| Oklahomans for Global Solutions |
| Envisioning a future in which people work together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, establish a culture of peace, and solve the problems facing humanity that no nation can solve alone. |
| "I salute the flag of the State of Oklahoma. Its symbols of peace unite all people." |
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| Global ReSolutions 2005 |
Dear Senators Inhofe & Coburn, and
Representatives Sullivan, Boren, Lucas, Cole, & Istook
Citizens for Global Solutions has made some important Global Resolutions for 2005. We hope you will make them
your New Year's resolutions so we can work together to make a better and safer world for Americans.
New Year's Resolutions
KEEP MY PROMISES: Show Sudanese children that when the U.S. says "Never Again", we mean it -- end the genocide.
SPEND MORE TIME WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY: Rebuild frayed alliances and re-engage at the United Nations.
QUIT SMOKING: Reduce carbon emissions, fight global warming, and join the Kyoto Treaty.
PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH: Honor the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture.
TAME THAT BULGE: Stop nuclear proliferation.
LEARN AN ART FORM: Master the art of diplomacy.
Talking Points:
KEEP MY PROMISES:
Show Sudanese children that when the U.S. says "Never Again", we mean it -- end the genocide.
The U.S. Congress and the Secretary of State declared the atrocities in Darfur, Sudan to be genocide. Future
atrocities must be prevented and the U.S. must make sure that the African Union troops monitoring the crisis also
have the ability to protect the civilians. It is also important to hold accountable those who have committed atrocities.
Congress should:
-- Ensure adequate financial and logistical support for relief efforts and provide funding for an expanded African
Union (AU) force with the mandate and capacity to protect civilians at risk.
The Administration should:
-- Build support in the Security Council for expanding the AU forces size and mandate to protect civilians and put
pressure on the Sudanese government to accept it.
-- Build a consensus among the Security Council members for a resolution expanding the AU force in Darfur with a
peacekeeping capacity even if the Sudanese government opposes it.
-- Support the expanded force using assessed contributions to the UN’s peacekeeping budget.
-- Support a Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure accountability for the
perpetrators of the crimes. The Sudanese government has demonstrated its unwillingness to stop the crimes, much
less prosecute them. The ICC is up and running, and could take this case without any of the delays and additional
costs associated with the creating a new tribunal from scratch. Moreover, the evidence of crimes in Darfur has
already been made available to the ICC. It could begin its work immediately after receiving authorization from the
Security Council.
SPEND MORE TIME WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY:
Rebuild frayed alliances and re-engage at the United Nations.
Working with other countries and organizations like the United Nations is a common-sense way to get things done in
an increasingly connected world. There are just some problems that our country can’t solve alone, and strong
partnerships multiply our strengths, expand our options and share the costs and risks of action to solve problems.
For example, the United Nations has taken the lead in coordinating the global community’s response to the recent
tsunami in Asia through the office of its Emergency Relief Coordinator. Coordinating the world’s response to the
tsunami would be much more difficult and much slower if the world community had to create a new ad hoc
organization capable of coordinating and delivering aid for every disaster.
Congress should:
-- Keep our promise to the UN to fully fund our share of the budget.
-- Fully fund the President’s Global Peace Operations Initiative to double the number of peacekeepers worldwide
over the next five years.
The Administration should:
-- Take seriously and engage in the upcoming 2005 Millennium Review Summit at the UN which will consider
proposals for strengthening the United Nations and to make it more effective in fighting poverty, combating
terrorism, controlling nuclear proliferation and building a more secure world.
-- Work more closely with and provide more funding for the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria instead
of going it alone with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
QUIT SMOKING:
Reduce carbon emissions, fight global warming, and join the Kyoto Treaty.
Global warming is a real problem, but it’s not insurmountable. Pollution from carbon emissions from gas, oil and
coal is thickening the natural layer of heat-trapping gasses in our atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise around
the world. If left unchecked, this could cause serious changes in weather patterns that could lead to rising sea
levels, crop failures and increased animal and plant extinctions. We need a real national energy
plan to reduce carbon emissions combined with a recommitment to a strong global approach to fight this problem.
Congress should:
-- Enact national legislation, like last session’s McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act, which will get the U.S. on
the track to join global efforts to reduce carbon emissions through a market-driven approach.
-- Support the creation of a bipartisan Earth Legacy Commission to make recommendations for a coordinated,
comprehensive, and long-range national policy to advance U.S. leadership in protecting the global environment.
-- Fund the development of alternative energy sources and technologies. These products would be particularly
useful in domestic and international disaster responses where traditional sources are either unavailable or have
been disrupted.
The Administration should:
-- Re-engage with international partners to address the grave threats posed by climate change and environmental
degradation. The Kyoto negotiations were only one of many conversations that should take place to create a
healthy world for our children and grandchildren.
-- Send high-level delegations to the G8 environmental ministers meeting in March 2005 and to the full G8 summit
in July. Climate change will be a key focus of these meetings and the U.S. should play a leading role in these
discussions.
PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH:
Honor the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture.
The Geneva Conventions are the cornerstone of the modern law of war-fighting. They guide every combatant to
fight with honor, and promise a minimum standard of humane treatment for those captured in battle. The
Convention Against Torture expands that promise to protect everyone regardless of status, declaring that no
exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, or any other public emergency, may
be invoked as a justification of torture.
The Administration should:
-- Direct a complete and independent investigation of allegations of torture at all U.S. detention facilities worldwide
-- Define clear prosecutorial guidelines to ensure that any statement made as a result of torture shall not be used
as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture.
-- Sign the Protocols to the Geneva Conventions that expand their impact to reflect the realities of modern warfare.
Congress should:
-- Preserve the provisions of the Alien Tort Claims Act and Foreign Claims Act to ensure that any individual who
alleges he has been subjected to torture in any territory has the right to complain to competent authorities, and that
the victim of an act of torture obtains fair and adequate compensation.
-- Ensure no gaps in jurisdiction exist to enforce the criminal provisions of these treaties, whether against U.S. or
non-U.S. nationals, for offenses here or abroad.
-- Ratify the Protocols to the Geneva Conventions.
TAME THAT BULGE:
Stop nuclear proliferation.
The U.S. can do a lot to stop the spread and use of deadly nuclear, chemical and biological weapons through a
global partnership to keep the weapons out of the reach of terrorists. A smart effort will focus on making these
weapons secure while also setting global norms that will discourage countries from building them in the first place.
Congress should:
-- Expand regional initiatives to secure the materials needed to make nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, like
the Cooperative Threat Reduction Initiative.
The Administration should:
-- Reaffirm US support for its treaty commitments at the 2005 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference and
support talks on a fissile material cut-off treaty.
-- Increase funding for the International Atomic Energy Agency, and support the adoption of more intrusive
inspection procedures to ensure compliance with non-proliferation treaty requirements.
LEARN AN ART FORM:
Master the art of diplomacy.
Successful partnership with other countries is a two-way street, so we have to do a better job acknowledging and
respecting the concerns and interests of other countries so they respect ours. Currently, our Foreign Service system
does not adequately support those who choose to specialize in international negotiations and multilateral
organizations in their diplomatic career ñ we need to rebuild our nation’s skill to engage effectively in the art of
diplomacy.
Congress should:
-- Support legislation like the U.S. International Leadership Act (passed by the House in 2004), which would improve
the training and careers of our nation’s diplomats in order to better engage in international negotiations.
-- Support increased funding for the State Department for "the tools of statecraft", including foreign aid and
international organizations.
The Administration should:
-- Reinstate the United Nations ambassador to a cabinet level position to provide timely, effective, and high-level
representation at the world body.
-- Make good on President Bush’s December 2004 commitment in Halifax, Canada, to "defend our security and
spread freedom by building effective multinational and multilateral institutions and supporting multilateral action,
and work [with other nations] to make those institutions more relevant and more effective in meeting the unique
threats of our time."
Building Peace, Justice and Freedom in a Democratically Governed World
www.globalsolutions.org