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CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONSCQ cover tilt
2010 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire

Citizens for Global Solutions' 2010 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire will be used by Global Solutions PAC to help determine endorsement of candidates and contributions to this election cycle. Candidates can either fill out the survey online or download it as a PDF file and fax your reply to us at 202-546-3749. If the online survey monkey is used, we will contact campaigns to confirm that the response did come from them. Questions can be directed Don Kraus, CEO via email or by phone at 202-330-4103.

Background information (also available in the PDF file) for each of the questions is available below:

U.S. Role in the World

In today's interconnected world, no country can effectively pursue its interests without the support and cooperation of others. From the environment to genocide to nuclear proliferation, the global problems we face today require all nations to work together.

The United States has a strong tradition of working multilaterally to address the world's most pressing problems. The U.S. helped to found the United Nations to prevent war, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to protect all individuals, and launched the Marshall Plan after WW2 to help rebuild economies. According to our nation's conventional wisdom, working with others to solve global problems is in America's enlightened self-interest. For many decades, the U.S. has garnered a great deal of respect and admiration in the world for this international leadership role.

Over the last decade the U.S. reputation around the world has waned. During this time, the U.S. engaged in military action in Iraq without U.N. Security Council authorization, sending a message that the U.S. would impose its will by force, regardless of legal or diplomatic considerations. While the new Administration currently supports the continuation of troop engagements in Iraq and the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan, it is critical that the next Congress have a clear-eyed view on when the military option is appropriate, and when it must come to an end.  

The current Administration has demonstrated an early commitment to responsible U.S. global engagement. A 2009 World Public Opinion poll demonstrated that over 61% of those Americans polled support the President's collaborative approach in world affairs. This follows a 2006 Knowles poll, where 75% of Americans agreed "the U.S. should do its share in efforts to solve international problems together with other countries." The next Congress has a role to play in representing this majority viewpoint in all matters of national security, economy, and way of life.

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United Nations

Today, international cooperation is the most realistic and effective way to address global problems. The United Nations stands as the one place where the entire world comes together to promote the rule of law, protect human rights, end poverty, meet the threat of global terrorism, and move us all toward a better, safer world. The United States played a major role in establishing and promoting the United Nations, and the majority of Americans support our involvement in the U.N. A 2009 World Public Opinion Poll showed that 59% of Americans saw the United Nations becoming significantly more powerful as a positive development.

Through the U.N., politically unstable regions have been strengthened, international cooperation has been fostered, and nations have been obliged to behave with increasing responsibility. The U.N. has made major strides in reducing the mortality rates for malaria and HIV/AIDS, provided over 1.6 billion people with potable drinking water, and increased access for children to primary education. Notwithstanding these successes, since 1999 the U.S. has consistently failed to financially support the U.N. in a timely manner-- thus accruing large unpaid arrears.

In June, the passage of the President's 2009 Supplemental Request allowed all of the arrears to be paid.  However, Congress must pass legislation annually to pay U.N. dues, on a timely basis, without caps and conditions.

In addition to the annual dues, the U.S. has failed annually to adequately support U.N. peacekeeping operations and to provide them with much needed personnel, equipment and logistical support. However Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., has stated that the U.S. will "increase U.S. support to U.N. peacekeeping—including by being willing to contribute more U.S. military staff officers, military observers, civilian police, and other civilian personnel to U.N. missions."

According to an independent report by the RAND Corporation, the U.N.'s peacekeeping and nation-building capacity is by far the most effective in the world. The U.S. alone cannot bear all the costs of maintaining the world's peace and security—from stabilizing the Middle East, to ending the atrocities in Darfur. Today, U.N. peacekeepers play a crucial role in the protection of civilians globally with 17 U.N. peacekeeping missions deployed in Africa, Europe/Eurasia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. For the U.S. military to replicate this level of engagement, the costs would be over eight times as much.

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International Criminal Court

Human rights and universal equality under the law represent core values and traditions that Americans have held dear for generations. The United States has made promoting and protecting human rights - and the punishment for those individuals that disrespect these rights - a cornerstone of its foreign policy. Americans strongly support the legal prosecution of individuals who perpetrate the most heinous crimes anywhere in the world.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established to investigate and prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It is the only permanent international court capable of trying individuals accused of committing these crimes in the event that national courts become incapacitated or ineffective and are unable or unwilling to ensure justice.

The ICC is playing an important role in bringing criminals to justice for committing mass atrocities with cases covering Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur/Sudan, and the Central African Republic. The Court is currently proceeding against Thomas Lubanga, the founder of the United Congolese Patriots - an organization that perpetrated war crimes and kidnapping and forced children to participate in the conflict. An ICC arrest warrant has been issued for Joseph Kony, the Ugandan head of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) who was indicted for crimes including murder, abduction, mutilation, sexual enslavement of women and children, and the conscription of child soldiers.  Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the first sitting head of state to face ICC charges, has been indicted for war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

In addition to such cases, the ICC has also helped countries like Afghanistan and Colombia that joined the ICC to strengthen the rule of law and democracy within their own borders. By joining the ICC, these countries put their leaders - as well as rebel groups, drug lords and warlords - on notice that the rule of law now applies to them too.

Participation in the ICC is essential to American leadership and credibility. In a 2009 World Public Opinion poll, 71% of Americans stated that the United States should participate in the International Criminal Court. Recently, the U.S. seized the opportunity to participate as an observer to a review conference in the Hague Assembly by sending a senior delegation led by Ambassador Stephen Rapp. The U.S. has the opportunity to observe the 2010 Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda, where it can constructively influence the Court's development and support core American values such as accountability, due process, and rule of law.  In this way, the U.S. can assist the Court's efforts to bring to justice the world's worst criminals while monitoring and guiding the Court's development from within.

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Development Assistance

At the 2000 United Nations Millennium Summit, 189 heads of state and governments, including the U.S., signed on to a set of eight interrelated goals to reduce poverty and improve the lives of the world's poorest populations by 2015. These objectives are known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs seek to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and establish a global partnership for development. Echoing the American dream, the goals are investments to help people lift themselves out of poverty and become productive and valuable members of their communities.

Milestones in development can be achieved when impoverished countries and donor governments work together. Educational development assistance helped send an additional 34 million more African children to school for the first time between 1999 and 2006. Increases in global health resources have helped almost three million HIV-positive people receive life-saving antiretroviral medicine and has delivered 70 million bed nets to protect families from malaria. Although the battle against HIV/AIDS is far from over, the United States program PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, has tested almost one million people for HIV/AIDS and has supported almost one million orphans throughout the world.

In 2008 while a candidate, President Obama pledged to double foreign assistance by 2012 to $50 billion and "ensure that these new resources are invested wisely with strong accountability measures directed towards strategic goals."  At the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September 2009, President Obama stated "We all have a stake in reducing poverty. There is suffering across the globe that doesn't need to be tolerated in the 21st century.... That is why the second commitment that I will make is embracing the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015." In President Obama's budget for Fiscal Year 2010, he requested a $2.9 billion increase in programs focused on poverty reduction around the world.

Poverty reduction is not only the right thing to do; it serves as an essential component of national security to help provide stability to fragile states around the world. Poverty can be combated by investing in global health, universal primary education, job creation, and building the infrastructure that allows communities to flourish. In a world where poverty anywhere threatens prosperity everywhere, foreign assistance is a vital tool for translating our moral beliefs into practical actions, restoring the vision of the U.S. as not only a global leader but a global partner, and realizing our long-term foreign policy goals.

Through this critical funding, the U.S. will be able to assist with initiatives that will give children in the poorest countries access to education, ensuring they can participate in the global marketplace; foster global food security through sustainable agriculture; expand goodwill and inspire service by increasing the size of the Peace Corps; and stabilize post-conflict states.

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Torture

From Clara Barton's campaign for the first Geneva Convention in 1882 to the involvement of Eleanor Roosevelt in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United States has played a key role in establishing international law and international human rights. International agreements made by  the United States keep international air travel safe, outlaw deadly weapons, protect Americans when they fight wars, combat illegal drug trafficking, and promote basic universal values. These binding international agreements and U.S. laws prohibit torture and the use of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment against detainees. According to these agreements, torture is always illegal no matter what the circumstances may be.

Allegations that the United States committed acts of torture in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and secret prisons diminish the credibility of the United States as a world leader and champion of human rights.  Maintaining a high moral standing and prohibiting torture builds valuable respect and admiration from the world.

It is in the best interest of the United States to keep its commitment to its basic, historical values and to help strengthen international compliance with universal standards of human rights, including freedom from torture.

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Climate Change

The energy choices of each nation affect the security, development and environmental prospects of all nations. According to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "No country is more important than the United States in resolving this climate change issue." As the world's largest per capita emitter of greenhouse gases, most vibrant economy, and technological leader, the U.S. is capable of leading the fight against climate change and being at the front of the transition to a global, environmentally sustainable economy.

The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the largest scientific peer review mechanism in history, has stated that the only way to effectively combat global warming is through reduction of greenhouse gases worldwide. The IPCC states that countries must curb their GHG emissions to 25-40% below their 1990 levels by 2020 in order to prevent global temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels. A two degree Celsius increase would have devastating effects on the earth's ecosystem, including rising sea levels, weather related disasters, decreased arable land, mass species extinctions, population displacements - in short catastrophic conditions that could shake the very foundations of our civilization. Americans want their elected leaders to develop strategies that will help minimize and eventually reverse these threats.

Many governments - local, state, and national - are already taking steps to protect against the risks of climate change. Portland, Oregon, the first U.S. city to put an emissions reduction strategy into practice, continues to experience solid economic growth. Governors in the West and Northeast are working together to develop joint approaches to the challenges posed by climate change. Taking action now to curb emissions is an investment in the health and well-being of our children and grandchildren. Smart, farsighted policy choices that create a new energy future for America will lead to new jobs, affordable power, and safe and secure communities.

Combating climate change and global warming requires an international commitment to developing environmentally friendly industries; environmentally friendly jobs in existing industries; and improving the quality of air, water, and the atmosphere. The U.S. will be able to play a role in negotiations most effectively during U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings if it has established environmentally protective measures at home.

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Nuclear Weapons

President Dwight Eisenhower sought a comprehensive test ban of all nuclear weapons following the end of the Cold War. To this end, the nations of the world came together to negotiate the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), a treaty that would prohibit "any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion." The CTBT would also help curb the spread of nuclear weapons, ensure an end to superpower nuclear arms competition, and establish a global monitoring network and the option of short-notice on-site inspections to improve capabilities to detect and deter cheating.

When President Obama chaired the U.N. Security Council meeting on nuclear non-proliferation, he explained the current state of the nuclear threat: "We now face proliferation of a scope and complexity that demands new strategies and new approaches. Just one nuclear weapon exploded in a city -- be it New York or Moscow; Tokyo or Beijing; London or Paris -- could kill hundreds of thousands of people. And it would badly destabilize our security, our economies, and our very way of life." The threat of nuclear weapons did not disappear with the end of the Cold War and CTBT was finally adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in September 1996.

The United States recognized the importance of limiting nuclear testing and so was the first nation to sign the CTBT. To date, the CTBT has been ratified by 150 nations, including key American allies such as Canada, Australia, Russia, China, Great Britain, and France. By ratifying the CTBT, the U.S. could become a role model for the world, sending a message that there is a commitment to achieving disarmament.

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Civilian Protection

The 21st century has already been punctuated by genocidal acts and the commission of crimes against humanity. The 2008 Genocide Prevention Task Force chaired by Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, concluded that the global image of the United States will be tarnished if we cannot take steps to avoid genocide, "one of the greatest scourges of humankind." The Genocide Prevention Task Force explicitly recommends that the United States -- as well as other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- refrain from use of their veto in situations of genocide or mass atrocities.

The Genocide Prevention Task Force explicitly states, "The secretary of state should undertake robust diplomatic efforts toward negotiating an agreement among the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council on non-use of the veto in cases concerning genocide or mass atrocities." Under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter -- which is legally binding -- the Security Council can authorize economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions, as well as the use of military force to resolve disputes. According to the U.N. Charter, the Security Council is able "to determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression."

In the past, the veto or the threat of a veto by permanent members of the U.N. Security Council has delayed action on crucial humanitarian crises, including ongoing and imminent mass atrocities. The international community can learn from past mistakes to prevent situations like these from occurring by exercising voluntary mutual restraint in the use or threat of a veto. The world does not have time for the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to play politics when innocent civilians are at the mercy of brutal dictators. In Kosovo, in 1999, a robust U.N. response was prevented because at least one of the permanent five (P-5) nations threatened to veto any resolution authorizing military force.

It is in the national security interest of the United States to follow the recommendations that were provided by the Genocide Prevention Task Force in their 2008 Report. As a permanent member of the Security Council, the United States is capable of leading by example with the other P-5 nations to undertake efforts to improve the effectiveness of the U.N. Security Council's response to mass atrocities.

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The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea

The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was adopted by the U.N. in 1994 and is a set of rules for the use of the world's oceans, which cover 70% of the Earth's surface. UNCLOS has been described as the most comprehensive and progressive protection for the oceans of any modern international accord. The American Petroleum Institute, the World Wildlife Fund, AT&T, and former President George W. Bush, among many other organizations and persons, support the U.S. ratifying UNCLOS. It protects offshore fishing, deep sea mining and navigation, while conserving the ocean's resources for future generations. The Treaty also establishes international cooperative mechanisms for resolving disputes on these issues. Moreover, the Treaty safeguards imperiled marine habitats by strengthening state sovereignty over the enforcement of resource management and environmental regulations in each state's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to 200 miles offshore.

The United States would be the single largest beneficiary of UNCLOS because it has the largest EEZ in the world. UNCLOS benefits American business, the American military, and the global environment. Since 1983, the U.S. has been in voluntary compliance with the entire Convention, and thus, accession would not result in any changes to current U.S. domestic or foreign policy. Moreover, joining UNCLOS will benefit American businesses. UNCLOS would protect the claims of U.S. firms to mineral resources and give the U.S. an opportunity to provide better management for the sensitive Arctic environment adjacent to U.S. boundaries.

UNCLOS will also help the U.S. protect its military's ability to freely navigate the oceans. The U.S. military, which relies heavily on its ability to navigate on and fly freely over the sea, has been a strong advocate of UNCLOS. In the absence of treaty law, the U.S. is forced to rely on customary law that can change as States' practices change. The convention also contains special measures to save endangered whales, salmon, and other marine mammals.

If the United States ratifies UNCLOS, it can be in a leadership role when determining the future of the seas and the Arctic. Joining UNCLOS will also tell the 158 countries that have already joined UNCLOS -- including the U.S.'s closest allies such as Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and Japan -- that the United States is a committed partner in efforts to protect the planet and its people. Until U.S. ratification, the U.S. will have no voice in the international debate over the security of its seas.

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The Treaty for the Rights of Women

The Treaty for the Rights of Women, officially known as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), is a pragmatic international agreement addressing the human rights of women. The Treaty provides an international standard for protecting and promoting women's human rights and is often referred to as a "Bill of Rights" for women. It is the only international instrument that comprehensively addresses women's human rights within political, civil, cultural, economic, and social life. It was passed by the U.N. General Assembly on December 18, 1979, and was signed by President Carter on behalf of the United States in 1980. While 186 nations have ratified CEDAW, unfortunately, the United States has failed to, and in this it is keeping company with known human rights violators including Sudan, Somalia, and Iran. The United States is the only country in the Western Hemisphere and the only industrialized democracy that has not ratified the treaty.

Ratification would enhance U.S. credibility in the global community and its ability to speak out on behalf of women in nations that have ratified the convention but still limit women's rights to receive education, to vote, to own property, or to seek protection under the law from violent domestic abuse. Ratification of CEDAW would not change existing domestic laws establishing women's rights. U.S. laws, such as those regarding violence against women and women's right to employment, already meet or exceed the standards laid out in CEDAW. With ratification of CEDAW, the status of women could be improved in many ways by further impressing norms and rules across the U.S. and the world.

The ratification of CEDAW by the United States is both urgent and necessary. Every day women around the world are denied equal access to the resources and human rights to which they are entitled. The implementation of the Treaty seeks to eradicate such inequalities on a global level. CEDAW has broad support from over 200 leading advocacy organizations, including the AARP, American Association of University Women, and the American Bar Association. It is also supported by our closest allies such as Great Britain, France, Australia, and Canada. The U.S. is in a position to reclaim its leadership role as a frontrunner in the promotion of women's human rights by ratifying this smart, cost-effective treaty. With U.S. ratification of CEDAW, the U.S. can present itself to the world as a moral authority in both action and words by ratifying this treaty that so greatly supports women.

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U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disablilities

Persons with disabilities constitute the world's largest minority with a population of 650 million; this is approximately 10% of the world's population. In the U.S. and around the world, people with disabilities are often unable to choose their living arrangements; their unemployment rate is much higher; they are more likely to live in poverty; they lack access to health care; and many children with disabilities are not afforded the opportunity to receive a quality education. Discrimination against people with disabilities hinders economic development, limits democracy, and erodes societies.

The U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entered into force on May 3, 2008 and is the only global treaty that specifically addresses the needs of persons with disabilities. The purpose of the Convention, as stated in Article 1, is "to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity." The Treaty calls on all nations to guarantee the rights afforded under the Americans with Disabilities Act, urges equal protection and equal benefit before the law for all citizens, and reaffirms the inherent dignity, worth, and independence of all persons with disabilities.

The U.S. signed this treaty on July 24, 2009, but has not ratified it. Since the Treaty opened for signatures on March 30, 2007, there have already been 140 signatories. On its opening day there were 82 signatories to the Convention, 44 signatories to the Optional Protocol, and one ratification of the Convention. The U.S. has been a model for the world in addressing the civil rights of persons with disabilities and the ratification of this treaty would be in the best interest of the United States.

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