Tell Congress: Honor our Commitments to UN Peacekeeping!
UN peacekeeping shares the burden of maintaining international peace and security for a fraction of what it would cost the U.S. to do so, while keeping American troops out of harm's way.
But the United States is failing to pay its fair share of UN peacekeeping even though we vote for every mission! The President's budget request this year shortchanges UN peacekeeping by $500 million.
Considering the U.S. has already accumulated $500 million in prior unpaid bills to UN peacekeeping alone, the United States could owe more than $1 billion to the United Nations by the end of 2007 a small fraction of the $168 BILLION that will be spent on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year!
Dear Members of Congress,
War and hostility are far too prevalent in today's world, exacting a huge economic, moral, and human cost. In contrast, the price of peace is a fraction of the cost of war. I strongly support UN peacekeeping as a fair and effective means of sharing the burdens for international security and stability. No nation should have to bear every burden, pay every bill, or take every risk; I urge you to act now to fully fund our promised contributions to the UN.
Today, the UN oversees a record 18 peacekeeping missions around the world, including in some of the world's most dangerous places, such as Sudan, Lebanon, Congo, and Haiti, all of which are critical to our national and international security, and the U.S. votes to approve.
The UN's lifesaving peace missions are in jeopardy because donor countries are not living up to their commitments to support UN peacekeeping, particularly the U.S. Growing shortfalls in U.S. contributions, policy restrictions, and long-standing unpaid bills threaten to put the United States more than $1 billion behind in peacekeeping obligations. Shortchanging UN peacekeeping has real impacts, forcing the UN to cobble together the necessary means for deployment and discouraging other countries from contributing their fair share of resources.
I urge you to take a leading role in fulfilling U.S. commitments to UN peacekeeping by increasing funding to the Contributions to International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA) account by $500 million in the fiscal year 2008 appropriation process. The U.S. should also take steps to pay off prior U.S. arrears. Investing in peace serves our country better than paying for the soaring costs of war.
[Your comment]
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.