All of us here would probably agree that the UN has reached a very low point both in press coverage and in its treatment by the Bush administration. All of us have extensive knowledge of the UN"s importance, the essential nature of its programs, its value for peacekeeping, and much, much more. But how do we make these issues clear in such a hostile climate?

The US, unfortunately, does not take part in many UN’s programs, either because they have not signed on to major treaties or are withholding funding from programs, such as family planning, that they disapprove of. Recently, however, the US as very involved in the passing of Security Council Resolution 1483 which lifts sanctions and ends the Oil-for-Food program which has supported a large part of Iraq’s population. a Critics said we pushed this resolution through because it gives the US and its partner Great Britain almost complete authority in the occupation of Iraq. So when the US gets in trouble, such as in its failure to keep Iraq’s nuclear site from being looted, it reverses former policy and invites UN nuclear experts in to try and patch things up.

Bringing the UN back to the central place we believe it should have in US policy and public opinion cannot wait while the US occasionally finds uses for the UN almost as an afterthought. Our job is to educate the public on why it needs to bypass its politicians and support the UN in its multinational efforts. We need to show the UN in action. One way to do this is to link UN Actions to particular issues that we work for in the organizations we belong to.

For example, of special interest to WAND members is the UN’s new support for women in war and peace. Until 2000, UN peacekeeping efforts did not fully recognize the roles and importance of women. That year Resolution 1325 was passed by the security Council, a landmark decision "to put women and girls at the center of peace efforts and to ensure that women play a greater role in the region’s overall reconciliation processes." Made possible when a Namibian woman was head of the Security Council and lobbied for by hundreds of women’s groups, the resolution has been picked up by grassroots women around the world.

A Canadian journalist has listed some of the ways Resolution 1325 has already been implemented: UN

peacekeepers in Sierra Leone were trained for the first time in the prevention and treatment of sexual violence, an all women’s peace conference in Burundi organized by UNIFEM had many of its recommendations accepted by Mandela, the Rwandan war crimes tribunal for the first time in history

tried rape as a crime against humanity. Other global gains for women include the seven women judges out of eighteen on the new International Criminal Court--which of course the US has not joined. AT present, the women of Kosovo and Afghanistan, dissatisfied with what they have achieved so far, are urging Iraqi women to demand representation in their country’s reconstruction. Up to now US forces in Iraq have shown little interest in giving women a share in the new government so there is an issue different US groups could advocate for. By doing so, the UN’s role is strengthened and our citizens understand how much we need the UN.

A more central issue for WAND is the US military budget and how it impacts our social structures. An issue today is the size of our expenditures in Iraq. Very little is being said about why the US taxpayer is almost solely responsible for the reconstruction of Iraq with military means alone. Many US citizen groups could take up this issue: whatever their issue, funding for it is probably being starved by US military expenditures.