Middle East is defining challenge of our time: US envoy
Regional-USA, Politics, 5/1/2007

The Middle East is "the defining challenge of our time," says Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the new US permanent representative to the United Nations and the president of the UN Security Council for the month of May.

Khalilzad, meeting with reporters April 30 after formally presenting his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said he told the UN chief he "would roll up my sleeves and join with him in a partnership to make the United Nations as effective as possible during the time that we serve here together."

At a meeting with his staff at the US Mission to the United Nations April 23, Khalilzad said his first objective is to increase UN efforts to stabilize and strengthen Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. Stabilizing these countries is the first step in the longer-term transformation of the Middle East, "which is the defining challenge of our time," he said.

Other priorities include securing Iran's compliance with Security Council resolutions and International Atomic Energy Agency requirements, supporting international efforts to induce North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions and focusing on other issues that threaten regional stability such as Kosovo, he told the staff. He also cited protecting the peoples of Darfur, strengthening UN peacekeeping operations and "promoting effective approaches to global issues, such as climate change."

No stranger to UN work, Khalilzad's previous post was as US ambassador to Iraq from 2005 to 2007. From 2003 to 2005, he served as US ambassador to Afghanistan. The two countries are on the Security Council's agenda and have special UN missions.

"I know that the United Nations can be a very effective and positive force," the ambassador told journalists April 30. In Afghanistan and in Iraq, "I've seen firsthand that in working with others, working with the United Nations, positive results can be achieved."

During his meeting with staff, Khalilzad cited his work with UN special representatives to Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi and Jean Arnault. The ambassador said the United Nations "can make a profoundly positive impact if it has the right mandate and if it is properly employed."

He also cited the role of the United Nations in helping Iraqis draft their constitution. After the May 3-4 International Compact with Iraq and the Expanded Neighbors of Iraq meetings at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, there will be a number of ways the United Nations can help Iraqis deliver on the commitments that they make, he said.

Khalilzad also said he wants to identify two or three issues on the current UN reform agenda that realistically can be achieved and get those under way before tackling additional reforms.

"Reform is imperative in order for the UN to be effective and to sustain support," he said. "I know that many people mean different things by UN reform. I believe with goodwill and hard work we can make progress. An effective UN is in the interest of the people of the world."

During May, when the United States chairs the Security Council. The council also will watch for Sudan to act on its commitments to allow a hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, humanitarian access and aid delivery in Darfur. (See related article.)

The council will be briefed by the chairmen of the three committees dealing with terrorist issues -- the al-Qaida and Taliban, the Counterterrorism, and the Weapons of Mass Destruction committees. It also is expected to hold consultations on Nepal, Ethiopia/Eritrea, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Haiti, and the establishment of an international tribunal in Lebanon.

Khalilzad told reporters April 30 that he would consult with other Security Council members on the items to be discussed during his leadership of the Security Council.

The ambassador summarized his approach to the new post during his meeting with staff: "We will focus sharply on the interests of the United States, but we will do so by engaging, listening, and working with others in a cooperative spirit. I will place a premium on understanding the interests and concerns of others and working patiently and persistently -- and in common -- to find a way forward."

Previous Stories:
  Larijani: US unilateral measures against Iran fail   (4/9/2007)
  Arab Peace Initiative expects Israel to show action   (4/2/2007)
  Iranian official: plan by Israel to keep US forces in Iraq   (4/2/2007)

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