The United States cannot solve world problems alone and will work with the United Nations to fight terrorism, poverty and other major challenges, the U.S. envoy to the international body said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
In a speech at New York University, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said Washington must lead by example, acknowledge its mistakes, change its policies and strategies when necessary and treat others with respect.
"The global challenges we face cannot be tackled without U.S. leadership," Rice said. "(But) while U.S. leadership is necessary, it is rarely sufficient. We need the effective cooperation of a broad range of friends and partners."
U.S. President Barack Obama has promised a "new era of engagement" with the United Nations, which was often criticized and occasionally ridiculed by members in the administration of former President George W. Bush.
Rice said the new administration would avoid the "condescension and contempt" that she said had crept into U.S. government attitudes toward the international community. She did not specifically mention Bush or his administration.
"Everyone notices when a superpower becomes an agent of change -- in word and deed, in policy and tone," she said. "We are demonstrating that the United States is willing to listen, respect differences, and consider new ideas."
She noted how Washington had decided to join the U.N. Human Rights Council, which the Bush administration spurned as an anti-Israel forum, as an example of the new approach to world issues.
"We work for change from within rather than criticizing from the sidelines," Rice said. "We stand strong in defense of America's interests and values, but we don't dissent just to be contrary. We listen to states, great and small. We build coalitions. We meet our responsibilities. We pay our bills."
Last week Rice announced that Washington would hand over more than $2 billion in new and old contributions owed to the U.N. peacekeeping department.
Relations between the United States and the world body reached a low point in 2003, the year of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan branded the war an illegal act by the Bush administration.
Rice said the 192-nation United Nations needed reform, continued to single out Israel for criticism and let "political theater distract from real deliberation," but she also described it as an "imperfect yet indispensable institution."
"There is no substitute for the legitimacy the U.N. can impart or its potential to mobilize the widest possible coalitions," she said. "There is no better alternative to sharing the costs and burdens of U.N. peace operations and humanitarian missions around the world."
Among the problems at the United Nations are a Security Council that remains divided on the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region, Zimbabwe's reconstruction efforts, the military government in Myanmar and other issues.
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