(Archived document, may contain errors)
549 December 1, 1986 AT THE U.N SOVIET FRONTS POSE AS NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZAT1,ONS INTRODUCTION They are as common at the United Nations as lobbyists are on Capitol Hill. They push their causes and viewpoints, they make their arguments, and they are a ready audience for almost anything the U.N does. Over t he years, in fact, they have become nearly as integral to the U.N. as the member states. They are the 760 nongovernmental organizations, widely known as NGOs, which are affiliated in one way or another with some aspect of the U.N. system. They range from t he Red Cross; U.S. Chamber of. Commerce, and National Indian Youth Council to the National Council of Catholic Women, the National Council of Jewish Women, Foster Parents Plan International-and The Heritage Foundation. These groups' status is provided by Article 71 of the U.N.
Charter, which enables the U.N. to make Itsuitable arrangements for consultation with nongovernmental organizations which are concerned with matters within its competen~e Nearly all NGOs are probably what they purport to be. Yet elev en of them are Soviet international fronts: The Afro-Asian People's Solidarity-Organization (AAPSO The Christian Peace Conference (CPC The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL The International Organization of Journalists (IOJ The Interna tional Union of Students (IUS The Women's International Democratic.
Federation (WIDF The World Federation of' Democratic Youth (WFDY The World Federation of Scientific Workers (WFSW The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU The World Peace Council (WPC an d the International Institute for Peace (IIP). Their funds come mainly from the coffers of the USSR and its East European allies, thereby violating the Charter requirement that NGOs be genuinely nongovernmental I According to a U.S. House of Representativ e s Subcommittee on Oversight report of February 6, 1980, Soviet subsidies to international front organi-fitions exceeded $63. million in 1979 alone of which 50 million went to the World Peace Council more recent State Department, CIA, and FBI reports, the Soviet Communist Party's International DepartmenF sets policy direction and provides financial support to the fronts.
The importance of the Soviet fronts at the U.N is far greater than their number. Because they enjoy special status at the U.N they partici pate in meetings of the important U;N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC have written .statements distributed by the U.N.
Secretariat at U.N. expense, frequently request hearings, and with the Secretary-General's permission, even may use U.N. facilities for conferences. This September 11-12, for example, the World Peace Council (WPC) hosted a conference at the U.N. in New York, on the topic of "Public Opinion and the U.N Such conferences also provide the opportunity for the WPC to send participants to t he U.S. who otherwise might not be granted U.S. visas According to Soviet fronts have received a considerable boost from the U.N.
Is proclaiming 1986 as an International Year of Peace. This is coordinated in the Secretariat by Under-Secretary Viacheslav Us tinov MOSCOW'S highest ranking employee at the U.N Especial1.y critical is the 'legitimacy that the U.N. confers on these Soviet front NGOs.
Select Committee on Intelligence The Soviets use the U.N. imprimatur and funds to lend credibility and prestige to Soviet front organizations involved in.Moscow's peace offensive in the Third World and Western Europe police (KGB) and the Central Committee of the USSR actively promote the connection between the U . N. and Soviet fronts Explains a May 1985 Report by the Senate The Report also notes that the Soviet secret MOSCOW'S exploitation of the NGO arrangement at the U.N offends the very concept of NGO status nongovernmental organizations and they are legitimate l y involved in the work of the U.N fronts, however, violate the U.N. Charter. It is time therefore to end the charade and stop giving NGO status to the Soviet front organizations. The U.S., its allies and all nations concerned about the integrity of the U. N . Charter should insist on applying the V.N's own rules regarding NGOS and immediately demand that government supported groups be denied the dangerously misleading NGO label NGOs are supposed to be literally Nearly every NGO is precisely that The Soviet 1 Soviet Active Measures," Hearings before the Subcommittee on European Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, 99th Congress, September 12, 13, 1985.
At the same time, the U.N. should stop providing any funds or facilities to Soviet fronts.
RULES GOVERNING NGO ACTIVITIES AT THE U.N.
Article 71 of the U.N. Charter provides that
consultation
with NGOs may be arranged through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC an important U.N. organ that makes recommendations to the General Asse mbly on economic and social issues. Resolution 1296 XLIV) of May 23, 1968, spells out in detail the terms of consultation. It defines various privileges of NGOs, which include attending U.N. conferences submitting papers thas become part of the official r ecord, even speaking at meetings.
In 1977, the U.N. adopted the recommendations of a report' greatest assistance possible to groups of NGOs which are prepared to by then Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim on strengthening cooperation between NGOS and the U.N., which asked the Secretariat
to provide the sponsor conferences
on subjects of concern to the U.N. This September
s World Peace Council conference at the U.N in New York is one example of such events.
NGOs may also be associated with the Department of Public Information (DPI) for the purpose of disseminating information about the U.N regular access to U.N. buildings.
Organizations affiliated with DPI are' entitled to passes and In some cases, NGOs can serve a legitimate purpose consulting with ECOSO C information about political prisoners or. refugees, when the International Bar Association appoints observers to U.N. Conferences on Outer Space or International Trade Law, the NGO consultative system works as envisioned. But Resolution 1296 requires th at
any 'financial contribution or other support, direct or indirect, from a Government to the international organization [purporting to be an NGO] shall be openly declared." Should an organization fail to do this, should there be
substantiated evidence of secret government financial influence should the organization systematically engage in Wnsubstantiate are members of t 4 e U.N., then these NGOs, under Resolution 1296, would lose their privileged status at the U.N this category, they should be denied NGO status When the Red Cross or Amnesty International provide and politically motivated acts against states
that Since Soviet fronts fall into 2. U.N. document, ST/SGB/209, December 21, 1984 3. U.N. document, E/C.2/768 3 I I ACTIVITIES OF SOVIET FRONTS AT THE U.N.
The international Soviet fronts are an intrinsic and very significant part of the active measures apparatus used by Moscow to influence Western Dublic o~inion. The International DeDartment of the Centra1,Committee bf the Cbmunist Party ,of the USSR controls the fronts. The Soviet fronts coordinate their efforts about twice a year at meetings attended by an official of the Soviet journal Problems of Peace and Socialism (or World Marxist Review).
The influence of the fronts at the U.N. greatly exceeds their numbers. They are active participants, for example in the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Status with the U.N. known as CONGO. While over 200 organizations belong to CONGO, only a few attend meetings As a result, the f ronts, are able to play a major role in manipulating the organization. Moreover, of CONGO'S 20-member board of directors five are Soviet fronts: Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization Christian Peace Conference, International Association of Democrati c Lawyers, Women's International Democratic Federation, and World Federation of Trade Unions.
When CONGO held a conference this January to mark the U.N.
International Year of Peace, of the 18-member steering committee, six were Soviet fronts: Afro-Asian P eople's Solidarity Organization Federation, World Federation of Democratic Youth, World Federation of Trade Unions. and the World Peace Council. At the conference. held in International Union of Students, Women's International Democratic Geneva, the front s and delegates from Soviet bloc countries strongly attacked the U.S. and its friends.
The relationship of Soviet front representatives and U.N.
Secretariat personnel is often very close. According to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report of May 1985, "the front organizations participate in the meetings of major U.N. committees subordinate organizations, regional commissions, and specialized agencies and.''they are in contact with the Secretary General and departments of the Secretariat.Il On e of their principal contacts is Anatoly Mkrtchyan, the Soviet who is Director of the External Relations Division in the Department of Public Information, who numbers among his main responsibilities the NGO section. Arkady Shevchenko, Under Secretary Gener a l at the U.N. before his defection in 1978, says that Mkrtchyan, as his predecessors in that job, is an agent of the Soviet secret police, the XGB. At U.N. offices in Geneva political officer Vladimir Soloviev, another, Soviet, is in charge of seminars an d relations with NGOs 4. See "Soviet Active Measures go. cit 4Seven of the Soviet fronts are especially active in the U-.No: the World Peace Council, the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Committee, the World Federation of Trade Unions, the Christian Peace Co u ncil, and the women's and youth fronts--the World Federation of Democratic Youth the International Union of Students, and the Women's International Democratic Federation WORLD PEACE COUNCIL (WPC Headquarters: Lonnrotinkatu 25A, Helsinki 18, Finland. Affil i ates in over 141 countries; total membership, organized on a national basis, never published. President: Romesh Chandra of India, appointed in 1977, having been Secretary-General of WPC since 1966, a member of the Indian Communist Party Central Committee. General Secretary Finnish Communist Party member Johannes Pakaslahti. U.N representatives in New York are Karen Talbot and Howard Parsons.
The nearly 250-member Presidential Committee of the WPC includes Vitaliy Shaposhnigov, Deputy Chief of the Internati onal Department of the Soviet Union. Previously, one of Moscow's principal WPC representatives was Alexander Berkov of the International Department who, according to the CIA, held ultimate control qver the WPC until 1977.
Department, Igor Belyaev. Both were.recognized within the organization as the final authority, inclpding the power of veto as representatives of the USSR.
At the U.N., the WPC is extremely active. It has addressed and distributed documents to the world Food Conference, the World Populati on Conference, and the Committee on Human Rights. In the past decade, WPC has addressed many U.N. bodies, including two committees of the General Assembly WPC maintains close relations with several U.N. agencies and is also associated with the U.N. Depart m ent of Public Information (DPI Berhv thqn was replaced by another member of the International WPC members over the years have held important positions in the Conference on NGOs (CONGO WPC is also a member of UNESCO's NGO 5. Wallace Spaulding Communist Fro n ts in 1985 Problems of Com munism, March-April 1986, p. 72 6. "The CIA and the Media," Hearings Before the Committee on Oversight of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, House of Representatives, 95th Congress, 1st and 2nd Sessions, December 27 , 28, 29, 1977; January 4, 5, and April 20, 1978, pp. 531-6
27. See esp. p. 577 5 I Standing Committee and a Rapporteur for its Bureau, and claims fo maintain offical relations with the U.N. Environment Programme.
According to former Soviet Under Secretary General Arkady Shevchenko moreover, many speeches of the Chairman of the U.N. Committee against Apartheid were written by the WPC.
In 1981 the WPC attempted to upgrade its status with ECOSOC. This failed when the representatives of the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Chile charged that the WPC had concealed receipt of large-scale financial support from government sources. Rather than r e veal its financial sources, WPC withdrew its application. WPC claims, however that it receives "no government support." British delegate Andrew Cordery concluded that llWPC is a disguised instrument of one country's foreign policy and the] delegation cons i ders that the withdrawal by the WPC of its applicat,ion amounts to an admission.118 He charged that the WPC received "large scale financial support from government sources" and that it had gone to great lengths to conceal that fact from the U.N. Committee on NGOs. U.S. delegate David Cardwell added that ''the WPC, as an NGO, in plain language is a sham In another violation of NGO status, several members of the WPC Presidential Committee have been government officials. Example: E.K Fyodorov; member of the U S SR Supreme Soviet Presidium and Elena Gil Izquie5do, member'of the Central Committee of Cuba's Comunist Party AFRO-ASIAN PEOPLE'S SOLIDARITY ORGANIZATION (AAPSO Headquarters 89 Abdul Aziz A1 Saoud Street, Manial, Cairo Egypt. Affiliates include some 90 Af rican and Asian "Solidarity Committees" and "national liberation movements." President: Abdul Rahman Al-Sharkawi of Egypt. General Secretary: Nuri Abdul Razzak Hussein of Iraq. U.N.'representative in New York: Jeanne Woods.
AAPSO activities at the U.N. have included addressing scores of meetings of the Special Committee against Apartheid and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
AAPSO has consultative status with several U.N. agencies. A member of 7. U.N. docume nt, E/C.2/R.53, of 1980 8. United Nations, ECOSOC Report, March 16, 1981 9. Press release NG0/53, February 18, 1981 10. See The World Peace Council: What It Is and What It Does (Helsinki: Information Center of the WPC, 1978 6- I AAPSO is a member of the b o ard of CONGO, and another is CONGO'S acting Secretary General. Nowri Abad Razzak of Iraq is the Vice President of the Committee on Disarmament. MPSO has a permanent member on all subcommittees of CONGOil AAPSO is also associated with the Department of Pub lic Information.
In 1967, the Chinese walked out of the Eighth AAPSO Council conference, protesting Soviet domination of the organization. Since then MOSCOW~S rule over AAPSO has gone virtually unchallenged. The Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee of the USSR, which is, according to the CIA, an appendage of the International Department of the Communist Party's Central Committee, gives Moscow an excuse for open activity in AAPSO, including prppaganda and military support for guerrilla groups in the Third World. Since 1960, the AAPSO Fund Committee in Conakry, Guinea, has distributed Soviet and Soviet bloc funds to national liberation movements and to selected political opposition groups in African countries. AAPSO has also been used to channel arms and arrange t r aining for African organizations favored by the Soviet Union AAPSO, as WPC, claims that it I'receives no funds from any governments to the 12th Council session in Moscow in 1975, AAPSO received help from Egyptian, Iraqh, and Soviet Solidarity Committees, w hich implies government funding. In 1981, AAPSO applied to upgrade its consultative status with ECOSOC. While the Ukrainian delegate to the NGO Committee of the U.N. applauded the move, stating that AAPSO supports national liberation movements and has met all the criteria for promotion, the delegate from Chile opposed it, on the ground that he had reservations about the funding of AAPSO Yet according to the AAPSO Secretary General's report The U.N. NGO Committee, moreover, was informed that AAPSO Itwas eng a ged in slanderous and unfounded accusations and in subversive activities against certain member states of the,U.N Resolution 1296 prohibits NGOs affiliated with ECOSOC from engaging in such activities, this would constitute grounds for severing the affili a tion. Yet according to the CIA, AAPSO forums have been used as Since 11. U.N. document, E/C.2/R.64/Add.l, 1984 12. See CIA and the Medih 9~. cit, p.' 585 13. Clive Rose, Cambainns An ainst Western Defense: NATO's Adversaries and Cr itics (New York and Lon d on: The Macmillan Press, 1985), p. 256 14. U.N. document, P.R.NG0/56, February 20, 1981 7cover for secret, direct negotiations between Soviet and other bloc representatives and leaders of nonruling communist parties WORLD FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (WFTU H eadquarters:.Vinohradska 10, Prague 2, Czechoslovakia. Total membership claimed 206 million, 90 percent from communist countries over 107 million from the USSR. President: Sandor Gaspar, Secretary General of the Central Council of. Hungarian Trade Unions a nd member of the Politburo of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party. U.N representative in New York: Fred Gaboury USSR and Eastern bloc countries provide free travel, conference facilities, and special donations to WFTU of the source of WFTU's operating f unds, but the USSR is presumed to be its major contributor have disbursed about $1 million per year to support trade unions in noncommunist countries. Congress estimated in 1980 that Moscow gave WFTU 8.575 million for 1979 alone There is no public record D uring the mid-l970s, WFTU was reported to Founded in 1945, WFTU was expelled from'its Paris headquarters in 1951 and subsequently from Vienna in 1951, in both instances for having engaged in subversive activities. The most important staff member in WFTU, a ccording to the Department of State, is Boris Averyanov, one of the five WFTU Secretaries, a former International Secretag of the Soviet Union's All Union Central Council of Trade Unions WFTU representatives participate actively in many ECOSOC sessions, n o tably in the Commission for Social Development, and in many U.N. conferences, such as the U.N. Conference on Science and Technology for Development in 1979 and the World Conference of the U.N. Decade for Women. WFTU has a member onithe board of CONGO. WFT U has the highest status with ECOSOC and UNESCO, having permanent representatives not only at the U.N. in New York but also with the Internationa1,Labor Ogganization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.
Department of Public Information.
WFT U is also associated with the U.N 15. CIA and the Media p ciL p. 586 16. "World Federation of Trade Unions: Soviet Foreign Policy Tool," Foreign Affairs Note Department of State, Washington, D.C 1983 17. U.N. document, E/C.2/1982/2/Add.3 aCHRISTIAN PEACE CONFERENCE (CPC Headquarters: Jungmannova 9, Prague, Czechoslovakia. Membership claimed in 86 countries. President: Dr. Xaroly Toth of Hungary.
General Secretary: Lubomir Mirrejovsky of Czechoslovakia. U.N representative in New York: Dr. Philip Oke.
Forma lly constituted in 1961, the CPC claims to be financed by voluntary contributions of churches, regional committees, and individuals such contributions are not really ''voluntary" at all. According to the State Department, "twenty-seven years of support fo r controversial Soviet policies reflect the well-established finhncial and organizational ties between Moscow and the CPC The Soviet Peace Fund, for example, finances a large part of the CPC's activities.
That fund is controlled by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR The CPC, which has had category I1 consultative status since 1977, upgraded from its previous roster status is very active at the U.N in New York,. Its headquarters are at 777 U.N. Plaza, which houses many religious NGOs w i th whom CPC's U.N. representative Philip Oke has frequent contact. CPC is also associated with the U.N. Department of Public Information Yet one CPC member told The Heritage Foundation that CPC delegations have been received by U.N. Secretary-General Javi er Perez de Cuellar.
U.N. activities, including the PLO-organhzed 1983 International supporter of the PLO Delegates of the CPC take part in countless Conference on the Question of Palestine. The CPC is a strong NGOs FOR WOMEN AND YOUTH WOMEN'S INTERNATIONA L DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION (WIDF WOMEN'S FEDERATION OF DEMOCRATIC YOUTH (WFDY INTERNATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS (IUS According to the U.S. State Department, these three youth and women's front NGOs seek to "mobilize the broad spectrum of youth and 18. "Soviet Active Measures: The Christian Peace Conference," Foreign Affairs Note, U.S.
Department of State, Washington, D.C May 1985 19.
U.N. document, E/C.2/ 1985/2 9women's groups in support of Soviet foreign policy objective As such, they can be grouped together.
WIDF headquarters: Unter den Linden 13, Berlin 108, East Germany.
Over 200 million members claimed, mostly in Communist countri,es, 131 affiliates in 116 countries. WIDF representatives to the U.N. in New York are Vinie Burrows and Cecilia McCall.
WFDY headquarters: Ady Endre Utca 19, Budapest 11, Hungary. Over 150 million meqbers claimed, mostly in communist countries, it has 270 organizations in 123 countries. WFDY has no U.N. representative in New York.
IUS headquarters: 17 November Street, 11001 Prague 01 Czechoslovakia. 118 member organizations, with 10 million members claimed, mostly from communist countries. The IUS has no U.N representative in New York.
WIDF began in 1945 in Paris but was expelled in 1951 by the French government for "anti- host country activities the same year, slated as well to be located in Paris, but actually startedJn Prague a year later to avoid similar treatment by the French. IUS was founded in 1946 in Prague. The'three organizations together were estimated to have r e ceived nearly 2 million from the USSR in 1979 alone WFDY originated WIDF has consultative status with ECOSOC, UNESCO,.and UNICEF and is on the International Labor Organization's special list a member of CONGO; and a WIDF member is a Vice-president of the N GO Special Committee on Disarmament. In 1979, a WIDF representative became President of the NGO Standing Committee in UNESCO the NGO Standing Committee in UNESCO and the NGO Environmental Liaison Board of the U.N. Environmental Programme cooperation with t he U.N. Fund for Population Acthvities consultative status with ECOSOC and with UNESCO. All three, WIDF WFDY, and IUS, are associated with the Department of Public Information It is also WFDY has consultative status with ECOSOC and has membership. in In 1 9 73 WFDY fistablished IUS has A key figure in the youth fronts, according to the CIA,'has been Aleksandr Shelepin of the USSR. Vice-Chairman of IUS in 1949 and 20. See "Soviet Fronts: Women and Youth," U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C July 1984 21 . U.N. document, E/C.2/R.46 22. U.N. document, E/C.2/R.57 10 Vice-Chairman of WFDY from 1953-1958, Shelepin later became head of the KGB for three years and was a member of the Soviet Politburo until April 19
75. Another IUS veteran, Vladimir Semichastny, became head of the KGB in 1961, after having been First Secretary of the IUS I These fronts hold a large number of conferences. Notable among them was the October 1981 conference, sponsored by the WIDF in Prague under the rubric of the U.N. Decade for Wom e n. Eighteen U.N. agencies were represented. A Yugoslav report on the event noted that opportunity to speak at the plenum was limited to those selected beforehand was pushed bodily from the hall speak found that the microphones had been disconnected When a Japanese delegate tried to object in plenary, she Others who subsequently attempted to SOVIET FRONTS BREAK THE RULES Rule: According to U.N. Resolution 1296 (XLIV any financial contribution made by a government to an NGO must be Ilopenly declared It Viola t ion: Soviet front NGOs all deny, in their U.N. reports receiving government funds. Yet the CIA and the FBI have documented the fact that the Soviet government subsidizes the activities of all of them. According to the FBI's report to the House.Subcommitte e on Intelligence on July 14, 1982, by then Assistant Director of the FBI Edward J. OIMalley: "The Communist Party of the Soviet Unionrprovides subsidies to the Communist Party of the USA and international front organizations that have official status at t h e U.N. Based on these facts, we believe that the Soviets allocate considerable financial and human resources to active measures operations in the U.S.lt fronts, moreover, have government officials as members and even in leadership positions with the U.N. m ust not Ilsystematically engage in unsubstantiated and politically motivated acts against states" that are members of the U.N Many of the Rule: According to Resolution 1296 (XLIV an NGO affiliated Violation All the Soviet front NGOs engage in such activit i es. Indeed, several already have been expelled from Western countries for subversive activities and for anti-host country activities. In addition, all Soviet fronts are actively engaged in undermining Western defense and attacking Western policies through o ut the world. The massive Soviet front campaign against the Strategic Defense Initiative, its current number one propaganda priority, was preceded by a highly successful campaign carried out primarily by ostensible NGO, the World Peace Council, against th e neutron weapon in 11 1977 and 1978, and by the campaign agaiBst the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force, which is still going on specifically those on the legal status of Puerto Rico, on U.S policies, and on the U.S. as being involved in Itstate terrorism,1 u 2 are gratuitous and certainly fall into the category of Wnsubstantiated and politically motivated acts," prohibited by U.N rules governing NGO activities Attacks against the -U.S Indeed, the Soviet front NGOs are deeply involved in providing support for t errorist groups and other insurgent organizations AAPSOIs support of national liberation movements (Nus), for example is routinely offered as an argument for its faithful observance of U.N. resolutions. The fact that the U.N. itself has departed from.its Charter by promoting support for groups seeking the overthrow of U.N member states is thus exploited by Soviet front groups.
In March 1985, the Mongolian-based Soviet front, Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace, was refused consultative status with ECOSOC b ecause the U.S. delegate, Kyle R. Scott, objected to the fact that the group had called for the overthrow of the Peking government.
Current U.N. practice, however, makes it much easier to deny affiliation with the U.N. to a new NGO than to cancel affiliat ion to an NGO that already has consultative status llpolitically motivated acts against states," namely espionage. There have been allegations. that these organizations perform an ancillary service for Soviet intelligence. According to the House Subcommit t ee on Oversight publication of July 1978, "front gatherings serve as agent enlisting grounds for Soviet and bloc intelligence services The report adds that front organizations also act as cover for communist parties and organizations in countries where co nditions are not ripe for communist activities. This situation, according to Herb Romerstein, expert on Soviet active measures for the U.S.
Information Agency, has not changed but rather has escalated Finally, Soviet front NGOs engage in the ultimate illeg al Rule: According to Article 100 of the U.N. Charter, U.N employees Inshall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any other authority external to the'.[U.N.]
v 23. See Clive Rose, 9b. cit, especially chapter 10 24. One .NGO, the Af ro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, offered a declaration resulting from its May 1986 Moscow meeting that Washington is "the real terrorist," as evidenced by the U.S. raid on Libya in April 1986 25. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. H ouse of Representatives, Oversight Committee (Washington, D.C Government Printing Office, July 1978), pp. 568-569 12 Violatioq: The Soviet front NGOs, particularly the World Peace Council, have been involved deeply in the U.N. Secretariat for- many years. Former Under Secretary General Arkady Shevchenko, for example reports that during his tenure at the U.N. as the highest ranking Soviet employee he had received "ceaseless requests from Moscow to assist the Soviet-controlled WPC Every' year [he] was expect e d to help organize [WPC President] Chandra's speeches to U.N. bodies arrange his .meetings with U.N. officials, distribute [WPC] propaganda and persuade [former Secretary General] Waldheim to send Secretarhat representatives to attend various Council-spon s ored conferences CONCLUSION The fact that the U.N. legitimizes Soviet fronts by offering them the privilege of consultative NGO status is one of the most serious violations of the U.W. Charter that the U.N. knowingly permits. By perpetuating the myth that these NGOs are independent of any government, the U.N. directly assists the "active measures" program of the USSR's International Department aimed against the West and the U.S. It is time for the U.N. to enforce its own Resolution 1296 (XLIV of May 23, 19 68, which requires that NGOs reveal any government contribution which they receive and also calls on NGOs to cease all unsubstantiated and politically motivated acts" against U.N. member states both.counts.
The Soviet front NGOs fail the resolution's provi sions on To end exploitation of NGO status by a handful of NGOs, a number of measures are necessary. They include 0 0 0 All NGOs should be required to submit a detailed budget in a manner to be determined by consensus of the U.N. Committee on NGOs. The U. S., which is a member of that committee, should propose that until this information is obtained it will no longer participate in the work of the committee.
Congress.should request that the Department of State's Bureau of International Organizations conduct a study documenting unsubstantiated and politically motivated acts" against the U.S by Soviet fronts which thereby violate Resolution 1296 (XLIV).
That study should be presented to the U.N. Committee on NGOs.
The membership of all NGOs should be reviewed by the U.N.
Committee on NGOs. Until its status is reaffirmed by the committee, an NGO should regard that status as suspended 26. Arkady Shevchenko, Breakinp with Moscow (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1989, p 225 13 - 0 Congress should hold hearings on Soviet front activities -to help decide w hat actions the U.S. should take if the U.N. fails to apply its own Charter and its own rules ensure that NGOs are indeed nongovernmental organizations Congress may consider ways to denounce this U.N. practice and attempt to attain genuine Ifitruth in adv e rtisingfi1 for NGOs at the U.N Should the U.N. fail to The Soviet front NGOs make a mockery of the NGO system at the U.N. They violate U.N. rules with impunity and with no obstacles from the U.N. Secretariat. The Soviet fronts threaten the status !of all other NGOs in the process. If the U.N. is serious about NGOs, it should ensure that they are legitimate, that they comply with U.N rules, and do not use the U.N. to further MOSCOW~S political ends.
Juliana Geran Pilon, Ph.D Senior policy Analyst 14
