN for support in holding and monitoring elections, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Liberia and Congo. The United Nations has also just created a Democracy Fund and is disbursing money to 125 projects in support of civil society and democracy around the globe.

Allowing for International Commerce and Travel.

The United Nations system includes several smaller organizations that are maintaining rules and protocols for the international delivery of mail, civil aviation, shipping, and weather tracking and reporting. Without these UN agencies, U.S. citizens could not mail a package to Kinshasa, get on a cruise ship to Greece, or fly to Europe without the threat of collision or uncertain landing rights.

Extending Diplomacy in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Finally, in Iraq and Afghanistan today, the United Nations is providing key diplomatic platforms where the United States' reach has been limited. In Iraq in 2005, the UN registered 15 million voters for three successful elections, coordinated over 7,000 candidates in 300 political parties, and organized 150,000 election workers. More than this, though, the UN has helped bridge political divides within the country. In 2003, a UN special envoy helped to broker the peaceful transition of power from U.S.-led forces to the Iraqi government. And last year, the UN's Special Representative in Iraq helped end a political impasse between Sunnis and Shi'ites that was preventing the formation of a unity government. In Afghanistan, too, the UN and its agencies - notably UNDP - have taken the lead in holding democratic elections and raising over $13 billion in international aid.

APPENDIX 2

UN SUCCESS STORIES FROM 2006

Maintaining the ceasefire in Lebanon.

After the ceasefire was accepted in mid-August 2006, the United Nations quickly increased the number of peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, allowing the Israeli army to pull back and Lebanese army to deploy to the border for the first time in decades. No serious breach of the ceasefire has occurred since; the UN discovered dozens of arms caches while monitoring for arms shipments.

Bringing a warlord to justice and inspiring democracy in Liberia.

In 2006 the United Nations helped bring to justice Liberian warlord Charles Taylor, who helped ignite a civil war that killed almost 150,000 people. The UN subsequently assisted in holding free elections and inaugurating Africa's first democratically elected female president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Aiding millions displaced by conflict in Darfur.

Despite attacks on humanitarian aid workers, the World Food Program fed over 6.1 million people this year in southern Sudan, Darfur and eastern Chad, and the UN provided water, shelter, health care, and other necessities, thereby reducing deaths among the internally displaced by two-thirds.

Educating women in Afghanistan.

The Joint Partnership on Adult Functional Literacy, an endeavor of the Government of Afghanistan and UN agencies, launched a literacy program this year, which reached an estimated 160,000 Afghans, mostly women.

Responding to nuclear threats in North Korea and Iran.

The Security Council took action this year against Iran and North Korea. Following North Korea's nuclear test on October 9, 2006, the Security Council imposed a series of economic and commercial sanctions. North Korea subsequently agreed to return to six-party talks. On December 23, 2006, the Security Council unanimously approved sanctions intended to freeze Iran's nuclear program.

Supporting local democracy initiatives around the world.

The UN Democracy Fund distributed grants to its first 125 recipients last year, including a program in Afghanistan to create voter ID cards and three programs in Iraq, including one to create an independent nationwide news agency.

Working to eradicate polio through vaccination campaigns.

Due to a UN-led effort, polio was officially eliminated in Egypt and Niger in 2006, reducing the number of nations with active polio cases to four. Since 1988, the number of polio cases reported each year has declined more than 99%

Protecting World Heritage Sites for future generations.

UNESCO added 28 new World Heritage Sites last year, including the Mapelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary in Colombia. World Heritage Sites are places around the world that have been internationally recognized for their outstanding value as natural and cultural treasures. These new sites will now be a focal point for sustainable tourism and development and will support local job creation.

Guarding against Avian Flu.

The UN is working globally to contain avian flu. As a result of the work of the Food and Agricultural Organization, Vietnam went from being especially hard hit to having no recorded human cases. In 2006, the World Health Organization also continued to help develop national preparedness plans to contain a possible pandemic outbreak.

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