President’s Letter
The
UNA news this month is that the
alliance between the UNA and the
UN Foundation is proceeding to
take shape. I will be attending
a meeting of the Council of
Chapters and Divisions on
February 12-13, in New York as
one of our Regional
Representatives to get reports
on the alliance progress -- and
to make plans for our Annual UNA
meeting in Washington, DC, in
June, which I also plan to
attend. As part of the DC
meeting, we will have our annual
"Day on the Hill," in which we
lobby our Representatives and
Senators to support the UN and
its programs such as the
Millennium Development Goals,
and to ratify its treaties such
as the International Criminal
Court.
I
will keep you informed of
developments.
Happy President's Day (Feb. 21)!
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Lunch and Learn
to Discuss Germany’s Future
An
economic powerhouse and
internationally highly
influential, Germany was elected
by the General Assembly to be
one of the Security Council’s
non-permanent members for the
period 2010-12. It also a
long-time leader of the European
Union leader, where its
influence on European affairs is
critically important, not only
to the European nations, but to
the relations of Europe with the
rest of the world. But what does
the future hold? Expert and
scholar in modern German
history, advisor to the German
Federal government and the State
government of Bavaria, and
author of many books on German
political and intellectual
history UNC Exchange
Professor from the Free
University of Berlin Paul Nolte
will discuss "Whither
Germany? 20 years After
Reunification: From Redemption
to Unexpected Challenges"
We’ll meet on Wednesday,
February 23 from Noon to 2PM
at Carolina Meadows in Chapel
Hill. Reservations by check for
$18 to UNAUSA West Triangle
Chapter, should be sent to
Warren Glick, 83203 Jarvis,
Chapel Hill, NC 27517, or
deposited in Jodi Hite’s office
at Carolina Meadows by Friday
February 18.
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Americans Still Strongly Support
the United Nations
An editorial by Jerry Berke
To
hear some parts of the American
political spectrum tell it, the
United Nations has fallen
significantly in respect among
the American people and the US
government. But is that really
the case, or only “conventional
wisdom?”- or wishful thinking?
I recently ran across an
abstract of the findings on
American public opinion on
the United Nations,
published in 2010 by the “Public
Opinion Quarterly,” a
unit of Oxford University
Press, which said “The U.S.
public has shown a high
degree of general support
for the UN since its
inception. Although
judgments of UN performance
rose and fell over the
years, support for
strengthening the UN and for
continued U.S. participation
and cooperation with the UN
remained strong and stable.
Most notably, approval of UN
performance dropped to an
all-time low between 2003
and 2007, after the
contentious debate over the
use of force against Iraq.
Nonetheless, support for the
UN has remained strong
because the U.S. public
differentiates between
criticism of UN performance
and support for the general
purpose and aims of the UN.”
Although written a year ago,
this analysis still holds
true. A majority of the
American people continues to
strongly support the UN
today. On the other hand,
among politicians in
Washington the world body
has been consistently
criticized and denigrated.
Few in Congress have seemed
to have the will or the
courage to support it.
However, with the advent of
the Obama Administration,
the UN appears to have taken
on a new standing in
American official
perceptions and foreign
policy. The operative words
for the official American
view of the world body now
are ‘support and
cooperation’ - although
Congress still seems to be
lagging behind, an attitude
we can expect to continue in
the foreseeable future
especially given the
complexion of the new House
of Representatives.
The latest
poll of American attitudes
toward the United Nations
was commissioned by the
UN Foundation/Better World
Campaign, UNA-USA’s new
“cousins” following the
recent “Alliance” between
the two organizations.
Carried out in October,
2010, among 900 registered
voters, the poll shows
“strong, continued support
for the United Nations” by
59 percent of Americans. The
UN’s “response to
humanitarian issues,
disaster relief, and work to
end global poverty” are the
key reasons given why the
United Nations “continues to
resonate with today’s
voters.”
Highlights of the
research include:
“Americans’
perception of the United
Nations has stabilized at a
favorable level over the
course of 2010, with a
majority of Americans (59%)
saying they have a favorable
image of the United Nations,
as compared to only 29%
saying they have an
unfavorable image. The UN’s
favorable image is being
driven by the organization’s
work to resolve conflicts,
keep peace around the world,
provide humanitarian and
disaster relief, and because
the UN is viewed as a place
that serves as a forum for
discussion and resolution of
issues for countries around
the world.”
“There
is significant recognition
of the relevance of the
United Nations, with
two-thirds of Americans
(68%) saying they believe
the United Nations is still
needed today.”
“More
than six out of ten
Americans (63%) favor the
United States paying our
dues to the United Nations
on time and in full, while
31% oppose.”
“There
is greater support for the
United States paying our
peacekeeping dues to the
United Nations on time and
in full (72% favor,23%
oppose).”
“Americans
believe the United Nations
has a number of important
functions it serves in the
world today, from improving
access to safe drinking
water in poor, developing
countries to building peace
in countries emerging from
conflict.
Of the 14
functions...tested in the
survey, 11 were viewed by a
majority of Americans as
being very important roles
and functions the UN serves
today.
When
asked how supportive the
United States should be of
each of the 14 roles and
functions the United Nations
serves, the percentage of
Americans saying the U.S.
should be supportive of each
goal tested ranges from 75%
to 91%
supportive.”
Moreover, “Once Americans
hear about the different
functions and roles of the
United Nations (e.g.
improving access to safe
drinking water in poor,
developing countries,
building peace in countries
emerging from conflict,
etc), support for the United
States paying our dues on
time and in full shifts from
63% favor/31% oppose to 79%
favor/19% oppose.”
Thus, while American support
of the United Nations is
reduced from the halcyon
levels it enjoyed before the
clash that took place
between the United States
and the Security Council
following the US’s invasion
of Iraq, it has remained
steady in a still very
respectable range. It’s
important that it remain
that way, which is where UNA-USA
comes into the picture,
educating our fellow
citizens about the UN’s role
in the world and mobilizing
their support for its
humanitarian and security
functions..
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(From the United Nations
Information Center
(Washington, DC)
From fighting poverty to
building a safer world, UN
chief outlines priorities
for 2011
“From
promoting sustainable
development and mitigating
climate change to empowering
women to keeping nuclear
weapons out of the hands of
terrorists, United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon...laid
out the United Nations
agenda for the coming year.
‘Success
in rising to the challenge
does not belong to any one
of us,’ he told the
192-member General Assembly,
listing eight priorities for
2011.
‘It
depends on all of us,
together. You were crucial
to generating the progress
that we have achieved in
recent years. And your
continued engagement,
initiative and leadership
are essential as we take on
this ambitious agenda.’
“Speaking
at a news conference..., he
cautioned: ‘If 2010 was a
challenging year for the
United Nations, 2011 will be
even more so.’
“Mr.
Ban listed as the first goal
action on inclusive and
sustainable development in
the face of a global
recession that is still
being felt in every corner
of the world. ‘People are
worried about their jobs,
their security, their
children’s future,’ he said,
citing a UN Conference in
Istanbul in May aimed at
promoting a 10-year
Programme of Action to
provide food security,
decent work, disaster risk
reduction,
climate-resilience and clean
energy growth in the world’s
least developed countries.
“Turning
to climate change, he noted
advances made at a meeting
in Cancún, Mexico...on
reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, forest
protection, climate finance,
adaptation and technology.
‘Once again, there is much
to build upon,’ he said.
‘Let us lead with action.’
“On
the third strategic priority
– empowering women – he
pledged to promote full
participation and gender
equality, combat violence
against women and increase
their number in senior UN
leadership posts. ‘Take any
issue – climate change,
development, peace and
security: when women are
part of the vision, the
world sees better results,’
he stressed.
“Focusing
on promoting a safer and
more secure world, the
fourth priority, Mr. Ban
cited ongoing UN efforts to
ensure democracy in Côte
d’Ivoire, where the defeated
outgoing president is
refusing to leave office,
and its peacekeeping
operations in Sudan, where
the South is currently
voting in an independence
referendum while the world
body tries to bring
stability to the war-torn
western region of Darfur.
“The
fifth and sixth priorities
concern advancing human
rights and improving the
response to major
humanitarian crises by
learning lessons from the
devastating Haitian
earthquake and the Pakistani
floods of 2010. ‘We continue
to hone our capacities and
better coordinate our
efforts,’ Mr. Ban said. ‘We
must do more to ensure the
most effective use of
resources and the most
efficient management of a
truly global response to
crises.’
“Maintaining
the momentum achieved in
disarmament and nuclear
non-proliferation
constitutes the seventh
priority following last
year’s review conference of
the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
and the new nuclear arms
reduction treaty between
Russia and the United
States. “‘We will endeavor
to ensure ratification of
the treaty completely
banning nuclear tests,’ Mr.
Ban declared. ‘And we will
redouble our efforts to
settle issues concerning
nuclear security and nuclear
terrorism.’
“Finally,
the Secretary-General
pledged to strengthen the UN
from within by building a
more modern, flexible
organization, better able to
meet the challenges of the
21st century. ‘All of us
will benefit from a United
Nations that is ever more
transparent, more
accountable, more efficient,
effective, and mobile,’ he
said.
“‘As
I have often said, in
today’s complicated and
complex world, progress does
not always come overnight.
It comes in steps – some may
be bigger than others. But
the key is to keep moving
forward – with unrelenting
determination, with dogged
diplomacy. You can count on
me. There is no doubt that
the world needs an ever
stronger UN.’”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United Nations Increases
Its Focus on Women
by Simone Lewis, West
Triangle Chapter Editorial
Intern
The welfare of women has
always been a top priority
for the United Nations. And
now more than ever, women’s
issues are gaining
visibility and initiatives
to improve women’s welfare
are gaining momentum.
The UN has recognized the
importance of women’s rights
since the 1945 founding
Charter where the UN
declared its aim to
encourage human rights
without regard to gender.
Then, in the 1970s, the
international feminist
movement began and so did
the UN Decade for Women. In
1979, the General Assembly
adopted an International
Bill of Rights for Women. It
was the first such document
to affirm reproductive
rights. It also defined and
declared an end to
discrimination. Then, in
1995, women’s rights were
equated with human rights.
And more recently, the
Millennium 2000 Summit and
subsequent Millennium
Development Goals included
specific provisions for
women.
In the last couple of years,
efforts to define and
protect women’s rights have
picked up in intensity.
Security Council resolutions
in 2008 and 2009 further
clarified gender-related
parameters on the
international scene by
calling on those involved in
wars to take care to protect
women from all forms of
violence. UN Secretary
General Ban-Ki Moon, in
2008, also began a
multi-year campaign called
UNiTE to End Violence
Against Women, which
aims to do just that
by unifying a host of UN
bodies along with
governments, civil society,
young activists, and the
private sector. Toward that
end and by 2015, the
Secretary General aims to
increase awareness, collect
data, and address sexual
violence in conflict areas.
In February 2010, Margot
Wallstrom of Sweden was
appointed as Special
Representative of the
Secretary General on Sexual
Violence In Conflict, with
the specific purpose of
holding individuals
accountable for gender
injustices in the Eastern
Democratic Republic of the
Congo. She’s repeatedly
renewed her commitment,
along with the rest of the
Special Representatives for
Women, to end the malicious
cycle of violence many women
suffer.
Most recently, in 2010,
former Chilean President
Michele Bachelet was
appointed to head a unified
women’s body called the
United Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women, or
“UN Women.” The new
organization, which will
oversee all the UN’s efforts
to improve the welfare of
women, just became active in
January. It combines four
previous organizations - the
UN Development Fund for
Women, the Division for the
Advancement of Women, the
Office of the Special
Adviser on Gender Issues,
and the UN International
Research and Training
Institute for the
Advancement of Women.
Consolidated under
Bachelet’s leadership, these
former smaller bodies will,
in their new incarnation,
receive a generous boost in
funding and efficiency that
will make the UN more
effective than ever at
implementing gender-related
initiatives.
We can all take the time to
recognize the need for
women’s rights and celebrate
the strides that are being
made each day. March 8,
International Women’s Day,
emerged from early
20thcentury labor movements,
and we can also honor
November 25, International
Day for the Elimination of
Violence Against Women,
which is recognized in the
international community in
remembrance of three sister
activists in the Congo.
Annual gender-themed days of
celebration for the masses,
combined with the UN’s
concerted effort to increase
women’s scope and
visibility, should help to
make the efforts of people
like Ban Ki-Moon, Wallstrom,
and Bachelet even more
impactful.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Education Outreach
By Jean and Tuck Green
Our efforts to educate
Chapel Hill’s youth
continues with our 2011
United Nations Contest for
High School Students. We
have received six entries to
this year’s. The students
and their topics are:
Maryam Ali, East
Chapel Hill High School. -
PowerPoint presentation and
essay on violence against
women.
Joe Baker, Adam
Glasser, Nassar Omar,
and Parker Edwards,
Carrboro High School. The
team is writing a song that
urges the U.N. to take a
greater stand in aiding the
people of Indonesia in their
efforts to recover from the
recent series of natural
disasters.
Kathy Dai, East
Chapel Hill High School.
-“UN Leadership Roles in
Humanitarian Aid.”
Rachel Hainline, East
Chapel Hill High School. - A
project on holistic poverty
reduction, which
integrates action to improve
both the financial and
physical health of people in
the developing world.
Yuyi Li, East Chapel
Hill High School. - UN
support for conflict-free
diamonds.
David McDonogh, East
Chapel Hill High School. - A
PowerPoint presentation
about the recent conflict in
East Timor.
The
Education Outreach Committee
will judge these entries in
early February. The winning
students will summarize their
projects briefly at our April
Lunch and Learn and their
projects will be placed on our
web site for Chapter members to
appreciate more fully.
If
you would like to support this
Committee’s work, please check
off “Education Outreach” on
the Lunch and
Learn Registration form and send
your donation in together with
your Lunch fee. Suggestions?
Please contact us at
cgreen17@nc.rr.com.
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2011
UNA-USA Advocacy Program Adopted
In
order to inform our
representatives in Congress of
our position on issues affecting
the United States’ stance toward
the United Nations, UNA-USA has
adopted a new advocacy agenda
for 2011. Always important, the
initiative takes on special
significance this year in view
of the more conservative
complexion of Congress and the
emphasis being placed on the
size of the federal budget
deficit. Because there is 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 their relevance to US
national security, it is feared
likely that these factors will
lead some on Capitol Hill to
want to reduce US commitments to
the UN.
The
2011 Advocacy Program focuses on
UN funding (the United
States provides about a quarter
of the UN’s funding which, in
2010, constituted over $3
billion to UN peacekeeping, the
UN Regular Budget and a variety
of UN specialized agencies and
voluntary programs); the UN’s
human rights work, which is
a hallmark of the organization
and has a significant impact on
Americans’ overall perceptions
of the United Nations,
especially in Congress where the
UN Human Rights Council has
served as a lightning rod for
criticism of the United Nations;
ratification of several
long-outstanding 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, for which a
two-thirds majority vote by the
Senate is required; and
reaffirmation of support for
meeting the Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) by
2015 for which the United States
played a leading role in
galvanizing international
support, but could find its own
commitments challenged on
Capitol Hill in the context of a
stringent budgetary environment.
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