Strengthening the UN-US Relationship -
The Better World Campaign
By Phyllis Cuttino
In March 2000, the Board of Directors of the Better World Fund (BWF), under the leadership of its Chairman, Ted Turner, extended the life of the Better World Campaign (BWC) by renewing its grant for two years. This allows BWC to continue its work to strengthen the United States-United Nations relationship through direct advocacy in the United States Congress, and its education and outreach efforts across the nation.
BWC continues in its mission to ensure that the United States meets its full financial obligations to the United Nations and repays its debt. There has been substantial progress on that front throughout this year and, in the immediate aftermath of the 11 September terrorist attacks on the United States, the Congress took two important steps towards “normalizing” the country’s relationship with the United Nations.
First, Congress dropped its insistence that the second and largest payment of United States arrears to the Organization, as set aside by the 1999 Helms-Biden legislation, be linked to legislation on the International Criminal Court. By de-linking these unrelated issues, the payment of $582 million in debt to the United Nations was possible before President George Bush addressed the UN General Assembly for the first time on 10 November.
Second, on 27 September, Congress released its “holds” on funding for the five largest UN peacekeeping missions, paving the way for the payment of over $600 million for UN peacekeeping, and has also fully funded the country’s share of UN peacekeeping missions for the next year.
BWC continues its work with the Congress and Administration to remove other legislative obstacles, such as late payment of United States dues to the UN regular budget, to ensure the Government fulfils its commitments to the United Nations.
In mid-September, Mr. Turner, through the Turner Foundation, contributed more than $31 million earmarked for the United Nations to the Department of State, to bridge the gap between the United States previous assessment rate of 25 per cent for the UN regular budget and the new rate of 22 per cent.
BWC is also increasing its public outreach work through its “Model Cities” programme, which educates the American public about the vital role the United Nations plays around the world and the benefits of international leadership and engagement.
One recent outreach example was the “Nations United, United Nations” national town hall meeting. This interactive event was organized on the one-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks, by BWC and the United Nations Foundation, along with the League of Women Voters and the United Nations Association of the United States. Its purpose was to enable the Secretary-General to communicate directly with the American public in ten cities across the country about the critical role of the United Nations in responding to terrorism.
The town hall meeting was moderated by former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite and broadcast live from the UN Headquarters. Secretary-General Kofi Annan fielded questions from each of the ten local town hall meetings on topics such as: the swift action taken by the General Assembly and the Security Council the day after the attacks; the important role the United Nations will continue to play in the international campaign against terrorism; the response to the humanitarian crisis; and post-war reconstruction in Afghanistan.
Also included was a taped message from United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, who spoke of the importance of the United States working with the United Nations and its Member States in the international campaign against terrorism. He concluded his remarks by stating: “The UN works for your world, it works for you.”
The response to the Secretary-General and the UN outreach was tremendous. More than 17 million people in communities around the country saw, read, or heard something about the UN role in the campaign against terrorism, through print, radio or television coverage of the event.
There is more good news in terms of engaging the American public. A recent Associated Press survey found that 9 out of 10 think that the United Nations has a vital role to play in the fight against terrorism. And at a time when more people are turning to international news, in survey after survey United Nations overall favourability ratings remain extremely high.
This level of public approval, coupled with recent legislative victories in the Congress, provides both new opportunities and challenges for the United Nations and its allies. At a time when the US-UN relationship is being increasingly scrutinized, it is even more important for BWC and its partners to communicate not only the UN role in the current international crisis, but its continued role in some of the difficult challenges facing people around the world.
Phyllis Cuttino is the Executive Director of the Better World Campaign. |
