Lateefah Simon: “Statement in Support of U.N. Peace Operations The United Nations is playing an increasingly critical role in preventing…”

“Statement in Support of U.N. Peace Operations The United Nations is playing an increasingly critical role in preventing and resolving conflicts that have broken out across the globe. We welcome this expanded mission envisioned in the original U.N. charter but impeded by the Cold War. While the U.N. has not proved a panacea, it has achieved remarkable successes in countries such as Namibia, in El Salvador and in Cambodia. International peacekeeping is not an altruistic endeavor; it directly serves U.S. security, political and commercial interests. As U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Madeleine Albright has stated: "Whether measured in arms proliferation, refugees on our shores, the destabilization of allies, or loss of exports, jobs or investments, the cost of runaway regional conflicts sooner or later comes home to America. In 1993, the U.N. will spend over $3 billion to stem or stop those conflicts, and we will pay one third of that.”