Trump Can Advance UN Reform in the Wake of Obama's Anti-Israel Stunt

"With the Obama Administration's parting slap at Israel in the United Nations Security Council, calls for de-funding the world body in retaliation have again jumped to page one. The anti-Israel resolution in the waning days of the administration was the capstone of the 44th President's unbending love affair with the UN, but he may have unwittingly created a fertile environment for President Trump to advance long-needed United Nations reform...

Presently the taxpayers of the United States pay more than $7 billion to the UN through a combination of an annual, mandatory assessment based on a percentage of GDP and other contributions. It's not unreasonable to ask what we're getting for our investment and demand greater accountability...

There is a crisis of confidence when it comes to the UN to be sure. The now decade-old Volcker report that blew the lid off of the Oil for Food scandal still tarnishes the UN brand, particularly here in the United States. The phony Human Rights Council chaired by the likes of Iran and failures to stop mass murder in Darfur, Rwanda, and Bosnia only buttress the perception that the UN is either corrupt, impotent or an elite diplomatic chattering class.

The UN's Procurement Task Force, created in 2006 found more than $630 million in fraud, waste and abuse in the UN's contracting process. The UN eliminated the organization in 2008 and there has been little in the way of additional work to root out corruption since...

With the new Trump administration promising a new posture, the time may be ripe for driving for a system of voluntary contributions or a modification to the assessment regime. It's high time we saw increases in transparency and greater reliance on credible performance metrics to truly evaluate whether taxpayer and private donor resources are being utilized effectively..."