Advocacy Theme: “Restoring U.S. Credibility through International Cooperation”

In today’s interdependent world, international cooperation is essential—no nation alone can solve the world’s greatest challenges.  That is why it is in the security, economic, and environmental interest of the United States to work closely with the United Nations, the world’s indispensable platform for international cooperation.  Unfortunately, our ability to foster international cooperation has been stifled by recent unilateral actions and our waning international reputation. 

To rebuild the reputation of the United States and once again forge the global partnerships we need to advance our interests and address the world’s great challenges, the United States must strengthen its relationship with the United Nations.  Whether it is stopping genocide in Darfur, brokering peace in Lebanon, achieving a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, creating stability in Afghanistan, or supporting political development in Iraq, the United States must work through the United Nations in partnership with the international community to resolve critical problems that the U.S. is unable to effectively address on its own. 

Internal Theme: “All of UNA-USA Cooperating for a Stronger UN”

Reflecting an internal focus of “All of UNA-USA cooperating for a stronger UN,” we all have a shared responsibility for meeting our organization’s mission.  This year, we will work to better supply the tools and skills chapters need to be effective advocates for the UN, including support in training chapter leaders.  In turn, we encourage chapter members to be active and report back to us about efforts to promote UNA-USA’s advocacy agenda.  We hope that everyone affiliated with UNA-USA, including the Council of Organizations and its regional networks, will help us meet these goals in 2008, and in so doing, help to implement our Association’s mission of educating and mobilizing Americans to strengthen the United Nations and U.S. leadership within the organization.

Advocacy Goals: Focus and Action

UNA-USA chapters and divisions were polled on the issues they felt would have the most impact for our advocacy agenda, and the results fell within these four key issues:

1. Abiding by international rule of law;
2. Supporting human rights;
3. Constructive U.S. engagement in the UN climate change framework; and
4. Paying our fair share at the UN.

These agenda items are by no means the sum total of issues that UNA-USA chapters and divisions can work on this year. There are a number of important international issues that may be of particular interest to certain chapters, such as resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.  Focusing on issues not included in UNA-USA’s 2008 advocacy campaign is not discouraged. However, we encourage all groups within the Association to recognize that this advocacy plan is a means for focusing on a few specific issues—and actions to take around those issues—to seek to change the debate in Washington and restore America’s international image.  We hope the theme and focus will result in all of UNA-USA cooperating for a stronger UN. 
 
The 2008 elections provide a unique opportunity for all of UNA-USA’s leaders, activists, and supporters to help improve the U.S.-UN relationship and raise awareness about the need to work collaboratively with other nations. As such, we are providing chapters with a framework for participating in the elections process throughout the year.  This year, we can and should work together to deliver a message to candidates in the field as well as elected officials in Washington, speaking loudly, clearly, and repeatedly: the U.S. can most effectively address critical global challenges by working through and supporting the United Nations.

Our other over-arching goal for the 2008 Advocacy Agenda is to make our work as action-oriented as possible.  As outlined below, the Advocacy Agenda includes tangible steps which can be taken at the individual and/or chapter level. 

1. Abiding by International Rule of Law

The commitment of the United States to international treaties and legal obligations has come under question in recent years. The repudiation of the Kyoto Protocol, the “unsigning” of the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court, the refusal to ratify a number of treaties enjoying near-universal support, and the willingness to disregard existing international legal obligations such as those arising from the Geneva Conventions have symbolized the flagging U.S. commitment to international law.

International law has been a fundamental component of U.S. foreign policy since the end of World War II, when the United States helped to create the United Nations to maintain “respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law,” among other founding principles.  In today’s interdependent world, the need for a widely-accepted, rules-based international system is more pronounced than ever before—particularly for the United States, which has economic and security interests spanning the globe.  If the United States, as the world’s greatest economic and military power, continues to shun, or selectively acknowledge, international legal commitments, other countries are likely to follow suit.

Goal:  Encourage the U.S. Government to adhere to international treaties it has ratified. Call on the Senate and the Administration to join international treaties that would advance U.S. national interests.

 Action Items:

• Build upon UNA-USA’s existing coalition work by urging your Senators to support ratification of important international treaties, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court, and the Mine Ban Treaty;

• Visit, write, and call Senators and the White House in support of U.S. ratification of these UN treaties; and

• Let presidential candidates know through letters, emails, and attendance at rallies that U.S. respect for international law is important to you.

2. Supporting Human Rights

Over the past several years, the leadership roles of both the United States and the United Nations in the field of human rights have been weakened by widespread criticism. U.S. support for the Geneva Conventions and basic international human rights standards has waned.  Simultaneously, some in Washington have worked to criticize, discredit, and defund the UN Human Rights Council. While the Council has stumbled in its initial years and fallen back into familiar bad habits of isolating countries like Israel, this is the only body in the world set up to address human rights issues on a continuing basis. U.S. disengagement from the Council has only been to its detriment. 

In December 2008, the UN will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was drafted under the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt. The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration will provide an excellent juncture for reminding American leaders and citizens about the historic role of both the United States and the United Nations in the promotion and protection of fundamental freedoms and the need to restore U.S. and UN leadership on human rights.

Goal: Support the important role of the UN in promoting human rights. Urge the U.S. Government to join widely-supported UN human rights treaties.

Action Items:

• Build upon UNA-USA’s existing coalition work by urging your Senators to support ratification of the Treaty for the Rights of Women (CEDAW) and by calling on the President to submit to the Senate the Convention on the Rights of the Child;

• Visit, write, and call Senators and the White House in support of U.S. ratification of these important UN human rights treaties; and

• Hold events or public discussions around the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  

3. Constructive U.S. Participation in the UN Climate Change Framework

The threat of climate change is exactly the type of issue that the UN is best suited to address—a truly global challenge that no region can ignore and no nation can resolve acting alone.  It is quite natural, therefore, that the United Nations over the past two decades has taken the lead in the global fight against climate change by providing a universally-accepted framework for negotiating concerted international action against climate change.

A total of 191 countries have ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including the United States. However, only the Kyoto Protocol—a subsidiary agreement of the UNFCCC that expires in 2012—contains binding commitments for limiting emissions that contribute to climate change.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pushed climate change to the forefront of the UN’s agenda, calling it the greatest danger to our planet.  Stressing that the “unprecedented challenge of climate change demands unprecedented action,” Ban has called for urgent and inclusive negotiations under the UNFCCC to draft a comprehensive successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol by 2009.  As the world’s largest economy and a leading emitter of greenhouse gases, the United States has a responsibility to actively and constructively participate in these UN-led negotiations.

The UN’s leading role on climate change provides a tailor-made example of the organization’s value as a forum for organizing collective global action to address shared problems that no nation can resolve on its own.  Most recently, for example, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to increase knowledge about climate change. The issue of climate change also underscores the degree to which today’s most pressing international challenges are most effectively confronted through global engagement and multilateral cooperation.

Goal:  Promote understanding and awareness of the UN’s role in international climate change negotiations.  Encourage U.S. participation and leadership in the UN-led effort to negotiate a new UN climate treaty.

Action Items: 

• Establish regular contact with Members of Congress to inform them of the UN’s valuable work on climate change;

• Encourage the Administration to participate in UN climate change negotiations over the course of 2008;

• Educate your community through outreach and media about the UN’s invaluable role in addressing the shared effects of climate change; and

• Work with local government, particularly city mayors, to support UN recommendations on climate change.

4. Paying Our Fair Share at the UN

The United States has a special role to play in leading the world in support of common objectives and a safe and secure future. But the United States cannot lead unless it sets the right example for others to follow. There are a variety of ways in which the U.S. has fallen short of this objective in recent years, including the failure to pay our UN dues on time and in full.  Falling behind in our dues payments sends the wrong message on the wrong stage—we are plainly not participating cooperatively when we are not upholding the most basic responsibility of UN membership.  Paying the dues we owe the UN is an important step toward solving the most critical problems and security threats facing our nation.

As with any organization, for the United Nations to be effective it needs a reliable source of funding to carry out the tasks assigned to it.  By ratifying the UN Charter, all member states have agreed to finance the costs of the organization, as apportioned by the General Assembly (which, by practice, is done by consensus).  Failure to pay our UN dues on time, in full, and without conditions jeopardizes the valuable work of the United Nations and undermines U.S. influence at the United Nations.  In addition, unilateral efforts to withhold our dues as leverage to promote certain policies engenders resentment among other UN member states, making it more difficult to build support for U.S. priorities.

Unfortunately, at the end of 2007, the U.S. had $291 million dollars in longstanding arrears to the United Nations.  In addition, the United States habitually pays its dues a year or more late, threatening vital UN operations around the world.  Above and beyond our “regular budget” arrears, the U.S. is deeply in debt to UN peacekeeping operations.  As of late 2007, the U.S. owed $633 million in arrears to UN peacekeeping; however, this number is estimated to increase by anywhere between $250 million to $1 billion over the course of 2008. These shortfalls threaten not only UN efforts to quell the violence in Darfur, but also the effectiveness of the 16 other UN peacekeeping missions around the world, even as the U.S. votes in New York for new and larger missions.

Goal:  Ensure the U.S. Administration requests and the Congress appropriates full funding for UN regular budget dues, peacekeeping operations, and specialized agencies for 2009. Further, work toward repayment or paying down of pre-existing U.S. debt to the United Nations.