Obama urged to strengthen US ties with UN

DOZENS OF leading foreign policy experts, including former secretaries of state and top officials in both Democratic and Republican administrations, have urged President-elect Barack Obama to strengthen ties with the United Nations.

In a full-page advertisement in yesterday's New York Times, the group said that a more active and supportive US role in the UN was in the American national interest.

"The UN cannot succeed without strong US leadership and support," the advertisement said.

"This investment will pay off substantially by helping to enhance our standing internationally and strengthen our ability to keep America safe and strong."

The signatories included former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher, and former national security advisers Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski.

Former Republican senators Alan Simpson of Wyoming and Howard Baker of Tennessee also backed the initiative, along with former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton and President John F Kennedy's White House special counsel, Ted Sorensen.

"In today's rapidly changing world of interdependence, globalisation, and transnational threats, the United States must balance a strong military with creative diplomacy to secure America's interests," the advertisement says. "We must recognise that the United Nations is a critical platform and partner for advancing international co- operation on today's global threats and challenges, such as poverty and disease, nuclear proliferation, terrorism and climate change."

The group calls on Mr Obama to make "an early and visible statement on the United Nations that expresses American commitment to international cooperation through the UN".

It proposes a number of specific actions, including a commitment to pay US debts to the UN, to place well-qualified Americans in open positions at the organisation, and to take a lead on UN efforts on nuclear proliferation, counterterrorism, climate change and the Millennium Development Goals.

"President-elect Obama has the opportunity to engage with the world and renew American leadership at the United Nations, the world's platform for finding shared solutions to global problems," said Timothy Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation, which was behind yesterday's advertisement.

"The challenges we face are immense. But working together with other nations ensures that we don't have to shoulder all of the burdens or take all of the risks to make the world a safer and better place."

Earlier this week, Mr Obama told UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon that the US should "re-dedicate itself to the organisation and to its mission", according to Mr Obama's spokeswoman.