U.N. or U.S. Sovereignty?

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THE UNITED NATIONS VS.
U.S. SOVEREIGNTY
The Conservative Caucus
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Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of July 31, 2005

PRESIDENT BUSH ORDERS STATE GOVERNMENTS TO ACCEPT U.N. JURISDICTION

"The Bush administration has shifted its position in a Supreme Court case with international significance, ordering state courts to consider complaints by 51 Mexicans held on death row that they were denied their right to have Mexican officials notified.

"The International Court of Justice, or World Court, had ordered the United States last March to review the convictions and sentences in nine states of 51 Mexicans on death row, including José Ernesto Medellín, by whose name the Supreme Court case is known.

"The World Court said the 51 had been deprived of their rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to meet with, and receive assistance from, officials of their government.

"In a memorandum to the attorney general dated Feb. 28, President Bush said he had determined ‘that the United States will discharge its international obligations under the decision of the International Court of Justice.’ …"

FOREIGN LAW COULD OVERRULE U.S. CONVICTION OF RAPISTS AND MURDERERS

"Mr. Medellín, who grew up in the United States, was a member of a street gang called the Black and Whites. During the initiation of a member in 1993, he and others grabbed two teenage girls who had stumbled upon the initiation and raped and killed both. …

"In the World Court, the United States said the Mexican suit constituted ‘an unjustified, unwise and ultimately unacceptable intrusion in the United States criminal justice system.’ Source: Brian Knowlton, The New York Times, 3/9/05, p. A21

BUSH WANTS TO STRENGTHEN THE UNITED NATIONS

"The administration strongly opposes moves by Congress to slash dues to the United Nations and is optimistic that the scandal-hit body will implement tough changes, a top U.S. official said yesterday.

"R. Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, urged senators not to follow the House, which voted last month to cut U.S. dues by as much as half if the United Nations did not enact changes. ‘We don’t need our feet held to the fire,’ Burns said of moves to link U.S. contributions to restructuring the world body."

"VITAL" TO SHOW "FAITH" IN THE U.N.

" ‘It is vital that the U.S. lead at the United Nations, that we have faith in the U.N., pay our dues, promote reform and contribute to strengthen the U.N.,’ he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"The United Nations has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent years, including sex abuse by peacekeepers and allegations of corruption in the oil-for-food scandal.

"Burns said he hopes that the United Nations will agree to a series of far-reaching changes by September." Source: Washington in Brief, The Washington Post, 7/22/05, p. A6

GOP WORKS TO MAKE U.N. "MORE EFFECTIVE"

"Christopher B. Burnham, the highest-ranking U.S. citizen working in the U.N. Secretariat, is a rare breed here: a Republican Party loyalist and an enthusiastic supporter of President Bush.

"Burnham, the United Nations’ undersecretary for the department of management, is one of a handful of Bush administration supporters hired by the United Nations in recent months. They have been promoting Bush’s political agenda in an organization that has clashed bitterly with Republican policymakers over such issues as the impact of global warming and the justification for the war in Iraq. …

" ‘I’m not here to be a careerist,’ said Burnham, a former GOP fundraiser and investment banker who keeps photographs of Bush, Laura Bush and George H.W. Bush in his U.N. office. ‘I came here at the request of the White House. It’s my duty to make the U.N. more effective. My primary loyalty is to the United States of America.’ …"

LAURA TRUMPS NANCY IN SUPORT FOR UNESCO

"[T]here have been signs of improvement in Republicans’ standing in the U.N. system. The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which was derided by the Reagan administration as a wasteful institution that served the interests of anti-Western countries, selected first lady Laura Bush in 2003 as its honorary ambassador for the U.N. Decade of Literacy."

"NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND" GOES GLOBAL

"It also recently appointed an educator and former Republican legislator, Peter Smith, as assistant director general for education. Senior Bush officials, meanwhile, have praised UNESCO, likening its universal literacy initiative, ‘Education for All,’ to the administration’s No Child Left Behind program. …

Columbia University professor who specializes on the United Nations Edward C. Luck said "the fault also lies with the Republican Party, which has a shortage of internationalists who care about U.N. affairs and want to work here. Those few Republicans who have been sent to New York to ‘shake up the system’ may find it hard to [leave] a lasting mark. ‘I think the system is very hard to move,’ Luck said. ‘You send someone to New York, and in a couple of years they begin to sound lot more like a U.N. person than a Bush administration appointee.’ " Source: Colum Lynch, The Washington Post, 7/21/05, p. A21

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of April 30, 2003

BUSH SEEKS $90 MILLION INCREASE IN U.S. TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES TO THE UNITED NATIONS

"Despite the refusal of the United Nations Security Council to enforce its own resolutions calling for disarmament of Iraq, the administration is standing by the budget request it made in January to pay for a $90 million increase in the annual U.S. dues to the United Nations.

"The budget proposal submitted to Congress by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests an appropriation of $322 million for UN dues [sic] in Fiscal Year ’04. That’s up from the $232 million in ’03, according to the OMB. (The U.S. is assessed dues amounting to 22% of the overall UN budget each year.)" Source: John Gizzi, Human Events, 4/7/03, p. 6

CLINTON LESS SUBSERVIENT TO U.N. THAN BUSH?

"The General Assembly … is more like the United Tribes. It is the third world’s official welfare distribution center. (Just for the record, the Bush Administration has begun to send tens of millions a year to UNESCO, which that liberal, pinko cad, Clinton, had refused to do.)" Source: Dr. Gary North’s Reality Check, 3/14/03

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of December 31, 2001

BUSH GETS GOP HOUSE LEADERS TO BACK $582 MILLION UNITED NATIONS "ASSESSMENT" ON U.S. TAXPAYERS

Juliet Eilperin writes that "The House yesterday unanimously approved legislation that would provide $582 million to pay back dues to the United Nations, a reflection of how the political landscape has been altered by the terrorist attacks two weeks ago. …

"During a brief floor debate yesterday afternoon followed by a voice vote, both Republicans and Democrats said the United States cannot afford to ignore the U.N.’s needs at a time when Bush administration officials are seeking a broad international coalition to combat terrorism. White House officials have lobbied behind the scenes for the money since the attacks."

DeLAY COMPLIES WITHOUT DELAY - THE CONSTITUTION IS UNREPRESENTED IN CONGRESS

" ‘We’re not going to deny the president the flexibility he needs in conducting foreign policy,’ DeLay spokesman Jonathan Grella said.

"Although the measure does not wipe out the United States’ entire U.N. debt - the nation owes $862 million to the international body - it represents a significant step forward in what has been a contentious legislative process. …

"DeLay, who has been negotiating with White House officials for several weeks, announced two days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that he would support the president’s U.N. request." Source: Washington Post, 9/25/01, p. A1

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of October 31, 2001

HERITAGE FOUNDATION URGES U.S. TO PREPAY "DUES" ASSESSED BY U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Brett D. Schaefer, Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs in the Center for International Trade and Economics at The Heritage Foundation urges "As Congress works in conference to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003 (S. 1401 and H.R. 1646) and the respective versions of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (H.R. 2500), it has an opportunity to buttress its relationship with the United Nations by returning to the practice of authorizing and appropriating America’s United Nations assessment before the year it is due. …

"Each year, the United Nations approves a budget that is paid for by the member states according to a scale of assessments. The U.S. assessment for 2002, for example, will be 22 percent of the U.N. regular budget. Assessments of U.N. members are due in full 30 days after the billing date of January 1, although payments are not technically considered to be in arrears if they are made within the calendar year in which they are due." (Executive Memorandum, 10/4/01)

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of June 15, 2001

BUSH AND CONGRESS OVERTURN REAGAN POLICY AND REJOIN UNESCO

"Around the United Nations there was joy and a bit of surprise last week when Congress allowed to stand a $67 million allocation to rejoin UNESCO, the U.N. agency from which Washington withdrew in 1984.

"The money was included in an $8.2 billion State Department appropriations bill....

" ‘I am happy that the funds for UNESCO have been released, and I hope in time the U.S. will join UNESCO, sooner rather than later,’ U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said last week. ...

"President Reagan withdrew the United States from the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific Cultural Organization, criticizing it as a corrupt agency with an anti-Western bias and an ill-defined mandate.

"Britain, under Margaret Thatcher, withdrew at roughly the same time and returned shortly after Tony Blair was elected prime minister." Source: Washington Times, 5/14/01, p. A13, The U.N.Report, by Betsy Pisik in New York

PRO-PEDOPHILE ACTIVISTS ALSO ADMITTED TO UNESCO

"Anti-Family Moves at UN: The UN Economic and Social Council – the same group that recently booted the U.S. off the UN Human Rights Commission – now seems poised to admit the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). ILGA was rejected by the UN several years ago because of its ties to the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), a group that advocates pedophilia. In contrast, the UN has been drawing out applications from pro-family groups like FRC and a British evangelical organization to receive NGO status for years." Source: Family Research Council’s Washington Update, 5/16/01

U.N. PEACEKEEPING CAMPAIGNS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL WARS

Congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex.) writes (Texas Straight Talk, 5/14/01) concerning amendments to the State Department spending bill requiring reinstatement of the U.S. on the U.N. Human Rights Commission before Congress pays part of the nearly one billion dollars in back dues "owed" the U.N., saying "Unfortunately, the measure is largely symbolic, as it is unlikely to survive in the Senate."

CONGRESSMAN RON PAUL DEFENDS THE CONSTITUTION

"I proposed two substantive amendments to the State Department bill, both of which were rejected without debate and without a vote. One would have eliminated US funding for UN ‘peacekeeping’ missions; the other would have eliminated US funding for worldwide abortion and family planning. These proposals were ignored because Congress does not want to address the real issue of whether we should continue to participate in an organization that serves no national interest and threatens our national sovereignty."

U.S. MUST SECEDE FROM U.N. WHILE WITHDRAWAL IS ALLOWED

"A sovereign nation cannot wage war at the behest of an international body, and our Constitution expressly reserves warmaking authority to Congress. This most serious power cannot be delegated, as no treaty can supersede the legislative function of Congress. Regardless of the Orwellian doublespeak, UN ‘peacekeeping’ actions are indeed wars. The UN sends our young soldiers to fight under its command in wars that don’t involve us. It uses our young soldiers to fight for causes deemed legitimate by international bureaucrats. It escalates deadly conflicts in places like Kosovo and Somalia by inevitably favoring one warring faction over another. More than anything, the UN violates our sovereignty by using our military might in undeclared, unconstitutional wars. My amendment could have eliminated UN war funding and restored proper command over our armed forces. Yet Congress refuses to recognize the problem and end our participation in UN military adventurism."

CONGRESS FAILS TO ACT AGAINST U.N. CRIMINAL COURT

"Undeclared wars are only one of many threats to our sovereignty posed by the UN. The recently proposed International Criminal Court seeks to subject U.S. citizens to the jurisdiction of an unconstitutional world tribunal. Our soldiers are especially at risk, as wartime actions later could be prosecuted as ‘crimes of aggression’ or ‘crimes against humanity.’ One amendment to the State Department bill makes a weak attempt to protect soldiers from prosecution, but the validity of the tribunal itself is not challenged. What about rights guaranteed to American citizens under the Constitution, such as due process, jury trials, the right against self-incrimination, and the prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures? The conflict between our national laws and a global court is clear. I introduced legislation earlier this year that would rescind U.S. approval of the ICC treaty (signed by a Clinton administration official), yet again Congress sidesteps the issue rather than address the central question of whether the Constitution permits American citizens to be brought before an international court."

KILL THE U.N. OCTOPUS – DON’T JUST WRESTLE WITH ITS TENTACLES

"The UN unquestionably intends to exert more and more control over both our foreign and domestic policy. The UN wants to tax us, involve us in wars, determine our labor, environmental, and gun policies, and subject us to the jurisdiction of its courts. We cannot ignore this threat to our national sovereignty any longer. Congress must be held accountable whenever it unconstitutionally cedes more of its authority and our freedom to global bureaucrats."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of April 15, 2001

URGENTLY NEEDED U.S. DEFENSE DOLLARS DIVERTED TO U.N. OPERATIONS

James Dao writes (New York Times, 3/29/01, p. 1) that "The Army has downgraded one of its 10 active duty divisions to the second-lowest rating for wartime readiness, citing a lack of training and personnel caused by peacekeeping work in the Balkans, Pentagon and Congressional officials said.

"The move means that President Bush faces a problem he accused the Clinton administration of ignoring: how to keep the military honed and ready for combat when troops are dispatched across the globe to help maintain peace. ...

"The Pentagon has lowered the readiness rankings of divisions before, and Army officials said the Third Infantry Division remained an extremely capable and well-equipped force. But nearly 4,000 of the Third Division’s soldiers have been unavailable for the training needed to keep soldiers ready for battle because they have been in Bosnia since October. ..."

READINESS SHORTCHANGED TO AID NEW WORLD ORDER OBJECTIVES

"At the recommendation of NATO, the Pentagon is reducing American troops in Bosnia by 750 soldiers. That will leave nearly 3,000 Third Division soldiers in the country until October, when their mission there is scheduled to end. About 2,500 Third Division soldiers are scheduled to go to Kosovo in May. ..."

BUSH RETREATS FROM CAMPAIGN PROMISE RE BALKAN PULLOUT

"Many military officials have also argued that unanticipated costs of peacekeeping have taken money from other important accounts for maintenance, construction and equipment. ...

"Though top advisers to Mr. Bush suggested in the campaign that he might try to reduce American military commitments overseas, including in the Balkans, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said last month that United States forces would remain in the Balkans as long as NATO required. ... In the case of the Third Division, its commander determined that although ‘the Third Division is fully resourced and ready to accomplish its current operation mission in the Balkans,’ it was not fully prepared for ‘high intensity combat operations’ because of training concerns, a Pentagon report said.

"Those training concerns stemmed from the fact that Third Division units in Bosnia had been unable to participate in ‘command and control’ exercises at Fort Irwin, Calif., that stimulated large-scale battle conditions.

"Pentagon officials said that until those units returned from the Balkans this year and underwent training to reorient them toward combat and away from peacekeeping, the division would remain at a lower state of readiness, possibly into next year. ‘Any unit coming out of the Balkans is going to face special challenges as far as their war-fighting skills are concerned,’ a Pentagon official said. ‘Not that they wouldn’t be survivable, they just wouldn’t be as proficient.’"

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of February 28, 2001

U.N. FLOATS TRIAL BALLOON ON GLOBAL TAXATION

Betsy Pisik reports (Washington Times, 1/31/01, p. 1) from New York that "The United Nations yesterday issued a sweeping list of proposals to help the world’s poorest nations cope with the effects of globalization, including an idea for a global tax on international currency transactions.

"A 0.1 percent tax on $1.5 trillion worth of ‘speculative’ currency transactions could yield $150 billion a year that could be used to stabilize volatile markets, said the report, compiled in collaboration with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and others."

COLIN POWELL PROMISES KOFI ANNAN "STRONG SUPPORT" FOR U.N. BY BUSH ADMINISTRATION

Barbara Crossette writes (The New York Times, 2/15/01, p. A10) that "Stepping into the heart of an organization grown wary of Republicans, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell sought today to assure Secretary General Kofi Annan that he could count on the strong support of the Bush Administration across a wide spectrum of United Nations activities. …

"The secretary of state … went further than most Republicans in pledging to cooperate with the United Nations in working on social and economic problems."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of October 15, 2000

MICHAEL NEW'S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS SET ASIDE BY POLITICIZED JUDICIARY

Julie Foster reports (WorldNetDaily.com, 10/19/00) that "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ended its 2000 regular term without rendering an opinion on the case of Army Specialist Michael New, who was court-martialed and given a bad-conduct discharge for refusing to wear a U.N. uniform and submit to the command of a foreign officer.

"While serving stationed in Germany in 1995, New was among a few hundred troops President Clinton sent to Macedonia on a peacekeeping mission dispatched by the United Nations. The soldier chose not to obey what he calls an illegal order to remove his American military uniform patch in favor of the insignia and blue beret of the United Nations, saying he would not serve a foreign power.

"Consequently, New was slapped with a court-martial charging he had refused to obey a 'lawful' order. ...

"Oral arguments were heard by a five-member panel of civilian judges on Feb. 4, and expectations were for a quick decision. However, the court concluded its 2000 session on Sept. 30 without making a decision on the case. ..."

JUSTICE DEFERRED IS JUSTICE DENIED

"Retired Army Judge Advocate General Lt. Col. Henry Hamilton, who represents New in the military courts, said he has heard speculation that the court is waiting until after the election to make a decision on New's appeal. Should the appeal be granted, New's conviction would be re-evaluated in light of his evidence that the order to obey the U.N. command was unlawful. In other words, his successful appeal would effectively be putting U.N. authority on trial.

"'Some have speculated, and I decline to speculate, that substantial disagreement among the five judges or through lengthy and unusually convoluted legal reasoning, an attempt is being made to justify the army's constitutional error, which was taking away from the military jury one of the elements of the defense on the lawfulness of the order,' Hamilton said, adding that he believes a decision will be rendered in late fall or early winter. ...

"New, a native Texan who has been extremely reserved in his communications with the news media, gave WorldNetDaily this statement: 'It truly stuns me that a court-martial takes three days and an appeal 5 years. ..."

IF NEW WINS, KOFI ANNAN LOSES

"The question of whether American military personnel should submit to the United Nations has caused a firestorm among advocates for a global governing system and supporters of American sovereignty. But if U.N. Secretary General Kofi A. Annan of Ghana gets his way, every major country will have a set of troops dedicated to the United Nations. ...

"New's case has direct impact on the United States' participation in such a military force, as it questions the constitutionality of U.S. soldiers subjecting themselves to the rule of a foreign authority -- a direct violation of the oath taken by all U.S. military personnel."

CLINTON AND U.N. SAY U.S. IS IN VIOLATION OF GLOBAL "ANTI-DISCRIMINATION" STANDARDS

George Archibald writes (Washington Times, 9/22/00, p. A3) that "The Clinton administration, in a report yesterday to the United Nations, said persistent racial discrimination and de facto segregation still exist in the United States. ...

"The U.N. convention, ratified by the United States in 1994, gives the world body the power to oversee government action to eliminate racial discrimination in 156 countries that have signed the treaty.

"Yesterday's report was the administration's first since ratification. The report was due at the U.N. in 1995. The administration has given no explanation for the five-year delay in completion of the report, and none was offered yesterday.

"Each country that has signed the convention is required to submit periodic reports to an 18-member U.N. committee that has the power to send a U.N. ombudsman to oversee compliance with the convention's requirements. ...

"The report, prepared 'with extensive assistance from the White House,' said discrimination is evident in the criminal-justice system.

"'Concern in this area is heightened in light of the fact nearly 90 percent of the offenders convicted in federal court for crack-cocaine distribution are African-American, while the majority of crack cocaine users is white,' the administration told the U.N. committee."

The GOP-controlled U.S. Senate voted in 1994 to ratify the U.N. convention, with no roll call taken.

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin of June 15, 1999

EX-GOP NATIONAL CHAIRMAN SELLS OUT AMERICA TO HUSTLE REPUBLICAN VOTES FOR U.N. BAILOUTS

Thomas W. Lippman reports (Washington Post, 6/13/99, p. A22) that "With the United Nations exercising legal authority in Kosovo and long-delayed confirmation hearings for U.S. ambassador-designate Richard C. Holbrooke scheduled to begin this week, a new drive is underway to persuade Congress to pay this country's debt to the world organization."

HALEY BARBOUR WHORES FOR TED TURNER

"Former Republican national chairman Haley Barbour is the lobbying point man. His client is the Better World Campaign, a small Washington organization established with money from media tycoon Ted Turner to promote the United Nations."

HAS HE NO PATRIOTISM? HAS HE NO SHAME?

"Barbour's mission is to persuade Congress to enact legislation authorizing release of funds already appropriated without attaching an antiabortion rider that induced President Clinton to veto a similar bill last year. ..."

BIG BUSINESS CHIPS IN TO SEEK PERSONAL PROFIT AT THE EXPENSE OF NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE

"The Better World Campaign has enlisted the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an influential business group, which last week invited U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to make a pitch to members at a Washington dinner. ...

"Annan promoted the United Nations as 'business friendly' and the stabilizing force that makes international commerce possible. ..."

$926 MILLION VOTED BY CONGRESS IS BOTTLED UP

"More than half the debt is for peacekeeping activities that the United States voted in favor of undertaking, which means it is owed not to the world body itself but to the armed forces of friendly nations that went to such trouble spots as Bosnia at U.S. behest. ...

"Two years ago, Congress appropriated $819 million, to be paid over three years on condition that the United Nations cut its budget and undertake administrative reforms. With $107 million in U.N. debt to the United States that would be written off, the package totaled $926 million.

"But the money has never been spent because legislation authorizing release of the funds came with a condition attached by [N.J. Republican Congressman Christoper H.] Smith that the White House refused to accept: restrictions on the use of U.S. funds to aid family planning organizations overseas that work to ease restrictions on abortion. Even though the restrictions were watered down to win Clinton's acceptance, he vetoed the bill. ...

"The 1997 Balanced Budget Act set aside $1 billion for U.N. payments outside the spending 'caps' that restrict other spending. It is 'no year money,' meaning it can be spent whenever authorizing legislation is enacted and the United Nations meets the reform requirements demanded by Congress."

HALEY BARBOUR AND HIS NEW WORLD ORDER PAYMASTERS WANT TO GET THE MONEY FAST -- BEFORE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FIND OUT

"But unless the money is spent by Sept. 30, 2000, the end of fiscal 2000, the exemption from the spending caps will expire. In that case, the U.N. debt would have to compete with other budgetary items, making it vulnerable to being raided for other purposes.

"'Legislation takes time. If it's not done in the context of the fiscal 2000 budget, it's problematic next year, an election year,' said Craig Johnstone, a former State Department budget official now at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of March 31, 1999

GOP SPEAKER HASTERT BECOMES LOBBYIST FOR U.N. FUNDING

When Dennis Hastert was a mere member of the U.S. House of Representatives, prior to his selection as Speaker, his one vote which distinguished him as more conservative than other top Republicans was his support for Roscoe Bartlett's motion to reject paying off the phony debt claims which the United Nations has made on the U.S. Treasury.

Unfortunately, now that Congressman Hastert is Speaker Hastert, he is walking the pro-U.N. path trod by Newt Gingrich, Trent Lott, Bob Dole, and other GOP Congressional leaders past and present.

HASTERT SAYS CLINTON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BAILOUT DELAY

As reported by Robert Novak (New York Post, 3/28/99, p. 57), "House Speaker Dennis Hastert, meeting with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan before the air campaign against Serbia, blamed President Clinton for the U.S. failure to pay U.N. dues.

"Anan, lobbying Hastert for the delinquent payments, warned that the United States could lose its vote in the world organization. The speaker replied that the United Nations would have its money now had Clinton not opposed legislation that authorized payment of the dues but also contained anti-abortion language."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of November 15, 1998

"EMPOWER AMERICA" HOSTS KOFI ANNAN, TO LOBBY FOR U.N. BAILOUT

As reported in The Washington Times (10/17/98, p. A8), "U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed to conservatives yesterday to support U.N. demands for the United States to pay its debt to the United Nations."

JACK KEMP AND BILL BENNETT LOBBY FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER

"‘Conservative Americans are among the key players, and it is to you I now turn with an appeal for common sense and common cause,’ Mr. Annan said at the annual conference of Empower America, a conservative organization run by Jack Kemp and William J. Bennett."

UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER TO THE U.N.'S DEMANDS

"The budget deal worked out Thursday provided $200 million to pay U.S. dues to the world body....

"Mr. Kemp, Empower America's co-director and the 1996 Republican nominee for vice president, unconditionally supported Mr. Annan's plea.

"‘I fully support the United States committing to pay its arrears to the United Nations,’ he said."

U.N. BOSS SAYS U.N. VALUES ARE NOW AMERICA'S VALUE

"Joe Byrns Sills, director of the U.N. information center in Washington, told The Washington Times that Mr. Annan was very pleased with this endorsement and hoped it could mean more future support by conservatives for the United Nations....

"‘American values are U.N. values. America interests are U.N. interests,’ Mr. Annan said, referring to his organization's role in promoting democracy, human rights and free trade."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of June 30, 1998

JESSE HELMS BECOMES PRINCIPAL ADVOCATE FOR U.N. BAILOUT

The New York Times reports (6/15/98, p. A8) that "when Senator Helms's staff members took the rare step of inviting diplomats from 10 countries for coffee and cookies in the committee's ornate briefing room at the Capitol last Wednesday and asked them for help – well, eyebrows went up. ‘It was an interesting phenomenon,’ said one European diplomat who attended the 45-minute meeting....

"Senator Helms, who is no fan of the United Nations, has oddly enough begun lobbying on behalf of a bill that would pay nearly $1 billion in dues that the United States owes the United Nations [sic], something Mr. Clinton himself has pushed Congress to do...."

$1 BILLION IS A HIGH PRICE TO PAY FOR A BUREAUCRATIC REORGANIZATION

"The reason Mr. Helms cares so deeply about the bill is that it also has provisions for overhauling the Government's diplomatic bureaucracy, which Mr. Helms sees as one of his most important legislative legacies. The overhaul would fold the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and the United States Information Agency into the State Department...."

WHEN YOU GET IN BED WITH SERPENTS, THEIR VENOM CAN POISON YOUR LIFE'S WORK

"[H]e has been writing op-ed articles to press Mr. Clinton and has indirectly enlisted Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary General, who urged Mr. Clinton again last Monday to pay the back dues to the organization. And with the briefing on Wednesday, Mr. Helms and his aides took their case to some of America's staunchest allies.

"Both the House and the Senate have approved the bill, but Mr. Helms is delaying sending it to the President in the hope that the impasse can be resolved. Asked when that might be, the Senator said: ‘When the President tells me he's going to sign it...."

U.S. BAILOUT PAYMENT WOULD PERMIT "FOREIGN AID" TO U.N. CREDITORS

"In the effort to salvage a State Department overhaul and to shield congressional Republicans from blame if the legislation dies, Mr. Helms and his aides invited diplomats from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the Netherlands to the Wednesday briefing.

"The favored countries have a stable financial stake in how the dispute plays out. The United Nations owes the 10 nations more than $500 million for contributions to peacekeeping operations. The sooner the United States pays up, the sooner the United Nations can pay them....

ADMIRAL NANCE SAILS HELMS'S SHIP INTO ENEMY TERRITORY

"The briefing was led by James W. Nance, a retired Navy rear admiral who is not only the committee's staff director, but also Mr. Helms's boyhood friend and alter ego. Mr. Helms did not attend the meeting....

"Senator Helms has said this is the last chance for the United Nations payment issue to be addressed this year. The memo states that the bill will not be sent to the White House until Mr. Clinton agrees to sign it or until ‘the most uncomfortable moment for the President to veto it.’"

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of April 30, 1998

ASHCROFT, HELMS, SMITH, AND 46 OTHER GOP SENATORS VOTE TO PAY PHONY U.N. DEBT AND TO CONTINUE SUBSIDIES TO U.N. POPULATION FUND

On April 28, the U.S. Senate approved sweeping legislation to pay $819 million in claimed back dues to the United Nations.

As reported by The New York Times (4/29/98, p. A10), the "vote, 51 to 49, was largely along party lines, with 49 Republicans joining 2 Democrats in support of the legislation, and 6 Republicans and 43 Democrats opposed. The House approved the same bill last month by a voice vote....

"At issue in the conference report is...[t]he provision, proposed by Reprsentative Chris Smith, Republican of New Jersey, [which] would prohibit Federal financing for international organizations that lobby foreign governments to change their abortion policies. Republicans say they have already compromised to the extent that the measure has just symbolic value."

HELMS ADMITS THAT SO-CALLED "PRO-LIFE" LANGUAGE WILL HAVE LITTLE PRACTICAL IMPACT

As described by The Washington Times (4/23/98, p. A17), "Republicans have once more softened anti-abortion language in the bill to pay almost $1 billion in U.N. arrears...."

Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), who favors sending the money to the U.N. in return for the Clinton Administration accepting some of his ideas about State Department reorganization, acknowledges the irrelevance of the supposedly pro-life provisions in the bill saying, "What did Ronald Reagan's Mexico City policy do? It forbade any expenditure of U.S. taxpayer money going to any organizations that performed abortions abroad....The provision in this conference report does not do what the Mexico City policy did. As much as I wish it were otherwise, section 1816 will not cut off funding to organizations that perform abortions as required under President Reagan's original Mexico City policy. All section 1816 does is simply prohibit population control groups from using American taxpayers' money – which they will receive under current law anyhow – to lobby foreign countries to overturn their laws pertaining to abortion." (Source: Conference Report on H.R. 1757, 4/28/98)

A BILLION DOLLARS FOR THE U.N., EMPTY SYMBOLISM FOR CONSERVATIVES

Supposedly this was a pro-life vote, but, in fact, the correct pro-life vote would have been to deny all funds to the pro-abortion United Nations and to the population control advocacy and activist organizations which collaborate with it.

Once again, the Republican Party has abandoned principle to score meaningless political points against Bill Clinton, foolishly asserting that rhetorical limits on subsidies to pro-abortion groups somehow override the stupidity of giving those groups (including the U.N. itself) any money at all.

IT IS NOT PRO-LIFE TO SUBSIDIZE THE PRO-ABORTION UNITED NATIONS

The 49 Republicans who voted (Roll Call No. 105, 4/28/98) to pay the phony debt to the U.N. and give another $25 million to the U.N. Population Fund were: Abraham (Mich.), Allard (Colo.), Ashcroft (Mo.), Bennett (Utah), Bond (Mo.), Brownback (Kans.), Burns (Mont.), Campbell (Colo.), Coats (Ind.), Cochran (Miss.), Coverdell (Ga.), Craig (Ida.), D'Amato (N.Y.), DeWine (Ohio), Domenici (N.M.), Enzi (Wyo.), Faircloth (N.C.), Frist (Tenn.), Gorton (Wash.), Gramm (Tex.), Grams (Minn.), Grassley (Iowa), Gregg (N.H.), Hagel (Neb.), Hatch (Utah), Helms (N.C.), Hutchinson (Ark.), Hutchison (Tex.), Inhofe (Okla.), Kempthorne (Ida.), Kyl (Ariz.), Lott (Miss.), Lugar (Ind.), Mack (Fla.), McCain (Ariz.), McConnell (Ky.), Murkowski (Alaska), Nickles (Okla.), Roberts (Kans.), Santorum (Pa.), Sessions (Ala.), Shelby (Ala.), Smith (N.H.), Smith (Ore.), Stevens (Alaska), Thomas (Wyo.), Thompson (Tenn.), Thurmond (S.C.), and Warner (Va.).

PRO-ABORTION "POPULATION" GROUPS WILL STILL GET U.S. TREASURY SUBSIDIES

"The Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 passed the House on March 26 on a voice vote after anti-abortion language the administration found objectionable was softened to allow U.S. aid to go to family planning groups that participate in, but do not sponsor, pro-abortion lobbying efforts...."

AND U.N. WILL GET $819 MILLION-PLUS

"As agreed upon in [an] historic bipartisan compromise last summer between Sens. Jesse Helms, North Carolina Republican, and Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Delaware Democrat, the bill would provide for $819 million to be paid in U.N. arrears....

"In November, in an effort to make the provision palatable to both sides of the abortion question, Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican, offered a softer version of the Mexico City restrictions." (Source: Washington Times, 4/23/98, p. A17)

PRO-LIFE PRINCIPLES SOLD FOR A MESS OF POTTAGE

Judie Brown, Chairman of the American Life League, observes in her April 17 Communiqué (p. 2) that the reconstructed "Mexico City policy" is a sham. "New language passed by the U.S. House of Representatives includes a waiver that would affect only those organizations that violate the abortion laws of a foreign country, or lobby to legalize abortion. It would not affect groups that are involved in performing abortions."

Excerpted from Howard Phillips Issues & Strategy Bulletin of April 30, 1998

EVERY DOLLAR AMERICA SENDS TO THE UNITED NATIONS PROMOTES ANTI-CHRISTIAN ACTIONS, INCLUDING ABORTION

The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute has pointed out (Friday Fax, May 1, 1998) that "The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) organized a four-day ‘Round Table on Adolescent Reproductive Health and Rights’ in New York from April 14-17. Actress Jane Fonda, wife of communications tycoon Ted Turner who last year pledge US$1-billion to the UN, was one of the featured speakers....

"By UN definition, ‘reproductive health services’ include provision of abortion and artificial contraception...."

SEPARATING THE NEXT GENERATION FROM GOD, FAMILY, AND COUNTRY

"Other participants at the UNFPA roundtable agreed on the importance of allowing adolescents unimpeded access to ‘reproductive health services.’ They also stressed the importance of launching propaganda campaigns against religious and social groups opposed to this anti-family approach. ‘We know from our own experience and our research that adolescents want to take responsibility for their own lives, including their sexuality and their reproductive health,’ commented Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the UNFPA. Sadik acknowledged that ‘legal, religious and social barriers remain’ which limit children's free access to reproductive health services. Consequently, ‘the main battle in most countries now is to concentrate policy makers' attention on the urgency of the issue, to make resources available, and to remove the conceptual barriers still in the minds of many service providers.’"

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DRIVES THE AGENDA

"Dr. Pramilla Senanayake, Assistant Secretary-General of International Planned Parenthood Federation, the world's largest and wealthiest abortion provider, participated also. ‘Adolescent reproductive health’ is a basic human right, Senanayake argued. ‘The real challenge is to relinquish our control over young people and to work with them to implement their rights.’

"The round table was the first of four being held as part of the five-year review of the implementation of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development's Programme of Action...."

OPPOSITION TO ABORTION IS DEFINED AS "FORCED PREGNANCY"

"The 54^th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR) passed a resolution this week condemning what is termed ‘forced pregnancy.’ The 56-member commission is concluding its six-week annual session today, and will report its findings to the UN Economic and Social Council this summer....

"The concept of ‘forced pregnancy’ first appeared in UN debates in the context of the Bosnian conflict where it was reported that women were forcibly impregnated and had their babies taken from them. In recent years there has been an aggressive effort among UN feminists to expand this term to mean the lack of liberal abortion laws, and to insert this new meaning into key UN documents.

"In a private meeting in Geneva last week, the Women's Caucus (of feminist NGOs) said they will refrain from using the term abortion in future UN documents and speeches since the term is so controversial. Instead, they will use ‘forced pregnancy’ or ‘enforced pregnancy,’ terms which are harder to define and thus conceal the real agenda...."

CLINTON'S "FREE TRADE OF THE AMERICAS" CONFERENCE USED TO PUSH ABORTION

"Using coded language that is familiar to experienced UN observers, the Summit of the Americas that just finished its work in Santiago, Chile, has called for the elimination of abortion laws in the American nations.

"In the Santiago Plan of Action, under a section called ‘Eradication of Poverty and Discrimination,’ the heads of state of the 34 American democracies said governments will ‘examine the existing laws and their implementation in order to identify obstacles limiting the full participation of women in the political, economic, social and cultural life of our countries.’ Conservative abortion laws are widely understood to be just such an obstacle, pro-life activists warn." (Source: Friday Fax, April 24, 1998)

IT'S AS MUCH ABOUT "FREE LOVE" AS IT IS ABOUT "FREE TRADE"

According to the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, a United Nations NGO, Bill Clinton was in Santiago to push for a key component of the proposed NAFTA-like accord with 34 Latin American countries: more sex education, more government population control programs, and more homosexual agitprop under the guise of AIDS education.

IT'S NOT "AN AMERICAN AGENDA" WHICH BILL AND HILLARY ARE PEDDLING

"In March, the Chilean legislature hosted a meeting that some considered to have been a preparatory committee conference for the pro-abortion advocates who attended the summit.

"Called the ‘Interparliamentary Meeting on Education in Population, Adolescents, and Reproductive Health,’ the gathering drew representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), as well as representatives of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), which is the world's richest abortion provider."

"TRADING" IN SEXUAL MISCONDUCT AS A "HUMAN RIGHT"

"At that closed-door meeting, national legislators reported on their countries' advancement in the areas of sex education and reproductive health for children. One report lamented that ‘it is difficult for parents to accept the rights and the sexual activity of adolescents.’ Another urged that, within AIDS education, something called for in the previous summit in Miami, ‘it is important...to incorporate the new focus where it concerns adolescents, youth, gender, and reproductive rights as human rights.’

"As a result of the Miami summit, financial commitments with possible strings attached to ‘reproductive health’ have already begun pouring into Latin America. Hillary Clinton attended the Sixth Conference of Wives of Heads of State and Government held in La Paz, Bolivia", where various U.S. foreign aid commitments were made. Source: The Wanderer, 4/30/98, p. 1