United States' Commitment to Multilateralism

“This is America’s agenda in the world—from the defeat of terror, to the alleviation of disease and hunger, to the spread of human liberty. We welcome, and we need, the help, advice, and wisdom of friends and allies.” — President George W. Bush

From fighting terror to alleviating world poverty to developing new energy sources, the United States firmly believes a multilateral approach offers important opportunities and advantages for advancing U.S. foreign policy and assistance priorities.

Advantages of Multilateralism

• The United Nations and other multilateral institutions, such as the Organization of American States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, offer opportunities for the U.S. to promote international peace and security while advancing political and economic freedom.
• Engagement with international organizations can extend the influence and implementation of U.S. Government policies and increase the effectiveness and accountability of multilateral programs.
• International organizations can act as multipliers to share the burden of addressing challenges such as peacekeeping, development, criminal justice capacity-building, and humanitarian assistance.
• A multilateral approach may be more effective than unilateral action in addressing certain concerns, such as sanctions against proliferators of weapons of mass destruction.
• International organizations can work in countries where the United States does not have extensive programs or access.
• International organizations may offer otherwise unavailable technical expertise to address global challenges, such as coordinating the global response to avian flu and monitoring country performance in implementing international commitments.

U.S. Multilateral Engagement

• A high priority U.S. goal is to encourage the United Nations (UN) to promote democracy, good governance, and respect for human rights and dignity through resolutions in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee and through technical assistance implemented by other offices, programs and funds.
• The U.S. works through the UN Security Council, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other bodies to promote measures to strengthen the barriers against access to weapons of mass destruction, associated technology, and their means of delivery.
• The U.S. works closely with international organizations, other countries, and non-governmental organizations to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons, and others affected by crises, as well as to coordinate efforts to prevent and mitigate disasters.
• The U.S. works through the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, and agencies such as UNICEF to reduce the number and severity of international health threats, such as avian influenza, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, polio, and malaria, promote health and disease prevention, and reduce the burden of chronic or non-communicable diseases.
• The U.S. believes increasing the quality of education, strengthening teacher training, and accurately assessing learning outcomes related to reading and writing are essential to helping countries work toward the education-related Millennium Development Goals and the Education for All (EFA) goals. The U.S. works with the UN Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) in pursuit of these goals.