Advocacy

UNA-USA National sends periodic Advocacy alerts that help members support the United Nations through correspondence and meetings with congressional leaders, state and local officials, the press and the public. 

TAKE ACTION LINKS

For a quick way to sign up to action and to receive updates, click on the following links:

UNA-USA  (United Nations Association of the USA Take Action email page)

Better World Campaign  (On the middle of the homepage is a column that reads “Stay Informed.” There you can sign up for e-mail updates about the work of the UN)

The UN FOUNDATION (United Nations Foundation page to sign up to receive updates) 

 The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA, (a program of the UN Foundation), the Better World Campaign and the United Nations Foundation all offer you ways to get involved with toward achieving social justice and improved quality of life for all.  

UNA-USA

1. Log onto http://unausa.org

2. Become Informed - On the homepage for the UNA-USA website, click on the Advocacy tab. Click on the link that says “Take Action Now” next to the E-Action Alerts tab, and scroll down to the bottom of the page until you reach the column on the left that says “Stay Informed.”

Under this column is a link to the E-Action List. Click on this link to sign up for e-mails that are sent to you when your help can make a critical difference.

3. Get Involved in Advocacy – Click on the Membership tab on the middle of the homepage. From here, a variety of ways to become involved with UNA-USA are listed. You can click on the tab that says “Join Us Now” to become a member of UNA-USA. Also, you can click on “Find a Chapter in Your Area” to find contact information of UNA-USA representatives at a chapter near you. Finally, you can click “Find Events Across the Country” to identify UNA-USA sponsored events to participate in.

4. Donate - You can donate to UNA-USA by clicking on “Donate Now” at the top left of the homepage.

The Better World Campaign

1. Log onto www.betterworldcampaign.org

2. Become Informed – On the middle of the homepage is a column that reads “Stay Informed.”   Sign up there for e-mail updates about the work of the UN.

You can also subscribe to UN Wire, a daily news letter (sent by e-mail) that covers UN issues.  

You can also subscribe to UN Dispatch, a series of periodic updates and communications from the UN Foundation. All three of these services are FREE.

3. Learn About Key Issues – At the top of the home page, there are tabs “Our Key Issues” and “What We Are Doing.”   There you will find overviews of the main objectives and practices of BWC. Find the causes that interest you.

4. Get Involved in Advocacy – Also see the tab “Take Action Now” by clicking on “What You Can Do” at the top of the homepage in order to view a list of individual causes that the UN is supporting. Clicking on any of these causes will lead you to a page where you can support / advocate for the cause in someway (such as adding your name to a petition, sending a personal message to a UN Peacekeeper, or making an online donation to a UN initiative).

Contact your Senators:   On this same page (“Take Action Now”), click on “Find Your Senators” on the left-hand side of screen. This will lead you to a list of all U.S. Senators. Use the drop-down box on the top screen to select your state and find listings for, both senators. Click on the “Web Form” link below either of their names to be directed to an online form where you can contact these senators. After entering your name and contact information, you can write a message as long as 10,000 characters (about 3 pages in length). This is a great way to express concern for any legislative issues, world problems, etc. that you would like to bring to the attention of your Senator.

Contact your Representative :  You can contact your local representative by selecting “Find Your Representative” on the left-hand side of the “Take Action Now” screen and following the same procedure as for Senators.

The UN Foundation

1. Log onto http://unfoundation.org  

2. Become Informed – On the top right corner of the homepage is a tab that reads “What We Do.” Click on this tab to learn about the campaigns, initiatives, and issues that the UN Foundation is addressing. Examine these further by clicking on their respective logos.Sign up for updates from the UN Foundation by clicking on the “How to Help”  tab on the top right corner of the home page, and then clicking on the “Stay Informed” box on the middle of this webpage.

3. Advocate for the UN – On the top right corner of the homepage, click on
      the tab “How to Help.”  You will be directed to the “Take Action” 
      page.  This page provides a variety of ways to take action for both
      general and specific causes:

Become a UNA-USA Member :  Click on “Help the UN Help the World” at the bottom of the “How To Help” page. You will be directed to a window where you an register to become a member of the United Nations Association of the USA  and your local UNA-USA chapter.

Raise money for the UN Foundation by using the Internet: On the “How to Help” page, scroll down to the bottom and click on the link that reads “Download the Official UN  Foundation Toolbar”  You can install a toolbar that garners funds for the UN Foundation every time you search and shop online. 

Encourage your company or organization to become a UN Foundation Partner by clicking on “Become a UN Foundation Partner” at the very bottom of the “How to Help” page.  You will be directed to a window that lists ways that you can partner with the UN.

- As a corporate partner, you can:
                 1) Join the UN Foundation in Cause Marketing
                 2) Build Coalitions to Address Global Challenges
                 3) Support the UN Foundation

- As an organizational partner, you can:
                 1) Engage Your Membership
                 2) Leverage Expertise for Global Challenges

Meetings with Congressional Representatives and the Governor

UNA-USA Chapters and Divisions'
2012 Advocacy Agenda

At their meeting on 20 November 2010, UNA-USA Council of Chapters and Regions Steering Committee members voted unanimously to endorse an expedited advocacy agenda process for 2012 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). These issues have been included in previous advocacy agendas along with several other issue areas; UNA-USA members should not forgo acting in support of other issues should circumstances make progress in these areas possible. On an ongoing basis, however, UNA-USA and Better World Campaign staffs will coordinate activities in the areas listed below as part of a larger effort to maximize our overall advocacy impact going forward.

  Download the Advocacy Agenda as pdf

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. There is an expectation that this bill will be brought up for a vote in committee and on the House floor. Members of Congress should be encouraged to vote against this bill, as it would undermine US national security, severely erode US legitimacy abroad and cause massive new US arrears to the UN.

Human Rights: The UN’s human rights work is a hallmark of the organization and has 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; follow-up by the Obama administration will occur over the next several months, culminating in the adoption of a US plan of action by the Council in March 2011. Next up on the Human Rights Council’s calendar is a mandated review in March 2011 that will examine the Council’s performance over its first five years with a view to considering 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 2010 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.