Rectifying UN wrongs
By Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
September 17, 2005
The Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1126924529247&p=1006953079865
Last week, Israel formally ended its 38-year presence in the Gaza Strip. The sadness and anguish exhibited by Israelis who had to abandon their homes, and by Israeli soldiers obliged to implement the disengagement process, brings into context the extent of the sacrifices endured by the Israeli people throughout the years for the sake of peace. 
This bold step has been met with new terrorist attacks against the Jewish state and few demands from the international community for the Palestinian Authority to disarm and arrest the terrorists and permanently dismantle the terrorist infrastructure. 
There is still time to correct this situation.  The General Assembly session in the wake of last week's World Summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York offers an immediate opportunity to address this disparity in the treatment of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. 
The United Nations should, once and for all, end its anti-Semitic prejudice and anti-Israel bias and ensure that Israel is afforded the same treatment and representation as other UN members, thereby opening an opportunity for a more constructive UN role to help bolster the peace process. Based on recent events, the need for change is an urgent one. 
Throughout disengagement, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) funneled money to the Palestinian Authority to finance the production of banners, bumper stickers, mugs and T-shirts bearing the slogan Today Gaza, Tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem. Even more disturbing: Due to the way the UN budget is structured, a significant portion of this project was funded by US taxpayer dollars. 
Just days after its inappropriate involvement in the disengagement process, the UNDP hosted a three-day workshop on Restructuring of Government Agencies in Syria. The goal of this effort was clearly to bolster the regime in Damascus that continues to pursue unconventional weaponry, deny its citizens the most basic human rights, and sponsor terrorist organizations that target innocent civilians. 
Another sign that the United Nations still has an anti-Israel bias that smacks of anti-Semitism was a statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler. On July 7, Ziegler called the Gaza Strip an immense concentration camp, thereby drawing a comparison of Israelis to Nazis. Furthermore, Ziegler called on those present at his speech to pressure Europeans to boycott Israeli goods. 
While Secretary-General Kofi Annan denounced Ziegler's remarks, no further action was taken to hold him accountable for such behavior. 
These examples are merely a microcosm of the wider institutional failings that have plagued the United Nations for so long, and the systematic discrimination against Israel in its forums. 
TO ADDRESS these deficiencies, the House of Representatives this summer twice adopted the United Nations Reform Act of 2005 – both as free-standing legislation and as part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 2005. 
This legislation seeks to end discrimination against Israel in the United Nations system and ensure greater fairness and objectivity in the UN's handling of Israeli-Palestinian issues by: 
expanding one of the UN's regional groups (Western Europe and Others Group) to afford Israel permanent membership in this group with full rights and privileges, such as a place in the seat rotation of the Security Council; 
mandating a State Department review of the work performed by the various United Nations commissions, committees and offices focusing exclusively on the Palestinian agenda, followed by the submission of a report recommending areas for reform, including proposals for the elimination of duplicative entities and efforts; 
withholding proportional US contributions to the UN until these recommendations are implemented. 
In addition, the legislation calls for the UN Secretary-General or the UN Secretariat to establish a series of requirements to combat anti-Semitism in all UN entities and specialized agencies. This provision further calls for the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution to establish mechanisms to hold UN officials accountable for anti-Semitic statements and actions. 
Over the years the UN has had many opportunities to make amends for its Palestinian favoritism and anti-Israel bias. Let us hope that Israel's painful sacrifice of withdrawing from settlements in Gaza and the northern West Bank will motivate the UN to take tangible actions to reform its policies. 
If the UN fails this fall to undertake the necessary reforms, and refuses to fully appreciate Israel's willingness to place itself in jeopardy for the sake of peace, it will have failed once again in its mission to help build a peaceful and prosperous future for all. 
The writer, a Member of Congress (FL-18), chairs the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia of the House Committee on International Relations.