The interview was recorded in Alexandria, VA,on October 10, 1997. The Interviewer was Jean Krasno. Mr. Alexander Watson served as Deputy Permanent Representative in the United States Mission to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992. He served under Permanent Representative Thomas Pickering and later under Edward Perkins. Following this, Mr. Watson was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs by President Bill Clinton before retiring in 1996. Prior to his work with the United Nations, Mr. Watson joined the United States Foreign Service in 1962. Over the course of his career he spent extensive time serving in Central and South America, including a post as Ambassador to Peru from 1986 to 1989. In this interview, conducted on 10 October 1997, Mr. Watson described the changing role of the United Nations in electoral monitoring and the situation in Central America, particularly in Nicaragua and El Salvador.