The United Nations Today: A Personal Perspective
Asia Society Washington Center

Ambassador Sichan Siv

Washington D.C., January 10, 2003

Thank you very much Joe (Snyder) for that kind introduction. Congratulations on your new role as Director of the Asia Society Washington Center. I cannot think of any one more deserving and better equipped to take on this important responsibility.

Happy 2003 to everyone! The Year of the Sheep will begin at the end of this month for Chinese, and on April 13 for Cambodians, Thais, and others. That's the day when Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743. He remains the only President of the United States whose birthday is celebrated by Theravada Buddhists.

I salute Joe Snyder's decision to start a new Asian American Speakers Series in Washington. Programs like this, which highlight the contributions of our great nation's ethnic groups, underscore the very foundation of diversity upon which America was built: E Pluribus Unum. I am very honored to be the first speaker of the series.

President Bush has appointed some 100 Americans of Asian ancestry (AAA) to his administration. The 19 Senate confirmed positions include two Cabinet members: Secretaries of Labor Elaine Chao and Transportation Norm Mineta. Here, we have Sam Mok, Assistant Secretary of Labor. As Chief Financial Officer, he has to find ways to spend $55 billion and account for every penny of it. The level and number of Americans of Asian ancestry (AAA) in the Bush Administration are history and record setting, higher than all previous administrations combined.

Twenty-six years ago this month, I moved to New York. I had arrived in Connecticut in June 1976 to start my new life as a free man. After picking apples and washing dishes for seven months, I decided to do something different. In January 1977, while standing at a Manhattan street corner, I
saw yellow Checkers with "Drivers Wanted" signs. I called and was told to go and take a test. It was the most difficult test I have ever taken in my life. There was a series of questions, mainly about directions. One asked: "How do you get from the Waldorf Astoria to the United Nations?" I had no idea where these places were, much less how to get from one to another. I probably checked the box that said "Cross the Hudson River to New Jersey and take the Turnpike south." I may have answered all the questions wrong. At the end, I showed the test to the examiner. While waiting for the verdict, my heart was pumping faster and faster. My rating officer glanced at the piece of paper, and he looked at me from head to toe, again, and again. Finally, he said: "You passed!"

Today, it is my privilege to represent the United States at the United Nations, under the leadership of Ambassador John Negroponte. We have five ambassadors there, three less than the Dominican Republic. John Negroponte is one of the smartest people I have ever met. He is so bright, yet so low key. He is always calm, which makes me wonder if, in his previous life, he had been a Buddhist monk.

Every year, the President selects three ordinary citizens to serve as public delegates. We always benefit from their wisdom and varied perspectives. At the 57th Session of the General Assembly, South Carolina, New Jersey, and Florida are represented. Jim Shinn of the Garden State is with us today. The U.S. delegation also draws strength from the experience of Area Advisers,
who distinguished themselves with particular regional expertise. I am pleased that Ambassadors Joan Plaisted, Bill Marsh, and Charlie Twining can join us. Will you all please stand up to be recognized?

Last year, I had the opportunity to oversee the U.S. Mission's work at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, the Second World Assembly on Aging in Madrid, the U.N. General Assembly Special Session on Children in New York, and the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. We also had the privilege of hosting Mrs. Laura Bush in March, when she was the keynote speaker at the U.N. International Day of Women.

During this 57th Session, U.S. policy objectives focus on five areas: international counter-terrorism cooperation, support for U.S. led efforts to promote Middle East peace, new partnership between developed and developing countries (with emphasis on Africa), a more efficient and effective United Nations, and greater respect for human rights and support for democracy.

First, let me explain how relevant the U.N. is to some of the highest foreign policy and national security interests of the U.S. These are the war against terror, the search for peace in the Middle East, the imperative that we keep weapons of mass destruction out of the wrong hands, as well as the President's compact for global development, with a new accountability for both rich and poor nations.

It is important to understand the relationship that exists between the United States and the United Nations. Some have said that under President Bush, America has become unilateralist. This is not the case, and represents a misunderstanding of our philosophy. In truth, some issues require creative diplomacy. While the U.N. is often one avenue, U.S. national interests and values may require that we be selective and set priorities for what we address at the U.N. In fact, the wisest use of our representation often is to complement, or reinforce, initiatives taken elsewhere.

One of our priories is the Middle East. I do not need to retrace the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people, nor do I need to restate in detail the well-known elements of President Bush's policy: the United States supports Israel, and the vision of Israel and Palestine living in peace and security side-by-side. Ultimately, Israel and the Palestinians will have to make peace on terms that each accepts.

The tremendous shock of September 11th put the U.N. and the world in a different time-scale. Everyone knew right then that global terrorism had to be stopped. However, President Bush's cautionary remarks that the war against terror will not end on a given day must be kept in mind.
The U.N. response to "Nine Eleven" supports U.S. and our allies' efforts in the war on terrorism. The Security Council passed Resolution 1373, which requires all member countries to investigate and report to the Security Council loopholes within their domestic, legal, and regulatory systems,
which terrorists might exploit to move money and operatives within or across their borders.
This serves America's interests. As President Bush has repeatedly said, "Terrorism cannot function without money. That's why the front organizations that raise terrorist money, the financial institutions that convey it, and the entities that hide it have to be shut down."

Compliance with international law must be enforced. Iraq is a case in point. For years now, the U.N. has been confronted by its refusal to comply with obligations. Here again a settled matter of international consensus must and will be defended. Saddam Hussein's Iraq remains a menace to international peace and stability, to its neighbors, and to the Iraqi people. The Baghdad regime must comply with the relevant Security Council resolutions, fully declaring and destroying its prohibited weapons of mass destruction, and dismantling its programs.

The Middle East, global terrorism, and Iraq's efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction are elements of the U.S. agenda at the U.N. designed to promote peace, prevent crimes and violence, and thwart attempts to generate war.

In economic matters, America is committed to working with the U.N. to assist countries in their development. As President Bush said on the eve of the U.N. Conference on Financing for Development last March: "The growing divide between wealth and poverty, between opportunity and misery, is both a challenge to our compassion and a source of instability. We must confront
it. We must include every African, every Asian, every Latin American, every Muslim in an expanding circle of development." To do this, the President proposed that we follow Lincoln's advice and "think anew." Foreign assistance programs need reforms; too little has been
accomplished despite all that has been spent. He challenged donor and recipient countries alike to accept a linkage between increased aid flows and demonstrable commitments to good governance, the health and education of the poorest (especially women and children), and sound economic policies that foster enterprise and entrepreneurship.

Human rights is a cornerstone of our foreign policy. In March 2001, President Bush appointed me as a delegate to the 57th U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. There, I condemned the Taliban destruction of the Buddha statues in Bamian as "cultural terrorism." We have spoken and
continue to speak out on country specific issues. Since the time that Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the Commission in its early years, America remains the strongest voice in support of human rights everywhere.

There can be no success in diplomacy without a commitment to the belief that there are ways to harmonize international interests, that tragedies can be averted, and that noble ideals can be honored. If anything, the hallmark of the United Nations has been its long-standing commitment to the rights of all mankind to live in tranquility and brotherhood. There is a bond of shared beliefs in the U.S. Constitution, the U. N. Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that speaks to the individual rights of mankind and nations to live in peace.

We are pursuing a broad agenda at the U.N. Yet, we are trying to focus our efforts on the issues of greatest significance to U.S. interests and values. It is not possible to do everything at once. Nor is it possible to resolve tragic conflicts overnight.

In my opinion, diplomacy nowadays is no longer charm, champagne, and chandeliers. It is more the ability to convince and convert. Patience is a great virtue in the conduct of foreign policy. One must be patient, one must be practical, and one must be persistent. Neither lasting peace nor lasting prosperity can be achieved any other way. At the United Nations, each time I walk in, they look at me. Through me, they see America. They see its opportunities and its promises. They want to know what I have to say. The place suddenly becomes quiet the minute they hear: "On behalf of the United States..." That is my proudest moment!

Thank you very much.

During Q&A, the following issues were discussed: Khmer Rouge tribunal, Saddam Hussein & Iraq, U.S. arrears, UNFPA funding, North Korea nuclear threat, food crisis in southern Africa, HIV/AIDS, Afghanistan, religious freedom, refugee issues, World Food Program, U.S. leadership in U.N. humanitarian assistance programs, ECOSOC priorities in 2003.