WASHINGTON—Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell will lead a new task force that will assess UN effectiveness and recommend actions for the United States to take to strengthen the world body. Mandated by Congress in the FY2005 omnibus appropriations bill at the behest of Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), the task force will examine the extent to which the United Nations is fulfilling the goals of its Charter and offer recommendations for U.S. action in a report to be submitted to Congress in June 2005.

Ten other distinguished Americans, including former diplomats, policymakers, business executives and military leaders, have agreed to serve on the task force. They are: Gen. Charles Boyd (USA, Ret.), Business Executives for National Security; Gen. Wesley Clark (USA, Ret.), Wesley K. Clark and Associates; Edwin Feulner, The Heritage Foundation; Roderick Hills, Hills and Stern; Ambassador Donald McHenry, Georgetown University; Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, Boeing Company; Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton University; Dr. A. Michael Spence, Oak Hill Capital Partners; Senator Malcolm Wallop, Asian Studies Center; and J. Robinson West, PFC Energy.

As directed by Congress, the U.S. Institute of Peace will coordinate the task force with the support and participation of leading public policy organizations, including the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Heritage Foundation, and the Hoover Institution. Each of these institutions is providing a number of experts to support the members of the task force.

The task force will organize its work in five thematic areas. In addition to conducting research and taking testimony, members of the task force and experts will undertake fact-finding missions to United Nations headquarters and to missions in the field. The five thematic areas are as follows:

• Preventing and ending conflicts and building stable societies
• Preventing and responding to genocide and gross human rights violations
• Preventing catastrophic terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
• Ensuring the integrity, transparency, and accountability of the UN system
• Fostering economic development and reducing poverty