Congressional panel approves cut in US dues unless UN reforms

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2005

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Republicans on a key House committee narrowly approved legislation that seeks to reform the embattled United Nations by withholding half of US dues unless a thorough overhaul of the world body is carried out.

By a near party-line vote of 25 to 22, the House of Representatives' International Relations Committee approved a draft bill which mandates that the US State Department withhold 50 percent of Washington's dues if the UN's performance falls short in some 40 specified areas.

"It has become apparent that fundamental and wide-ranging reforms are needed at the United Nations if we are to avoid repeating the recent events of mismanagement and ethical lapses, and if the challenges the future holds for the United Nations are to be successfully met,"...