While
John Bolton has certainly proven to be an
ineffective diplomat
by souring relations with U.S. allies, his
proponents claim
that he deserves a permanent placement at the
U.N. due to his
record on the job.
Heritage writes, “Over the past year, Bolton has
proven
a forceful advocate
of American interests.”
While Bolton did successfully negotiate a “weakened
resolution” to condemn the North
Korean missile tests, Bolton’s tenure has been
marked by gridlock and strife as U.N.
member-states have sought to advance an agenda
that Bolton has repeatedly obstructed. Here are
some of the lowlights of Bolton’s first year at
the United Nations.
• Bolton isolated the U.S. from
its allies on the Human Rights Council.
Because Bolton was unable to negotiate
favorable terms on the creation of a new
Human Rights Council, the U.S. was
one of four nations to
oppose the creation of the
Council, while 170 nations voted for it. Out
of 30 or so negotiating sessions over the
creation of the Council, Bolton
attended just one.
• Bolton
blocked the Special Advisor on the
Prevention of Genocide from briefing the
Security Council on Darfur. “Bolton said he
had objected to the briefing to make the
point the council should be ‘talking more
about the steps it can take to do something
about the deteriorating security situation’
in Darfur. [But]
he gave no new
proposals.”
• Bolton unable to build
consensus on U.N. reform. Kofi
Annan’s deputy Mark Malloch Brown said that
there is global consensus on the need for
U.N. reform, but that international
perception of U.S. motives are hindering
those efforts. “There is currently a
perception among many otherwise quite
moderate countries that
anything the U.S.
supports must have a secret agenda
aimed at either subordinating multilateral
processes to Washington’s ends or weakening
the institutions, and therefore, put
crudely, should be opposed without any real
discussion of whether they make sense or
not,” he said. Bolton has not been able to
breakthrough the deadlock, but has instead
reinforced the
perception.
• Bolton blocked and delayed
approval of funding for U.N. renovation
plan. The United States was the
lone holdout
on a U.N. committee that tried to approve an
estimated $1.6 billion renovation plan for
the U.N. The U.N. building violates New York
safety and fire codes; it is packed with
asbestos, has no sprinkler system, and leaks
about a quarter of its heating. Bolton’s
position provoked “an
America-versus-the-world standoff.”
Ultimately, Bolton’s obstruction caused
Louis Frederick Reuter, the official in
charge of the renovation,
to quit his post.
• Bolton sought to undermine the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The MDGs aimed to
convert rhetoric into
hard numbers on such issues as
reducing poverty and hunger, enrolling
children in primary school, etc. Just days
after he arrived in New York after a recess
appointment, Bolton
released over 700
edits to the draft document for the summit,
excising all mentions of the MDGs. Bush and
Rice later had to backtrack from Bolton,
reassuring the U.N. of its commitment to the
agreed upon goals.
