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 promote accountability within the United Nations system, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United Nations Trans5 parency and Accountability Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT9 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com10 mittees’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

2 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

3 of Representatives; and 

4 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

5 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 Senate. 

7 (2) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

8 staff who are compensated in any form in the gen9 eral services, professional staff, or senior manage10 ment of the United Nations system, including con11 sultants, contractors, and subcontractors. 

12 (3) MALIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS.—The 

13 term ‘‘malign influence operations’’ means a coordi14 nated, integrated, and synchronized application by a 

15 Member State of national diplomatic, informational, 

16 military, economic, or other capabilities, to foster at17 titudes, behaviors, or decisions by a United Nations 

18 Entity, or within the United Nations system, that 

19 furthers the national interests and objectives of a 

20 Member State, in a manner inconsistent with the 

21 United Nations Charter. 

22 (4) MEMBER STATE.—The term ‘‘Member 

23 State’’ means a country that is a Member State of 

24 the United Nations. 


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1 (5) SENIOR LEVEL EMPLOYEE OF THE UNITED

2 NATIONS.—The term ‘‘senior level employee of the 

3 United Nations’’ means an individual who is em4 ployed in the professional staff or senior manage5 ment of the United Nations system, serving at the 

6 level of D–1 or higher. 

7 (6) UNITED NATIONS ENTITY.—The term 

8 ‘‘United Nations entity’’ means the United Nations 

9 General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, 

10 the Security Council, the Secretariat, the related or11 ganizations, the specialized agencies, or subsidiary 

12 body. 

13 (7) UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM.—The term 

14 ‘‘United Nations system’’ means an aggregation of 

15 all United Nations entities. 

16 (8) UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

17 ‘‘United States contribution’’ means an assessed or 

18 voluntary contribution, whether financial, in-kind, or 

19 otherwise, from the United States Government to a 

20 United Nations entity. 


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1 TITLE I—COUNTERING MALIGN 

2 INFLUENCE OPERATIONS 

3 WITHIN THE UNITED NA4 TIONS SYSTEM 

5 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Article 100 of the United Nations Charter 

8 provides that United Nations Secretariat staff ‘‘shall 

9 not seek or receive instructions from any govern10 ment or from any authority external to the Organi11 zation’’. 

12 (2) Furthermore, it requires Member States to 

13 ‘‘respect the exclusively international character of 

14 the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the 

15 staff and not to seek to influence them in the dis16 charge of their responsibilities’’. 

17 (3) For decades, Russia has manipulated the 

18 United Nations procurement process to its own ben19 efit, especially in air assets. Russian nationals in key 

20 procurement and personnel positions inside the 

21 United Nations have repeatedly drafted procurement 

22 contracts designed to ensure that Russian airframes 

23 and pilots have an unfair advantage when bidding 

24 for these contracts. 


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1 (4) According to Human Rights Watch, the 

2 People’s Republic of China (PRC) has used its lead3 ership roles within the United Nations to block non4 governmental organizations critical of the PRC from 

5 being accredited to the U.N. PRC diplomats have 

6 violated U.N. rules by harassing activists by 

7 photographing and filming them on U.N. property, 

8 as well as contacting U.N. employees in efforts to in9 timidate and harass them. 

10 (5) In 2013, PRC authorities detained Cao 

11 Shunli after she tried to attend trainings in Geneva 

12 on the Human Rights Council. She was arrested at 

13 Beijing Airport and disappeared for several weeks. 

14 She had previously called on the Chinese Communist 

15 Party to work with civil society during the drafting 

16 of the PRC’s second Universal Periodic Review, a 

17 mechanism by which the U.N. Human Rights Coun18 cil reviews the human rights record of Member 

19 States. After five and a half months in detention, 

20 she died in a military hospital in Beijing. When 

21 NGOs at the Human Rights Council called for a mo22 ment of silence in memory of Cao, the PRC delega23 tion blocked the request. 

24 (6) In a 2019 interview with China Central Tel25 evision, Wu Hongbo, the former Under-SecretaryVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939

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1 General of the United Nations and head of the 

2 United Nations Department of Economic and Social 

3 Affairs (UNDESA), stated publicly that as a United 

4 Nations Employee, he prioritized the PRC’s inter5 ests above the impartiality of the United Nations 

6 system. When discussing how he demanded the 

7 United Nations police expel Dolkun Isa, an accred8 ited nongovernmental organization (NGO) partici9 pant, from the United Nations headquarters, Wu 

10 Hongbo described him as a ‘‘Xinjiang separatist’’ 

11 and bragged about intimidating an Assistant Sec12 retary-General who complained. He went on to say 

13 ‘‘I think being a Chinese diplomat means one can’t 

14 be careless, when it is about protecting China’s na15 tional interest and safety. We have to strongly de16 fend the motherland’s interests.’’. 

17 (7) Despite this action, Wu Hongbo was suc18 ceeded as Under-Secretary-General and head of 

19 UNDESA by Liu Zhenmin, another PRC national. 

20 Under-Secretary-General Liu continues to prioritize 

21 PRC national interests above the impartiality re22 quired in his role. 

23 (8) On September 19, 2019, the United States 

24 Department of State expelled two members of the 

25 Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations 


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1 for ‘‘attempts to conduct influence operations 

2 against the United States’’. 

3 SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 It is the policy of the United States to— 

5 (1) identify, report, and hold accountable Mem6 ber States who engage in malign influence oper7 ations and United Nations employees who act incon8 sistently with the principals of impartiality enshrined 

9 in the United Nations Charter; 

10 (2) oppose the election as the head of any 

11 United Nations entity of nationals from Member 

12 States conducting malign influence operations; and 

13 (3) support Taiwan’s membership or meaning14 ful participation, as appropriate, in relevant United 

15 Nations entities in which Taiwan has expressed an 

16 interest in participating. 

17 SEC. 103. DESIGNATION OF SENIOR OFFICIAL. 

18 The Secretary of State shall designate a Senate-con19 firmed senior level official of the United States Mission 

20 to the United Nations (US-UN) to provide guidance re21 garding implementation of the policies specified in section 

22 102, fulfill the reporting requirements of section 104, and 

23 coordinate the implementation of this title within the 

24 United States Government. 


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1 SEC. 104. REPORT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 1, 2020, 

3 and annually thereafter for four years, the Secretary of 

4 State shall submit to the appropriate congressional com5 mittees an unclassified report, which may include a classi6 fied annex, regarding malign influence operations within 

7 the United Nations system. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.— Each report under subsection (a) 

9 shall include the following: 

10 (1) A list of Member States determined to be 

11 engaged in malign influence operations within the 

12 United Nations system. 

13 (2) Actions inconsistent with the principle of 

14 impartiality enshrined in the United Nations Char15 ter by the government of these Member States. 

16 (3) A description of the impact of such oper17 ations on the interests and security of the United 

18 States. 

19 SEC. 105. IMPLEMENTATION. 

20 The President shall direct the United States Perma21 nent Representative to the United Nations to use the 

22 voice, vote, and influence of the United States at the 

23 United Nations to implement the policies specified in sec24 tion 102. 


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1 SEC. 106. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO MA2 LIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS WITHIN THE 

3 UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM. 

4 (a) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the United 

5 States to— 

6 (1) oppose malign influence operations that are 

7 or have been engaged in by the governments of 

8 Member States; and 

9 (2) promote respect for the impartiality and 

10 independence of the United Nations system in coun11 tries designated pursuant to subsection (b). 

12 (b) DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES AS MALIGN GLOB13 AL ACTORS.— 

14 (1) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Not later than Sep15 tember 1, 2020, and annually thereafter for four 

16 years, the President shall review the reports required 

17 under section 104 to determine whether the govern18 ment of a country included in the most recent such 

19 report, in addition to any other available evidence or 

20 information, has engaged in malign influence oper21 ations that threatened the interests or security of 

22 the United States during the preceding 12 month 

23 period or since the date of the last review of that 

24 country under this subparagraph, whichever period 

25 is longer. The President shall designate each country 

26 the government of which has engaged in such operVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939

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1 ations that have so threatened the interests or secu2 rity of the United States as a malign global actor. 

3 (2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Whenever 

4 the President designates a country as a malign glob5 al actor under paragraph (1)(A), the President shall, 

6 as soon as practicable after such designation is 

7 made, transmit to the appropriate congressional 

8 committees such designation, including an expla9 nation for why such designation was made. 

10 SEC. 107. REPORT ON ACCOUNTABILITY OF SENIOR LEVEL 

11 EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED NATIONS. 

12 No later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

13 of this Act, the Secretary of State shall report to the ap14 propriate congressional committees on feasible mecha15 nisms and ongoing efforts to increase the accountability 

16 of senior level employees of the United Nations. 

17 TITLE II—SUPPORTING UNITED 

18 STATES ENGAGEMENT IN THE 

19 UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM 

20 SEC. 201. OFFICE OF AMERICAN CITIZENS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es22 tablish an Office of American Citizens as a separate office 

23 within the Department of State’s Bureau of International 

24 Organization Affairs (IO). 


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1 (b) DUTIES.—The Office of American Citizens 

2 shall— 

3 (1) advocate for the employment of United 

4 States citizens by all international organizations of 

5 which the United States is a member, including the 

6 United Nations system; 

7 (2) coordinate the interagency support of non8 United States candidates for leadership or oversight 

9 roles within such international organizations when— 

10 (A) no United States citizen candidate has 

11 been nominated for election to such a leadership 

12 role; and 

13 (B) it is determined that providing such 

14 support is in the interest of the United States. 

15 (3) develop and maintain a publicly accessible 

16 database of open positions at such international or17 ganizations and provide details on how United 

18 States citizens may submit applications for such po19 sitions; 

20 (4) communicate regularly with members of 

21 Congress to solicit the names of qualified candidates 

22 for such positions; and 

23 (5) maintain a comprehensive and current list 

24 of all United States citizens employed by such inter25 national organizations and regularly report to ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7939.IH H7939

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1 gress on the number of such citizens and identify 

2 any discrimination, prejudice, or perceived bias 

3 against such citizens seeking to secure such employ4 ment. 

5 (c) COORDINATION.—The head of the Office of Amer6 ican Citizens shall coordinate all nominations for inter7 national organizations for all agencies of the Federal Gov8 ernment. Agencies of the Federal Government shall rec9 ommend to the head of the Office of American Citizens 

10 for consideration candidates for election, promotion, or ad11 vocacy within relevant international organizations. 

12 (d) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

13 the Office of American Citizens is adequately staffed at 

14 all times to fulfill its mandate under this Act. 

15 (e) REPORTING.—The head of the office established 

16 by this section shall report directly to the Principal Dep17 uty Assistant Secretary within IO. 

18 SEC. 202. JUNIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICERS. 

19 (a) INCREASE IN JUNIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICER

20 POSITIONS.—The Secretary of State shall increase by not 

21 fewer than 50 percent the number of Junior Professional 

22 Officer positions sponsored by the United States within 

23 the United Nations system over the number of such posi24 tions so sponsored as of the date of the enactment of this 

25 Act. 


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1 (b) COORDINATION.—Not later than December 31 of 

2 each year, the head of each bureau of the Department of 

3 State shall provide the head of the Office of American Citi4 zens of the Department information regarding the amount 

5 of funding each such bureau has designated during the 

6 immediately preceding fiscal year for Junior Professional 

7 Officer positions in the United Nations system and the 

8 number of such positions that exist as of such fiscal year. 

9 TITLE III—TRANSPARENCY AND 

10 ACCOUNTABILITY FOR 

11 UNITED STATES CONTRIBU12 TIONS TO THE UNITED NA13 TIONS 

14 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

15 Congress finds the following: 

16 (1) As underscored by repeated revelations of 

17 waste, fraud, and abuse, oversight and account18 ability mechanisms within the United Nations sys19 tem remain deficient, despite decades of reform at20 tempts, including those initiated by Secretaries Gen21 eral of the United Nations. 

22 (2) Notwithstanding the personal intentions of 

23 any Secretary General of the United Nations to pro24 mote institutional transparency and accountability 

25 within the United Nations system, the Secretary 


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1 General lacks the power to impose far reaching man2 agement reforms without the concurrence of the 

3 General Assembly. 

4 (3) The United Nations Office of Internal Over5 sight Services (OIOS) is tasked with providing 

6 transparency and accountability to Member States. 

7 (4) The United States successfully led efforts 

8 within the General Assembly to expand OIOS, re9 sulting in increased independence of the office and 

10 an enhanced ability to expose fraud, waste, abuse, 

11 and other misconduct. 

12 (5) However, to an unacceptable degree, major 

13 donor states, including the United States, lack ac14 cess to reasonably detailed, reliable information on 

15 the use of funding made available through single16 country trust funds, as well as the outcomes and re17 sults stemming from United Nations activities that 

18 would allow them to determine the overall perform19 ance of the United Nations system. 

20 SEC. 302. ANNUAL REPORT ON FINANCIAL CONTRIBU21 TIONS. 

22 Subsection (b) of section 4 of the United Nations 

23 Participation Act of 1945 (22 U.S.C. 287b) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and inserting 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; and 

2 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

3 paragraphs: 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report required under 

5 this subsection shall set forth, for the fiscal year 

6 covered by such report, information relating to the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(A) The total amount of all United States 

9 contributions to international organizations in 

10 which the United States participates as a mem11 ber. 

12 ‘‘(B) The approximate percentage of 

13 United States contributions to each inter14 national organization, when compared with all 

15 contributions to any such international organi16 zation, from any source. 

17 ‘‘(C) For each such United States con18 tribution, information relating to the following: 

19 ‘‘(i) The amount of such contribution. 

20 ‘‘(ii) A description of such contribu21 tion (including whether assessed or vol22 untary). 

23 ‘‘(iii) The department or agency of the 

24 United States Government responsible for 

25 such contribution. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The purpose of such contribu2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(v) An identification of the inter4 national organization, receiving such con5 tribution. 

6 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 

7 Not later than 14 days after submitting each report 

8 required under this subsection, the Director of the 

9 Office of Management and Budget shall post a pub10 lic version of such report on a text-based, searchable, 

11 and publicly available internet website.’’. 

Æ 


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