,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gici ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,august #d1 #bjbj,mr4 ,mc,caul introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to counter malign influence1 require transparency1 and promote accountability within the ,united ,nations system1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,united ,nations ,transparency and ,accountability ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,employee ,the term employee means staff who are compensated in any form in the general services1 professional staff1 or senior management of the ,united ,nations system1 including consultants1 contractors1 and subcontractors4 7#c7 ,malign influence operations ,the term malign influence operations means a coordinated1 integrated1 and synchronized application by a ,member ,state of national diplomatic1 informational1 military1 economic1 or other capabilities1 to foster attitudes1 behaviors1 or decisions by a ,united ,nations ,entity1 or within the ,united ,nations system1 that furthers the national interests and objectives of a ,member ,state1 in a manner inconsistent with the ,united ,nations ,charter4 7#d7 ,member ,state ,the term ,member ,state means a country that is a ,member ,state of the ,united ,nations4 7#e7 ,senior level employee of the ,united ,nations ,the term senior level employee of the ,united ,nations means an individual who is employed in the professional staff or senior management of the ,united ,nations system1 serving at the level of ,d-#a or higher4 7#f7 ,united ,nations entity ,the term ,united ,nations entity means the ,united ,nations ,general ,assembly1 the ,economic and ,social ,council1 the ,security ,council1 the ,secretariat1 the related organizations1 the specialized agencies1 or subsidiary body4 7#g7 ,united ,nations system ,the term ,united ,nations system means an aggregation of all ,united ,nations entities4 7#h7 ,united ,states contribution ,the term ,united ,states contribution means an assessed or voluntary contribution1 whether financial1 in-kind1 or otherwise1 from the ,united ,states ,government to a ,united ,nations entity4 ,i ,countering ,malign ,influence ,operations ,within the ,united ,nations ,system #aja4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,article #ajj of the ,united ,nations ,charter provides that ,united ,nations ,secretariat staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any authority external to the ,organization4 7#b7 ,furthermore1 it requires ,member ,states to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the ,secretary-,general and the staff and not to seek to influence them in the discharge of their responsibilities4 7#c7 ,for decades1 ,russia has manipulated the ,united ,nations procurement process to its own benefit1 especially in air assets4 ,russian nationals in key procurement and personnel positions inside the ,united ,nations have repeatedly drafted procurement contracts designed to ensure that ,russian airframes and pilots have an unfair advantage when bidding for these contracts4 7#d7 ,according to ,human ,rights ,watch1 the ,people's ,republic of ,china 7,,prc7 has used its leadership roles within the ,united ,nations to block nongovernmental organizations critical of the ,,prc from being accredited to the ,u4,n4 ,,prc diplomats have violated ,u4,n4 rules by harassing activists by photographing and filming them on ,u4,n4 property1 as well as contacting ,u4,n4 employees in efforts to intimidate and harass them4 7#e7 ,in #bjac1 ,,prc authorities detained ,cao ,shunli after she tried to attend trainings in ,geneva on the ,human ,rights ,council4 ,she was arrested at ,beijing ,airport and disappeared for several weeks4 ,she had previously called on the ,chinese ,communist ,party to work with civil society during the drafting of the ,,prc's second ,universal ,periodic ,review1 a mechanism by which the ,u4,n4 ,human ,rights ,council reviews the human rights record of ,member ,states4 ,after five and a half months in detention1 she died in a military hospital in ,beijing4 ,when ,n,g,os at the ,human ,rights ,council called for a moment of silence in memory of ,cao1 the ,,prc delegation blocked the request4 7#f7 ,in a #bjai interview with ,china ,central ,television1 ,wu ,hongbo1 the former ,under-,secretary-,general of the ,united ,nations and head of the ,united ,nations ,department of ,economic and ,social ,affairs 7,,undesa71 stated publicly that as a ,united ,nations ,employee1 he prioritized the ,,prc's interests above the impartiality of the ,united ,nations system4 ,when discussing how he demanded the ,united ,nations police expel ,dolkun ,isa1 an accredited nongovernmental organization 7,,ngo7 participant1 from the ,united ,nations headquarters1 ,wu ,hongbo described him as a ,xinjiang separatist and bragged about intimidating an ,assistant ,secretary-,general who complained4 ,he went on to say ,i think being a ,chinese diplomat means one can't be careless1 when it is about protecting ,china's national interest and safety4 ,we have to strongly defend the motherland's interests44 7#g7 ,despite this action1 ,wu ,hongbo was succeeded as ,under-,secretary-,general and head of ,,undesa by ,liu ,zhenmin1 another ,,prc national4 ,under-,secretary-,general ,liu continues to prioritize ,,prc national interests above the impartiality required in his role4 7#h7 ,on ,september #ai1 #bjai1 the ,united ,states ,department of ,state expelled two members of the ,permanent ,mission of ,cuba to the ,united ,nations for attempts to conduct influence operations against the ,united ,states4 #ajb4 ,statement of policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states to-- 7#a7 identify1 report1 and hold accountable ,member ,states who engage in malign influence operations and ,united ,nations employees who act inconsistently with the principals of impartiality enshrined in the ,united ,nations ,charter2 7#b7 oppose the election as the head of any ,united ,nations entity of nationals from ,member ,states conducting malign influence operations2 and 7#c7 support ,taiwan's membership or meaningful participation1 as appropriate1 in relevant ,united ,nations entities in which ,taiwan has expressed an interest in participating4 #ajc4 ,designation of senior official ,the ,secretary of ,state shall designate a ,senate-confirmed senior level official of the ,united ,states ,mission to the ,united ,nations 7,,us-,,un7 to provide guidance regarding implementation of the policies specified in section #ajb1 fulfill the reporting requirements of section #ajd1 and coordinate the implementation of this title within the ,united ,states ,government4 #ajd4 ,report 7a7 ,in general ,not later than ,august #a1 #bjbj1 and annually thereafter for four years1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an unclassified report1 which may include a classified annex1 regarding malign influence operations within the ,united ,nations system4 7b7 ,contents ,each report under subsection 7a7 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,a list of ,member ,states determined to be engaged in malign influence operations within the ,united ,nations system4 7#b7 ,actions inconsistent with the principle of impartiality enshrined in the ,united ,nations ,charter by the government of these ,member ,states4 7#c7 ,a description of the impact of such operations on the interests and security of the ,united ,states4 #aje4 ,implementation ,the ,president shall direct the ,united ,states ,permanent ,representative to the ,united ,nations to use the voice1 vote1 and influence of the ,united ,states at the ,united ,nations to implement the policies specified in section #ajb4 #ajf4 ,presidential actions in response to malign influence operations within the ,united ,nations system 7a7 ,policy ,it shall be the policy of the ,united ,states to-- 7#a7 oppose malign influence operations that are or have been engaged in by the governments of ,member ,states2 and 7#b7 promote respect for the impartiality and independence of the ,united ,nations system in countries designated pursuant to subsection 7b74 7b7 ,designations of countries as malign global actors 7#a7 ,annual review ,not later than ,september #a1 #bjbj1 and annually thereafter for four years1 the ,president shall review the reports required under section #ajd to determine whether the government of a country included in the most recent such report1 in addition to any other available evidence or information1 has engaged in malign influence operations that threatened the interests or security of the ,united ,states during the preceding #ab month period or since the date of the last review of that country under this subparagraph1 whichever period is longer4 ,the ,president shall designate each country the government of which has engaged in such operations that have so threatened the interests or security of the ,united ,states as a malign global actor4 7#b7 ,congressional notification ,whenever the ,president designates a country as a malign global actor under paragraph 7#a77;,a71 the ,president shall1 as soon as practicable after such designation is made1 transmit to the appropriate congressional committees such designation1 including an explanation for why such designation was made4 #ajg4 ,report on accountability of senior level employees of the ,united ,nations ,no later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall report to the appropriate congressional committees on feasible mechanisms and ongoing efforts to increase the accountability of senior level employees of the ,united ,nations4 ,,ii ,supporting ,united ,states ,engagement in the ,united ,nations ,system #bja4 ,office of ,american ,citizens 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state shall establish an ,office of ,american ,citizens as a separate office within the ,department of ,state's ,bureau of ,international ,organization ,affairs 7,,io74 7b7 ,duties ,the ,office of ,american ,citizens shall-- 7#a7 advocate for the employment of ,united ,states citizens by all international organizations of which the ,united ,states is a member1 including the ,united ,nations system2 7#b7 coordinate the interagency support of non-,united ,states candidates for leadership or oversight roles within such international organizations when-- 7,a7 no ,united ,states citizen candidate has been nominated for election to such a leadership role2 and 7,b7 it is determined that providing such support is in the interest of the ,united ,states4 7#c7 develop and maintain a publicly accessible database of open positions at such international organizations and provide details on how ,united ,states citizens may submit applications for such positions2 7#d7 communicate regularly with members of ,congress to solicit the names of qualified candidates for such positions2 and 7#e7 maintain a comprehensive and current list of all ,united ,states citizens employed by such international organizations and regularly report to ,congress on the number of such citizens and identify any discrimination1 prejudice1 or perceived bias against such citizens seeking to secure such employment4 7c7 ,coordination ,the head of the ,office of ,american ,citizens shall coordinate all nominations for international organizations for all agencies of the ,federal ,government4 ,agencies of the ,federal ,government shall recommend to the head of the ,office of ,american ,citizens for consideration candidates for election1 promotion1 or advocacy within relevant international organizations4 7d7 ,personnel ,the ,secretary shall ensure that the ,office of ,american ,citizens is adequately staffed at all times to fulfill its mandate under this ,act4 7e7 ,reporting ,the head of the office established by this section shall report directly to the ,principal ,deputy ,assistant ,secretary within ,,io4 #bjb4 ,junior ,professional ,officers 7a7 ,increase in ,junior ,professional ,officer positions ,the ,secretary of ,state shall increase by not fewer than #ej percent the number of ,junior ,professional ,officer positions sponsored by the ,united ,states within the ,united ,nations system over the number of such positions so sponsored as of the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7b7 ,coordination ,not later than ,december #ca of each year1 the head of each bureau of the ,department of ,state shall provide the head of the ,office of ,american ,citizens of the ,department information regarding the amount of funding each such bureau has designated during the immediately preceding fiscal year for ,junior ,professional ,officer positions in the ,united ,nations system and the number of such positions that exist as of such fiscal year4 ,,iii ,transparency and ,accountability for ,united ,states ,contributions to the ,united ,nations #cja4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,as underscored by repeated revelations of waste1 fraud1 and abuse1 oversight and accountability mechanisms within the ,united ,nations system remain deficient1 despite decades of reform attempts1 including those initiated by ,secretaries ,general of the ,united ,nations4 7#b7 ,notwithstanding the personal intentions of any ,secretary ,general of the ,united ,nations to promote institutional transparency and accountability within the ,united ,nations system1 the ,secretary ,general lacks the power to impose far reaching management reforms without the concurrence of the ,general ,assembly4 7#c7 ,the ,united ,nations ,office of ,internal ,oversight ,services 7,,oios7 is tasked with providing transparency and accountability to ,member ,states4 7#d7 ,the ,united ,states successfully led efforts within the ,general ,assembly to expand ,,oios1 resulting in increased independence of the office and an enhanced ability to expose fraud1 waste1 abuse1 and other misconduct4 7#e7 ,however1 to an unacceptable degree1 major donor states1 including the ,united ,states1 lack access to reasonably detailed1 reliable information on the use of funding made available through single-country trust funds1 as well as the outcomes and results stemming from ,united ,nations activities that would allow them to determine the overall performance of the ,united ,nations system4 #cjb4 ,annual report on financial contributions ,subsection 7b7 of section #d of the ,united ,nations ,participation ,act of #aide 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bhg;b7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,not later than and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following new paragraphs3 7#b7 ,contents ,each report required under this subsection shall set forth1 for the fiscal year covered by such report1 information relating to the following3 7,a7 ,the total amount of all ,united ,states contributions to international organizations in which the ,united ,states participates as a member4 7,b7 ,the approximate percentage of ,united ,states contributions to each international organization1 when compared with all contributions to any such international organization1 from any source4 7,c7 ,for each such ,united ,states contribution1 information relating to the following3 7i7 ,the amount of such contribution4 7ii7 ,a description of such contribution 7including whether assessed or voluntary74 7iii7 ,the department or agency of the ,united ,states ,government responsible for such contribution4 7iv7 ,the purpose of such contribution4 7v7 ,an identification of the international organization1 receiving such contribution4 7#c7 ,public availability of information ,not later than #ad days after submitting each report required under this subsection1 the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget shall post a public version of such report on a text-based1 searchable1 and publicly available internet website4 4