U.S. Participation in International Organizations

Gao ID: ID-77-36 June 24, 1977

While the United States has unquestionable monetary and political interests in the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations, in recent years many members of Congress and the public have questioned the effectiveness of such organizations.

Studies of the management of U.S. participation in several international organizations reveal continuing problems: (1) inadequate staffing and constant rotation of personnel in the State Department's Bureau of International Organizations; (2) a need for policy objectives and priorities to support U.S. participation in international organizations; and (3) the United States, as a member government, does not receive timely and sufficient information on international organization activities. Management problems within the organizations also restrict U.S. participation. The UN system needs restructuring, with emphasis on centralized planning, programming, budgeting, and resource allocation. Improved evaluation is also needed in the UN system.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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