About The Better World Campaign

Our Mission

The Better World Campaign (BWC) works to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the United Nations through outreach, communications, and advocacy. We encourage U.S. leadership to enhance the UN’s ability to carry out its invaluable international work on behalf of peace, progress, freedom, and justice.  In these efforts, we engage policy makers, the media, and the American public to increase awareness of and support for the United Nations.

History and Highlights

Launched in 1999, BWC has worked to generate support for achievements such as:
Re-payment of $926 million in U.S. debt to the UN, according to the terms of the 1999 Helms-Biden agreement. The final of 3 payments was released in September 2002. View ad	Full funding of U.S. assessments for UN peacekeeping operations since 2001, preventing the accrual of new US arrears to the UN. View ad
Progress toward timely payment of U.S. dues to the UN regular budget. View ad	Reentry into to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in October 2003. View ad

2008 Agenda

As the United States and the world seek to resolve problems in places like Iraq, Darfur, and Lebanon, and address major global challenges like climate changes, the Better World Campaign calls attention to the role and value of the United Nations in finding shared solutions to promote peace and prosperity around the world.  In Washington, BWC continues to urge the Administration and Congress to provide full and on-time contributions to UN peacekeeping and the regular budget, and to support the development work of UN agencies.  BWC is increasingly concerned with growing arrears to our contributions to treaty-based international organizations, including the UN, and is seeking to raise awareness of and support for addressing these shortfalls.  Over the past year, BWC helped advocate for: $468 million in supplemental and increased funding for peacekeeping operations in FY 2007; $583 million in increased appropriations to UN peacekeeping for FY 2008; and legislative language to remove a congressionally mandated 25% cap on payments for UN peacekeeping operations.

BWC also continues its efforts to educate the public on the role the UN plays in addressing key global challenges so that no country has to pay all the bills or take all the risks in promoting global peace and progress.  Specifically, we are raising public awareness and encouraging Congressional support for UN operations, many of which are directly aligned with core U.S. values and priorities—like keeping the peace in war-torn regions; preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; supporting elections and democratic political processes globally; providing humanitarian assistance for children, refugees, and other victims of conflict and poverty; and eradicating and containing life-threatening diseases.

2008 Outreach

The Better World Campaign is engaged in a nonpartisan 2008 election initiative helping to build political and public support for international cooperation and the United Nations by educating U.S. citizens, their elected officials, and Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates.

BWC’s 2008 election outreach efforts promote candidate and voter understanding of the need to work cooperatively to solve the world’s most pressing challenges and to rebuild America’s reputation in the world.  We are putting forward a series of policy papers on the value of international cooperation and partnership with the United Nations.  We are also hosting an online platform, On Day One (www.OnDayOne.org), for interactive participation and discussion of America’s role in the world and what the next president can do “on day one” of his or her term to advance international cooperation. 

Through these two projects and in partnership with other NGO’s, BWC is reaching out to presidential and congressional candidates and offering background information and expertise on global challenges and the role of the United Nations in meeting them.