United Nations Transparency and Accountability Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7939 To counter malign influence, require transparency, and promote accountability within the United Nations system, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 4, 2020 Mr. MCCAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To counter malign influence, require transparency, and pro- mote accountability within the United Nations system, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United Nations Trans- 4 parency and Accountability Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 9 mittees’’ means— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7939 IH (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 1 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 2 of Representatives; and 3 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 4 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 5 Senate. 6 (2) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 7 staff who are compensated in any form in the gen- 8 eral services, professional staff, or senior manage- 9 ment of the United Nations system, including con- 10 sultants, contractors, and subcontractors. 11 (3) MALIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS.—The 12 term ‘‘malign influence operations’’ means a coordi- 13 nated, integrated, and synchronized application by a 14 Member State of national diplomatic, informational, 15 military, economic, or other capabilities, to foster at- 16 titudes, behaviors, or decisions by a United Nations 17 Entity, or within the United Nations system, that 18 furthers the national interests and objectives of a 19 Member State, in a manner inconsistent with the 20 United Nations Charter. 21 (4) MEMBER STATE.—The term ‘‘Member 22 State’’ means a country that is a Member State of 23 the United Nations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7939 IH (5) SENIOR LEVEL EMPLOYEE OF THE UNITED 1 NATIONS.—The term ‘‘senior level employee of the 2 United Nations’’ means an individual who is em- 3 ployed in the professional staff or senior manage- 4 ment of the United Nations system, serving at the 5 level of D–1 or higher. 6 (6) UNITED NATIONS ENTITY.—The term 7 ‘‘United Nations entity’’ means the United Nations 8 General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, 9 the Security Council, the Secretariat, the related or- 10 ganizations, the specialized agencies, or subsidiary 11 body. 12 (7) UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM.—The term 13 ‘‘United Nations system’’ means an aggregation of 14 all United Nations entities. 15 (8) UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTION.—The term 16 ‘‘United States contribution’’ means an assessed or 17 voluntary contribution, whether financial, in-kind, or 18 otherwise, from the United States Government to a 19 United Nations entity. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7939 IH TITLE I—COUNTERING MALIGN 1 INFLUENCE OPERATIONS 2 WITHIN THE UNITED NA- 3 TIONS SYSTEM 4 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds the following: 6 (1) Article 100 of the United Nations Charter 7 provides that United Nations Secretariat staff ‘‘shall 8 not seek or receive instructions from any govern- 9 ment or from any authority external to the Organi- 10 zation’’. 11 (2) Furthermore, it requires Member States to 12 ‘‘respect the exclusively international character of 13 the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the 14 staff and not to seek to influence them in the dis- 15 charge of their responsibilities’’. 16 (3) For decades, Russia has manipulated the 17 United Nations procurement process to its own ben- 18 efit, especially in air assets. Russian nationals in key 19 procurement and personnel positions inside the 20 United Nations have repeatedly drafted procurement 21 contracts designed to ensure that Russian airframes 22 and pilots have an unfair advantage when bidding 23 for these contracts. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7939 IH (4) According to Human Rights Watch, the 1 People’s Republic of China (PRC) has used its lead- 2 ership roles within the United Nations to block non- 3 governmental organizations critical of the PRC from 4 being accredited to the U.N. PRC diplomats have 5 violated U.N. rules by harassing activists by 6 photographing and filming them on U.N. property, 7 as well as contacting U.N. employees in efforts to in- 8 timidate and harass them. 9 (5) In 2013, PRC authorities detained Cao 10 Shunli after she tried to attend trainings in Geneva 11 on the Human Rights Council. She was arrested at 12 Beijing Airport and disappeared for several weeks. 13 She had previously called on the Chinese Communist 14 Party to work with civil society during the drafting 15 of the PRC’s second Universal Periodic Review, a 16 mechanism by which the U.N. Human Rights Coun- 17 cil reviews the human rights record of Member 18 States. After five and a half months in detention, 19 she died in a military hospital in Beijing. When 20 NGOs at the Human Rights Council called for a mo- 21 ment of silence in memory of Cao, the PRC delega- 22 tion blocked the request. 23 (6) In a 2019 interview with China Central Tel- 24 evision, Wu Hongbo, the former Under-Secretary- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7939 IH General of the United Nations and head of the 1 United Nations Department of Economic and Social 2 Affairs (UNDESA), stated publicly that as a United 3 Nations Employee, he prioritized the PRC’s inter- 4 ests above the impartiality of the United Nations 5 system. When discussing how he demanded the 6 United Nations police expel Dolkun Isa, an accred- 7 ited nongovernmental organization (NGO) partici- 8 pant, from the United Nations headquarters, Wu 9 Hongbo described him as a ‘‘Xinjiang separatist’’ 10 and bragged about intimidating an Assistant Sec- 11 retary-General who complained. He went on to say 12 ‘‘I think being a Chinese diplomat means one can’t 13 be careless, when it is about protecting China’s na- 14 tional interest and safety. We have to strongly de- 15 fend the motherland’s interests.’’. 16 (7) Despite this action, Wu Hongbo was suc- 17 ceeded as Under-Secretary-General and head of 18 UNDESA by Liu Zhenmin, another PRC national. 19 Under-Secretary-General Liu continues to prioritize 20 PRC national interests above the impartiality re- 21 quired in his role. 22 (8) On September 19, 2019, the United States 23 Department of State expelled two members of the 24 Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7939 IH for ‘‘attempts to conduct influence operations 1 against the United States’’. 2 SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 3 It is the policy of the United States to— 4 (1) identify, report, and hold accountable Mem- 5 ber States who engage in malign influence oper- 6 ations and United Nations employees who act incon- 7 sistently with the principals of impartiality enshrined 8 in the United Nations Charter; 9 (2) oppose the election as the head of any 10 United Nations entity of nationals from Member 11 States conducting malign influence operations; and 12 (3) support Taiwan’s membership or meaning- 13 ful participation, as appropriate, in relevant United 14 Nations entities in which Taiwan has expressed an 15 interest in participating. 16 SEC. 103. DESIGNATION OF SENIOR OFFICIAL. 17 The Secretary of State shall designate a Senate-con- 18 firmed senior level official of the United States Mission 19 to the United Nations (US-UN) to provide guidance re- 20 garding implementation of the policies specified in section 21 102, fulfill the reporting requirements of section 104, and 22 coordinate the implementation of this title within the 23 United States Government. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7939 IH SEC. 104. REPORT. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 1, 2020, 2 and annually thereafter for four years, the Secretary of 3 State shall submit to the appropriate congressional com- 4 mittees an unclassified report, which may include a classi- 5 fied annex, regarding malign influence operations within 6 the United Nations system. 7 (b) CONTENTS.— Each report under subsection (a) 8 shall include the following: 9 (1) A list of Member States determined to be 10 engaged in malign influence operations within the 11 United Nations system. 12 (2) Actions inconsistent with the principle of 13 impartiality enshrined in the United Nations Char- 14 ter by the government of these Member States. 15 (3) A description of the impact of such oper- 16 ations on the interests and security of the United 17 States. 18 SEC. 105. IMPLEMENTATION. 19 The President shall direct the United States Perma- 20 nent Representative to the United Nations to use the 21 voice, vote, and influence of the United States at the 22 United Nations to implement the policies specified in sec- 23 tion 102. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7939 IH SEC. 106. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO MA- 1 LIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS WITHIN THE 2 UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM. 3 (a) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the United 4 States to— 5 (1) oppose malign influence operations that are 6 or have been engaged in by the governments of 7 Member States; and 8 (2) promote respect for the impartiality and 9 independence of the United Nations system in coun- 10 tries designated pursuant to subsection (b). 11 (b) DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES AS MALIGN GLOB- 12 AL ACTORS.— 13 (1) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Not later than Sep- 14 tember 1, 2020, and annually thereafter for four 15 years, the President shall review the reports required 16 under section 104 to determine whether the govern- 17 ment of a country included in the most recent such 18 report, in addition to any other available evidence or 19 information, has engaged in malign influence oper- 20 ations that threatened the interests or security of 21 the United States during the preceding 12 month 22 period or since the date of the last review of that 23 country under this subparagraph, whichever period 24 is longer. The President shall designate each country 25 the government of which has engaged in such oper- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7939 IH ations that have so threatened the interests or secu- 1 rity of the United States as a malign global actor. 2 (2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Whenever 3 the President designates a country as a malign glob- 4 al actor under paragraph (1)(A), the President shall, 5 as soon as practicable after such designation is 6 made, transmit to the appropriate congressional 7 committees such designation, including an expla- 8 nation for why such designation was made. 9 SEC. 107. REPORT ON ACCOUNTABILITY OF SENIOR LEVEL 10 EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED NATIONS. 11 No later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 12 of this Act, the Secretary of State shall report to the ap- 13 propriate congressional committees on feasible mecha- 14 nisms and ongoing efforts to increase the accountability 15 of senior level employees of the United Nations. 16 TITLE II—SUPPORTING UNITED 17 STATES ENGAGEMENT IN THE 18 UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM 19 SEC. 201. OFFICE OF AMERICAN CITIZENS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es- 21 tablish an Office of American Citizens as a separate office 22 within the Department of State’s Bureau of International 23 Organization Affairs (IO). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7939 IH (b) DUTIES.—The Office of American Citizens 1 shall— 2 (1) advocate for the employment of United 3 States citizens by all international organizations of 4 which the United States is a member, including the 5 United Nations system; 6 (2) coordinate the interagency support of non- 7 United States candidates for leadership or oversight 8 roles within such international organizations when— 9 (A) no United States citizen candidate has 10 been nominated for election to such a leadership 11 role; and 12 (B) it is determined that providing such 13 support is in the interest of the United States. 14 (3) develop and maintain a publicly accessible 15 database of open positions at such international or- 16 ganizations and provide details on how United 17 States citizens may submit applications for such po- 18 sitions; 19 (4) communicate regularly with members of 20 Congress to solicit the names of qualified candidates 21 for such positions; and 22 (5) maintain a comprehensive and current list 23 of all United States citizens employed by such inter- 24 national organizations and regularly report to Con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939 khammond on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7939 IH gress on the number of such citizens and identify 1 any discrimination, prejudice, or perceived bias 2 against such citizens seeking to secure such employ- 3 ment. 4 (c) COORDINATION.—The head of the Office of Amer- 5 ican Citizens shall coordinate all nominations for inter- 6 national organizations for all agencies of the Federal Gov- 7 ernment. Agencies of the Federal Government shall rec- 8 ommend to the head of the Office of American Citizens 9 for consideration candidates for election, promotion, or ad- 10 vocacy within relevant international organizations. 11 (d) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall ensure that 12 the Office of American Citizens is adequately staffed at 13 all times to fulfill its mandate under this Act. 14 (e) REPORTING.—The head of the office established 15 by this section shall report directly to the Principal Dep- 16 uty Assi [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]