Advocacy

UNA Advocacy Mission

UNA seeks to engage the Association’s diverse constituencies and like-minded organizations to build a better understanding of and support for the work of the United Nations among American citizens and elected officials. Working in collaboration with UNA-USA chapters, members, the Council of Organizations, and the National Council, the UNA helps inform elected officials, policymakers, and local communities about the importance of US participation in the United Nations. 

UNA Houston addresses these issues and actions through a variety of programs and initiatives. These include Know Your UN issues series, Young Professionals World Cafe series, UNA International Film Festival, direct mailing, meetings with governmental representatives, lectures and discussions.  

Advocacy Agenda

The UNA Council of Chapters and Divisions’ Steering Committee members voted unanimously to endorse an expedited advocacy agenda process for 2011 that focuses UNA’s work on four core issue areas: securing US-UN funding; advancing human rights through the UN; encouraging US ratification of international treaties; and supporting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

E-Action Alerts

UNA-USA action alerts provide an easy way for constituents to educate elected officials about the important work of the UN and the value of international cooperation in addressing global challenges. Once you sign up, you will receive an e-mail when your help is needed in support of cooperative global solutions and a strong US-UN partnership. We will explain the urgency and importance of the issue at hand, and provide you with a sample letter that you can edit and send to your legislators and key policymakers.

International Criminal Court

The American NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations committed to achieving full United States support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the earliest possible US ratification of the Court's Rome Statute. AMICC members believe that strong participation by the US in the ICC is essential to the future of the Court as an effective institution. They take pride in the historic role of the US in promoting the development of international criminal law. They emphasize that the ICC expresses and implements values traditionally championed by the United States, including international justice and the rule of law. UNA Houston supports the work of AMICC.

UN Funding

After more than two decades of congressional controversy over the payment of US contributions to the UN regular budget, peacekeeping, and UN specialized agencies and voluntary programs, the United States in recent years has fully funded its commitments to the United Nations system. In FY 2010, for example, Congress provided over $ 3 billion to UN peacekeeping and the UN regular budget as well as other UN specialized agencies and voluntary programs, such as UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the UN Population Fund.

Growing concerns over the size of the federal budget deficit, however, combined with a less than clear sense among most members of Congress about the full scope and effectiveness of the UN’s activities around the world and/or their relevance to US national security, will likely lead some on Capitol Hill to propose ways to reduce our commitments to the UN. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), for example, newly-elected chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced H.R. 557, The United Nations Transparency, Accountability, and Reform Act, during the 111th Congress. H.R. 557 would shift the funding mechanism for the regular budget of the United Nations from an assessed to a voluntary basis. The bill received more than 100 co-sponsors, including all incoming members of the House Republican leadership. 

Human Rights

The UN’s human rights work is a hallmark of the Organization and has made a significant impact on Americans’ overall perceptions of the United Nations. This is particularly true in the case of Congress, where the UN Human Rights Council has served as a lightning rod for criticism of the United Nations. The United States stood virtually alone in its opposition to the creation of the Human Rights Council in 2006. As a result of a reversal in US Government policy by the Obama administration in May 2009, the US was elected to a three-year term on the Council, and a full-time US ambassador was appointed to the Council.

In November 2010, Human Rights Council members discussed the US human rights record as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process in which all members of the United Nations are required to take part. In March 2011, the mandated  review of the Council’s performance over its first five years  was held.  It conidered  changes in its operation that would enhance its effectiveness over the longer-term. Now that the United States is a member of the Council, it is in a better position to be able to influence change in the way the Council operates. Members of Congress should be encouraged to play a constructive role in advising the Obama administration about ways in which the Council can be improved.

International Treaties

Prospects are decidedly mixed for United States ratification of several longstanding international treaties, such as the Women’s Convention (CEDAW), the Law of the Sea Convention, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Treaty on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, among others, in the 112th Congress. The new Senate, with 53 Democrats (of whom 13 are freshmen) and 47 Republicans (24 of whom are freshmen), will not be able to act on these treaties without mustering the two-thirds majority, or 67 votes, required for Senate advice and consent. The new configuration means that Senate approval of treaties will only occur by reaching across party lines. Many incoming senators have little knowledge of the treaties that await ratification by the United States, but they will quickly become aware of the controversial issues surrounding them.

During the 111th Congress (2009-10), there were important developments in support of treaty ratification, such as Senate approval of New START in late December 2010 and a hearing on CEDAW in the Senate Judiciary Committee in November 2010. Going forward, it will be especially critical for grassroots organizations to build momentum toward Senate votes on pending treaties in the context of the Obama’s administration’s ongoing commitment to seek US ratification of such treaties.

Millennium Development Goals

The September 2010 world summit at United Nations Headquarters reaffirmed governments’ support for meeting the MDGs by 2015. The United States, which played a leading role in galvanizing international support for meeting the MDGs in 2000, may now find its own commitments challenged on Capitol Hill in the context of a stringent budgetary environment. Further, the global financial crisis continues to cast a heavy pall over the world’s commitments to the MDGs.

Extensive recent polling sponsored by the United Nations Foundation, however, finds that a solid majority of the American public supports the MDGs as well as an active and sustained role for the United States in meeting them. UNA-USA chapters and affiliated national organizations are well-placed to have a positive impact in this area, having just concluded many successful local UN Day 2011 events focused on the importance of the MDGs. United Nations Foundation programs, such as the Nothing But Nets and Girl Up campaigns, can inspire activism in support of the MDGs in local communities and aid in the recruitment of new UNA-USA members. 

 aDVOCACY aa    For additional information on the ADVOCACY goals and strategies of the UNA-USA, visit www.unausa.org website.