Our Mission
The Better World Campaign (BWC) works to foster a strong, effective relationship between the United States and the United Nations (UN) through outreach, communications, and advocacy. We encourage U.S. leadership to work constructively through the United Nations and to strengthen the United Nations’ ability to carry out its invaluable operations around the world. And we engage policy makers, the media, and the American public to increase awareness of and support for the United Nations.
History and Highlights
BWC is a project of the Better World Fund, created with support from entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner as part of his historic $1 billion gift in 1998 to support UN causes.
Launched in 1999, BWC has helped build support for:
- Repayment of $926 million in U.S. debt to the United Nations, under the Helms-Biden agreement. The last of three payments was made by the United States in September 2002.
- U.S. re-entry into the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in October 2003.
- Constructive U.S. engagement in UN reform in 2005 and 2006, which led to the creation of the Democracy Fund, Peacebuilding Commission, Ethics Office, Human Rights Council, and improvements in UN management.
- Almost $2 billion in Congressional funding increases for UN peacekeeping from 2006 to 2008 to help ensure that the United Nations has the resources needed to foster stability in volatile regions of the world.
- Additional funding of $141 million to pay down debt to the UN regular budget in 2008.
2009 Agenda
New leadership in the Administration and Congress offers an opportunity in 2009 to renew the U.S. commitment to international cooperation. BWC will work in 2009 to encourage the Obama Administration to make the United Nations a priority, work constructively with the Secretariat and member states, and enhance the United Nations’ role and capacity in global problem solving. As in past years, we will work with the Administration and Congress to eliminate U.S. debt to the United Nations and enable U.S. dues payments to be made on time and in full.
We will also work to build support for U.S. policies that reinforce and renew U.S. engagement in the United Nations’ work, including providing logistical and other in-kind support for UN peacekeeping operations; seeking membership in the Human Rights Council; strengthening the United Nations as an institution; and ratifying key UN agreements including the Law of the Sea, the International Criminal Court, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. |
