Strengthening the UN-US relationship the Better World Campaign.

• Author: Cuttino, Phyllis
• Position: Brief Article

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 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...