New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican, is ready to testify earlier than the Senate Overseas Relations Committee on Jan. 16, 2025, as a part of her affirmation course of to grow to be the following U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Worldwide diplomacy is the essence of the U.N. As a former United Nations official and an instructional who has revealed broadly on the U.N., I do know that diplomacy is an artwork, not a science.
And a very good ambassador could make an actual distinction.
U.S. Consultant Elise Stefanik, proper, is Donald Trump’s nominee to grow to be the following U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
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A direct line from the UN to the president
The alliances nations type and keep on the U.N. are crucial to assist confront international crises that exceed the attain and energy of any single nation.
The entire 193 governments that make up the U.N. have ambassadors who negotiate completely different U.N. agreements on points starting from terrorism to nuclear proliferation.
Of all these ambassadors, the U.S. envoy is a very high-profile and distinctive job. First, the U.S. is the host nation to the U.N. headquarters. The U.S. can also be the U.N.’s largest monetary contributor.
Some U.S. ambassadors have been profession diplomats, like Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the present ambassador who was appointed by President Joe Biden in February 2021.
Different former U.S. ambassadors to the U.N. have backgrounds in different areas, together with academia, journalism and U.S. politics.
The U.S. ambassador might be a part of a president’s Cupboard and report on to the president, or could not have the Cupboard rank and as an alternative report back to the secretary of state. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the U.N. through the first Trump administration, had Cupboard standing, as would Stefanik, assuming she is confirmed.
Having the ear of the president strengthens the ambassador’s affect on the U.N.
The ambassador’s high jobs
The U.S. ambassador serves as an efficient worldwide advocate for the federal government’s pursuits, be it on decreasing meals insecurity and stopping famine in different nations or making an attempt to cease North Korea from launching ballistic missiles.
The ambassador explains the U.S. authorities’s specific positions to different nations’ ambassadors and representatives on the U.N.
The U.S. ambassador additionally listens to international representatives about their political positions. The ambassador then acts as a bridge between the U.N. in New York and the U.S. authorities in Washington, navigating troublesome conversations on human rights and terrorism, for instance.
The ambassador’s third, day-to-day position entails overseeing the 150 State Division and different employees on the U.S. mission to the U.N., a constructing proper throughout the road from U.N. headquarters on First Avenue in Manhattan.
The U.S. mission’s workers do the whole lot from negotiating Safety Council resolutions to advising the ambassador and different high places of work on media relations.
The U.S. ambassador can also be closely concerned in choosing the U.N. secretary-general, who leads the group in its diverse political and humanitarian work over a five-year time period.
Nations can nominate specific candidates to function the secretary-general. However any candidate should have the ability to win the help of the U.S. and the opposite Safety Council everlasting members, which have the ability to shoot down and reject a possible U.N. chief.
Nations will subsequent vote to nominate a brand new secretary-general in 2026.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks throughout a U.N. Safety Council assembly on the Center East in August 2024.
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The UN Safety Council
A big a part of the U.S. ambassador’s work occurs on the Safety Council, a key a part of the U.N. that’s tasked with sustaining worldwide peace and safety. For the reason that U.N. was based in 1945, the Safety Council has been nearly solely disaster and emergency pushed.
The council has extra energy than arguably every other department of the U.N., since its suggestions and choices, generally known as resolutions, are thought-about binding underneath worldwide regulation. The council has voted on sanctions – which might appear like journey bans or freezing of worldwide property – in opposition to a variety of people, nations like Iran and Somalia, and terrorist teams like al-Qaida. It additionally has the ability to authorize U.N. peacekeeping operations to be deployed to battle zones.
The U.S., China, France, Russia and the UK are the 5 everlasting members of the council. Whereas different nations rotate and take turns collaborating within the council’s work, solely these everlasting council members can veto resolutions – resulting in frequent stalemates.
In 2024, the U.S. used its veto energy 5 instances to reject resolutions associated to the struggle between Israel and Hamas.
The U.S. ambassador may also help determine what points the council discusses, draft and share resolutions, and affect how different council members vote.
Actual negotiations happen not in formal conferences which might be routinely aired stay however in casual consultations behind closed doorways. That is the place diplomats train their ingenuity and settle their variations.
Days after the 9/11 terrorist assaults on the World Commerce Heart and the Pentagon, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, an appointee of then-President George W. Bush, negotiated a decision that referred to as for governments to tackle completely different counterterrorist actions.
Six months after the U.S. Senate confirmed Susan Rice as ambassador in 2009, she led the Safety Council in approving a decision that imposed financial sanctions on North Korea in response to its nuclear and missile exams.
At the moment, the Safety Council is coping with varied conflicts in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Center East. The council additionally focuses on counterterrorism, vitality, local weather, pure assets and different points.
Making the case
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is a public determine who is anticipated to incessantly journey outdoors of the nation to make the case for why america’ participation and management on the U.N. issues.
That is essential as a result of about 40% of Individuals in 2023 stated that the U.S. doesn’t profit from being a member of the U.N. And in a democracy, a profitable international coverage strategy should have public help.
This story is a part of a sequence of profiles of Cupboard and high-level administration positions.