II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2494 

To counter malign influence, require transparency, and promote accountability 

within the United Nations system, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2021 

Mrs. BLACKBURN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

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 2021’’. 

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 Relations of 

2 the Senate; 

3 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

4 the Senate; 

5 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

6 the House of Representatives; and 

7 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

8 the House of Representatives. 

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

10 a staff member who is compensated in any form in 

11 the general services, professional staff, or senior 

12 management of the United Nations system, includ13 ing a consultant, a contractor, or a subcontractor. 

14 (3) MALIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS.—The 

15 term ‘‘malign influence operations’’ means a coordi16 nated, integrated, and synchronized application by a 

17 Member State of national diplomatic, informational, 

18 military, economic, or other capabilities, to foster at19 titudes, behaviors, or decisions by a United Nations 

20 entity, or within the United Nations system, that 

21 furthers the national interests and objectives of a 

22 Member State, in a manner inconsistent with the 

23 United Nations Charter. 


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

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

3 the United Nations. 

4 (5) SENIOR-LEVEL EMPLOYEE OF THE UNITED

5 NATIONS.—The term ‘‘senior-level employee of the 

6 United Nations’’ means an individual who is em7 ployed in the professional staff or senior manage8 ment of the United Nations system, serving at the 

9 level of D–1 or higher. 

10 (6) UNITED NATIONS ENTITY.—The term 

11 ‘‘United Nations entity’’ means— 

12 (A) the United Nations General Assembly; 

13 (B) the United Nations Economic and So14 cial Council; 

15 (C) the United Nations Security Council; 

16 (D) the United Nations Secretariat; 

17 (E) an organization related to any of the 

18 entities referred to in subparagraphs (A) 

19 through (D); 

20 (F) a specialized agency; or 

21 (G) a subsidiary body. 

22 (7) UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM.—The term 

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

24 all United Nations entities. 


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1 (8) UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTION.—The term 

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

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

4 otherwise, from the United States Government to a 

5 United Nations entity. 

6 TITLE I—COUNTERING MALIGN 

7 INFLUENCE OPERATIONS 

8 WITHIN THE UNITED NA9 TIONS SYSTEM 

10 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress finds the following: 

12 (1) Article 100 of the United Nations Charter 

13 provides that United Nations Secretariat staff ‘‘shall 

14 not seek or receive instructions from any govern15 ment or from any authority external to the Organi16 zation’’. 

17 (2) Furthermore, it requires Member States to 

18 ‘‘respect the exclusively international character of 

19 the responsibilities of the Secretary General and the 

20 staff and not to seek to influence them in the dis21 charge of their responsibilities’’. 

22 (3) For decades, Russia has manipulated the 

23 United Nations procurement process to its own ben24 efit, especially in air assets. Russian nationals in key 

25 procurement and personnel positions inside the 


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1 United Nations have repeatedly drafted procurement 

2 contracts designed to ensure that Russian airframes 

3 and pilots have an unfair advantage when bidding 

4 for these contracts. 

5 (4) According to Human Rights Watch, the 

6 People’s Republic of China (referred to in this sec7 tion as the ‘‘PRC’’) has used its leadership roles 

8 within the United Nations to block nongovernmental 

9 organizations critical of the PRC from being accred10 ited to the United Nations. PRC diplomats have vio11 lated rules of the United Nations by harassing activ12 ists by photographing and filming them on the prop13 erty of the United Nations, as well as contacting em14 ployees of the United Nations in efforts to intimi15 date and harass them. 

16 (5) In 2013, PRC authorities detained Cao 

17 Shunli after she tried to attend trainings in Geneva 

18 on the Human Rights Council. She was arrested at 

19 Beijing Airport and disappeared for several weeks. 

20 She had previously called on the Chinese Communist 

21 Party to work with civil society during the drafting 

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

23 mechanism by which the United Nations Human 

24 Rights Council reviews the human rights records of 

25 Member States. After 5.5 months in detention, she 


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1 died in a military hospital in Beijing. When non2 governmental organizations at the Human Rights 

3 Council called for a moment of silence in memory of 

4 Cao, the PRC delegation blocked the request. 

5 (6) In a 2019 interview with China Central Tel6 evision, Wu Hongbo, the former Under Secretary 

7 General of the United Nations and head of the 

8 United Nations Department of Economic and Social 

9 Affairs (referred to in this section as ‘‘UNDESA’’), 

10 stated publicly that as an employee of the United 

11 Nations, he prioritized the PRC’s interests above the 

12 impartiality of the United Nations system. When 

13 discussing how he demanded the United Nations po14 lice expel Dolkun Isa, an accredited nongovern15 mental organization participant, from the United 

16 Nations headquarters, Wu Hongbo described him as 

17 a ‘‘Xinjiang separatist’’ and bragged about intimi18 dating an Assistant Secretary General who com19 plained. He went on to say, ‘‘I think being a Chinese 

20 diplomat means one can’t be careless, when it is 

21 about protecting China’s national interest and safe22 ty. We have to strongly defend the motherland’s in23 terests.’’. 

24 (7) Despite this action, Wu Hongbo was suc25 ceeded as Under Secretary General and head of 


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1 UNDESA by Liu Zhenmin, another PRC national. 

2 Under Secretary General Liu continues to prioritize 

3 PRC national interests above the impartiality re4 quired in his role. 

5 (8) On September 19, 2019, the Department of 

6 State expelled two members of the Permanent Mis7 sion of Cuba to the United Nations for ‘‘attempts to 

8 conduct influence operations against the United 

9 States’’. 

10 SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

11 It is the policy of the United States— 

12 (1) to identify, report, and hold accountable 

13 Member States that engage in malign influence op14 erations and United Nations employees who act in15 consistently with the principals of impartiality en16 shrined in the United Nations Charter; 

17 (2) to oppose the election as the head of any 

18 United Nations entity of nationals from Member 

19 States that engage in malign influence operations; 

20 and 

21 (3) to support Taiwan’s membership or mean22 ingful participation, as appropriate, in relevant 

23 United Nations entities in which Taiwan has ex24 pressed an interest in participating. 


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1 SEC. 103. DESIGNATION OF SENIOR OFFICIAL. 

2 The Secretary of State shall designate a Senate-con3 firmed senior-level official of the United States Mission 

4 to the United Nations— 

5 (1) to provide guidance regarding implementa6 tion of the policies specified in section 102; 

7 (2) to fulfill the reporting requirements under 

8 section 104; and 

9 (3) to coordinate the implementation of this 

10 title within the United States Government. 

11 SEC. 104. ANNUAL REPORTS ON MALIGN INFLUENCE OPER12 ATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 1, 2022, 

14 and annually thereafter for 4 years, the Secretary of State 

15 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

16 an unclassified report, which may include a classified 

17 annex, regarding malign influence operations. 

18 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under sub19 section (a) shall include, with respect to the preceding 12- 

20 month period— 

21 (1) a list of Member States determined to be 

22 engaged in malign influence operations; 

23 (2) actions inconsistent with the principle of im24 partiality enshrined in the United Nations Charter 

25 by the government of any Member State described 

26 in paragraph (1); and 


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1 (3) a description of the impact of such oper2 ations on the interests and security of the United 

3 States. 

4 SEC. 105. IMPLEMENTATION. 

5 The President shall direct the United States Perma6 nent Representative to the United Nations to use the 

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

8 United Nations to implement the policies specified in sec9 tion 102. 

10 SEC. 106. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO MA11 LIGN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS. 

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

13 States— 

14 (1) to oppose malign influence operations; and 

15 (2) to promote respect for the impartiality and 

16 independence of the United Nations system in coun17 tries designated as malign global actors pursuant to 

18 subsection (b). 

19 (b) DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES AS MALIGN GLOB20 AL ACTORS.— 

21 (1) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Not later than Sep22 tember 1, 2022, and annually thereafter for the fol23 lowing 4 years, the President shall— 

24 (A) review the reports required under sec25 tion 104 and any other available evidence or inVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2494.IS S2494

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1 formation to determine whether the government 

2 of a country included in the most recent report 

3 required under section 104 has engaged in ma4 lign influence operations that threatened the in5 terests or security of the United States during 

6 the preceding 12-month period or since the date 

7 of the last review of the country under this sub8 paragraph, whichever period is longer; and 

9 (B) designate as a malign global actor 

10 each country the government of which has en11 gaged in such operations that have so threat12 ened the interests or security of the United 

13 States. 

14 (2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Whenever 

15 the President designates a country as a malign glob16 al actor under paragraph (1)(B), the President shall, 

17 as soon as practicable after the designation is made, 

18 transmit to the appropriate congressional commit19 tees the designation, including an explanation for 

20 why the designation was made. 

21 SEC. 107. REPORT ON ACCOUNTABILITY OF SENIOR-LEVEL 

22 EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED NATIONS. 

23 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

25 the appropriate congressional committees a report on feaVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:45 Jul 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2494.IS S2494

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1 sible mechanisms and ongoing efforts to increase the ac2 countability of senior-level employees of the United Na3 tions. 

4 TITLE II—SUPPORTING UNITED 

5 STATES ENGAGEMENT IN THE 

6 UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM 

7 SEC. 201. OFFICE OF MULTILATERAL STRATEGY AND PER8 SONNEL. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es10 tablish an Office of Multilateral Strategy and Personnel 

11 as a separate office within the Bureau of International Or12 ganization Affairs of the Department of State and shall 

13 appoint an individual to be the head of that office. 

14 (b) DUTIES.—The head of the Office of Multilateral 

15 Strategy and Personnel shall— 

16 (1) advocate for the employment of United 

17 States citizens by all international organizations of 

18 which the United States is a member, including the 

19 United Nations system; 

20 (2) coordinate the interagency support of non21 United States candidates for leadership or oversight 

22 roles within such international organizations when— 

23 (A) no United States citizen candidate has 

24 been nominated for election to such a leadership 

25 role; and 


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1 (B) providing such support is in the inter2 est of the United States; 

3 (3) develop and maintain a publicly accessible 

4 database of open positions at such international or5 ganizations; 

6 (4) provide details on how United States citi7 zens may submit applications for such positions; 

8 (5) communicate regularly with members of 

9 Congress to solicit the names of qualified candidates 

10 for such positions; 

11 (6) maintain a comprehensive and current list 

12 of all United States citizens employed by such inter13 national organizations; and 

14 (7) regularly report to Congress on the number 

15 of such citizens and identify any discrimination, 

16 prejudice, or perceived bias against such citizens 

17 seeking to secure such employment. 

18 (c) COORDINATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Office of 

20 Multilateral Strategy and Personnel shall coordinate 

21 all nominations by the relevant agencies of the Fed22 eral Government for election within the United Na23 tions system. 

24 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Heads of agencies of 

25 the Federal Government shall recommend to the 


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1 head of the Office of Multilateral Strategy and Per2 sonnel for consideration candidates for election, pro3 motion, or advocacy within relevant international or4 ganizations. 

5 (d) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary of State shall en6 sure that the Office of Multilateral Strategy and Personnel 

7 is adequately staffed at all times to fulfill its duties under 

8 subsection (b). 

9 (e) REPORTING.—The head of the Office of Multilat10 eral Strategy and Personnel shall report directly to the 

11 relevant Deputy Assistant Secretary within the Bureau of 

12 International Organization Affairs. 

13 SEC. 202. JUNIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICERS. 

14 (a) INCREASE IN JUNIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICER

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

16 less than 50 percent the number of Junior Professional 

17 Officer positions sponsored by the United States within 

18 the United Nations system over the number of such posi19 tions so sponsored as of the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act. 

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

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

23 State shall submit to the head of the Office of Multilateral 

24 Strategy and Personnel established pursuant to section 

25 201— 


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1 (1) the amount of funding each bureau has des2 ignated during the preceding fiscal year for Junior 

3 Professional Officer positions in the United Nations 

4 system; and 

5 (2) the number of such positions that existed on 

6 the last day of such fiscal year. 

7 TITLE III—TRANSPARENCY AND 

8 ACCOUNTABILITY FOR 

9 UNITED STATES CONTRIBU10 TIONS TO THE UNITED NA11 TIONS 

12 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

13 Congress finds the following: 

14 (1) As underscored by repeated revelations of 

15 waste, fraud, and abuse, oversight and account16 ability mechanisms within the United Nations sys17 tem remain deficient, despite decades of reform at18 tempts, including those initiated by Secretaries Gen19 eral of the United Nations. 

20 (2) Notwithstanding the personal intentions of 

21 any Secretary General of the United Nations to pro22 mote institutional transparency and accountability 

23 within the United Nations system, the Secretary 

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1 agement reforms without the concurrence of the 

2 General Assembly. 

3 (3) The United Nations Office of Internal Over4 sight Services (referred to in this section as the 

5 ‘‘OIOS’’) is tasked with providing transparency and 

6 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, and the outcomes and results 

17 stemming from United Nations activities that would 

18 allow them to determine the overall performance of 

19 the United Nations system. 

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

22 Section 4(b) of the United Nations Participation Act 

23 of 1945 (22 U.S.C. 287b(b)) 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: 

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

4 this subsection shall set forth, for the fiscal year 

5 covered by the report, information relating to— 

6 ‘‘(A) the total amount of all United States 

7 contributions to international organizations in 

8 which the United States participates as a mem9 ber; 

10 ‘‘(B) the approximate percentage of United 

11 States contributions to each international orga12 nization, when compared with all contributions 

13 to any such international organization, from 

14 any source; and 

15 ‘‘(C) for each United States contribution, 

16 information relating to— 

17 ‘‘(i) the amount of the contribution; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a description of the contribution 

19 (including whether assessed or voluntary); 

20 ‘‘(iii) the department or agency of the 

21 United States Government responsible for 

22 the contribution; 

23 ‘‘(iv) the purpose of the contribution; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(v) the identity of the international 

2 organization receiving the contribution. 

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

4 Not later than 14 days after submitting each report 

5 required under this subsection, the Director of the 

6 Office of Management and Budget shall post a pub7 lic version of the report on a text-based, searchable, 

8 and publicly available internet website.’’. 

Æ 


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