Pay our dues to the UN. The U.S. makes a big show of voting for UN Peacekeeping missions (a large part of their role on the Security Council) but we fail to fully fund our share. Voting is one thing, coming through with the cash is the most important part. As it is now, we are setting these important UN missions up for failure. So, Mr/Mrs next President, please, put your money where your mouth is
Put a tax on carbon and other greenhouse gases so we can fight our climate crisis. A cap and trade will inevitably be manipulated by the market and business looking to make a buck. We need a REAL price on carbon and other pollutants.
Send invitation to leaders in at least 50 countries to visit Washington on a particular day asap. They, and the UN chief, must visit the White House every day to find a solution to the contentious issues, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and leave for home only after arriving at a consensus. The President should never take unilateral decisions that impact the world community and disturb world peace and progress. The White House should organise peace prayers by different religions on its lawns.
The amount of solar energy that hits the surface of the earth every minute is greater than the total amount of energy that the world's human population consumes in one year. ” Sandia National Laboratories
Given this statement would it not make sense that the next President to initiate a World Summit on Energy to resolve, discover and begin to move our planet to the creation of solar industries to reduce our need for fossil and nuclear fuels.
From A Better World Campaign (www.BetterWorldCampaign.org) The total yearly cost of UN peacekeeping to the U.S. is less than what we pay for three days in Iraq. Fully funding the United Nations is in our economic and security interests. The U.S. has agreed to pay our fair share at the United Nations, but we are failing to honor our commitments. Even as the UN effectively pursues U.S. interests by securing peace in places like Haiti and Sudan, the U.S. is now $1.5 billion in debt to the UN.
The UN is a relic of the post-World War II order. The five permanent members of the Security Council represent the major powers of 50 years ago. It is time to ensure that each permanent member state is representative of today's world. That means India, the world's largest democracy, deserves a seat at the table. France and Germany should be represented by a delegate from the EU. A requirement for Security Council membership must be democratic governance and free elections.
Signal the willingness of the US to abide by international law. The new US President should ask Congress to pay Nicaragua the damages it was awarded by the International Court of Justice in 1986. The ICJ ordered the US to pay for the damage caused by our illegal use of force in support of the contras. But until now, the US has refused to pay. This would be a cheap way to signal that the US is now ready to take international law seriously and be responsible for our prior violations of law.
Submit the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women for ratification by Congress! It is a black mark on our country that we have not yet signed on to this Convention for nearly 3 decades.
Congress should have realized by now it was an illegal invasion of the sovereign nation of Iraq, which led to the present illegal occupation. Congress should have realized that the US should give full support to the UN Peacekeeping mission that is going on in Iraq, so the US troops do not have to have a presence in Iraq, and the US should pay the nearly one billion dollars the US owes the UN, so the United Nations is able to finish the job of restoring Iraq and truly helping her Peoples.
