The United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN) serves as the United States delegation to the United Nations.[1] USUN is responsible for carrying out the nation's participation in the world body. In 1947, the United States Mission was created by an act of Congress to assist the President and the Department of State in conducting United States policy at the United Nations. Since that time, USUN has served a vital role as the Department of State's UN branch. Today, USUN has approximately 150 people on staff who serve to represent the United States’ political, economic social, legal, military, public diplomacy, and management interests at the United Nations.
USUN is divided into the following sections: Executive; Washington; Political; Management and Reform; Economic and Social; Legal; Military Staff; Public Affairs; Host Country; Management; and Security.
The United States Mission to the United Nations is located at 799 United Nations Plaza (between East 44th and 45th streets on First Avenue) across the street from United Nations Headquarters.
Additionally, there are four additional Representatives appointed by the President of the United States to serve on the United Nations General Assembly, two acting as Congressional Representatives to the United Nations and two Non-Congressional members. The Biden Administration has named Tom Carnahan and Sim Farar as Representatives of the United States to the General Assembly of the United Nations who are not members of Congress.[5]
The other leadership roles are also known as UN ambassadors, but with specific titles related to which offices of the UN they handle.
Congressional Representatives to the United Nations
The U.S. president also appoints two members of Congress. Members are selected by the United States House of Representatives and/or United States Senate – one Democrat and one Republican from each chamber – as Congressional Representatives to the United Nations General Assembly. The position is regulated by Section 2(a) of the United Nations Participation Act (UNPA), which stipulates that the President can appoint no more than five members of Congress to the General Assembly with the advice and consent of the Senate and that members appointed to the Assembly can not be compensated for their service in the Assembly. The duties of Congressional Representatives are not specified by the UNPA, but they generally act as observers in the committee proceedings and formal gatherings of UN General Assembly members and heads of state.[6]
As outlined in UNPA, the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, may designate congressional representatives.
Committee selection
Both the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), have at different times, documented procedures for selecting congressional representatives. In practice, the process appears to be informal and has varied over time depending on the priorities and preferences of committee leadership.[6]
House of Representatives: HFAC does not appear to have a formal process for selecting congressional representatives to the General Assembly. Based on past practice, it has assigned one Member from each political party based on seniority, starting with those who have not served as representatives; however, in recent years, HFAC members have increasingly selected participants based on the Member’s level of interest in U.N.-related issues and availability to attend the session.[6]
Senate: Similar to the House, SFRC also does not appear to have a formal process for selecting congressional representatives to the Assembly. In practice, the chairperson and ranking member select the representatives, who are usually chosen from among SFRC members. Similar to the House, congressional representatives from the Senate appear to be selected based on their interest in U.N. issues and availability.[6]
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has developed a policy of not holding hearings for temporary or part-time positions, including General Assembly representatives. Instead, both the HFAC and SFRC have annually provided the President with their choices, who are then nominated by the President and confirmed by the vote of the full Senate.[6]
The Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building, located at First Avenue and East 45th Street in Turtle Bay, Manhattan, was dedicated on March 29, 2011.[7][8] The lead architect was Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects' Charles Gwathmey, who died in 2009, approximately two years before the structure was completed. Former U.S. Permanent Representative Susan Rice thanked Gwathmey in her remarks at the dedication ceremony.[9] Gwathmey's firm said that they wanted to design "an iconic tower that would transcend strict programmatic and technical constraints, and become a compelling and representative landmark for architecture and democracy".[10]
Although the mission's building was designed before the September 11 attacks, security concerns were prioritized in the building's design due to the earlier 1998 United States embassy bombings and USS Cole bombing.[11] The United States post-9/11 era only amplified those concerns.[10] For example, the building was built with 30-inch (760 mm) thick walls and was intended to be able to withstand an explosion from a car bomb. In that scenario, the windowless bottom six floors would help prevent injury from flying glass shards.[12]
The New York Times' architecture critic Herbert Muschamp positively reviewed the building, which he called "essentially a high-rise bomb shelter":
I'm for Gwathmey's design because, for once in a very long time, a building doesn't shrink from reminding us that [...] architecture is inherently aggressive. Space is invariably gained at the expense of views, sky, memories, history, emptiness and the desires of those outside the walls. In renderings, the mission's window-washing apparatus resembles heavy artillery. This equipment won't be visible from the street, but the rendering may give some viewers a fleeting perception that high rises throughout history have performed the role of strategic defense, even when they're made of glass. With so much space in this town dedicated to buildings that don't even tell entertaining lies about themselves, there's room for a few that are upfront. New York is itself a sacrificial facade: it can absorb and even benefit from aesthetic shocks.[11]
Conversely, the New York Magazine's equivalent critic Justin Davidson criticized the building's "stark, medieval look", adding that "Gwathmey's bunker may function perfectly [if attacked], but as an icon of democracy, it can only fail."[13]
The building replaced a 1960s Modernist building with a honeycombed concrete exterior. Its design was acclaimed for its time, but by the early 2000s The Washington Post noted that it was widely derided, including being described by Germany's ambassador to the UN as "ugly".[12]
^"About the Mission". United States Mission to the United Nations. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
^
"Welcome to the United States Mission to the United Nations",
USUN.state.gov, March 2011, webpage:
state.gov-913Archived 2011-02-10 at the Wayback Machine.
^Kelemen, Michele (December 1, 2008). "U.N. Envoy Nominee Rice Known As Smart, Tough". National Public Radio. Retrieved January 21, 2009. The head of the United Nations Foundation, a Washington-based advocacy group, released a statement praising Rice as well as Obama's decision to make the post of U.N. ambassador a Cabinet-level position once again — as it was during the Clinton years.
^Cooper, Helene (November 20, 2008). "Clinton Decision Holding Up Other Obama Choices". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2009. Ms. Rice could get the post of United States ambassador to the United Nations, a cabinet-level position under President Clinton. President Bush downgraded the position when he came into office.
^"Obama in the Apple". Newsday. Associated Press. March 30, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
^Nguyen, J.T. (March 30, 2011). "Obama inaugurates new US mission building to the United Nations". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. ProQuest859020900.
‡ Missions which are located in countries or cities that may be considered a part of more than one continent
1 Consulates-General which function as an embassy (ie. consul reports to State Department, not the respective country's ambassador)
2 The American Institute in Taiwan is ostensibly a public, non-profit organization to promote US-Taiwanese relations, but through State Department staffing & assistance, functions as an informal US diplomatic mission.