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The Senate will decide John Bolton’s future in early September.
Without Senate confirmation, John Bolton cannot continue to serve as
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 2007. Bolton should not be
confirmed because he hasn’t met his promise to stop the genocide in
Darfur. In fact, his approach has moved us farther from our goal.
Take action now!
Call or write your senators’ Washington, D.C., office and urge him/her
to VOTE NO on Bolton. Share this action alert with your friends and
family.
Please take action now to stop the Senate from confirming John
Bolton. Call your senators and urge them to vote NO on Bolton.
Call the Capitol switchboard
directly at 202-224-3121 where you can ask to be connected to
your representative's office. You also may send an
immediate message by e-mail through our online
Legislative Action
Center.
Message
Our U.N. ambassador should be fostering strong relationships and
demonstrating leadership to stop the genocide in Darfur, not
alienating longtime allies and sending mixed messages. John Bolton
has failed Darfur and failed to stop genocide.
Strike One, Bolton is on the wrong side: In October 2005, Bolton
blocked the U.N. special adviser for the prevention of genocide,
Juan Mendez, from briefing the Security Council on possible human
rights violations in Sudan's Darfur region. Bolton was joined by
China, Algeria and Russia. Bolton’s move was opposed by Secretary
General Kofi Annan and 11 Security Council members, including U.S.
allies.
Strike Two, Bolton fails to lead: In February, Bolton served as
president of the Security Council. Bolton’s approach failed to
persuade even some U.S. allies in Africa and Asia to join the United
States to authorize the deployment of U.N. troops to Sudan's Darfur
province. Bolton’s leadership style so alienated members that he
sometimes called meetings to order with no other members in the
room.
Strike Three, Bolton is absent: In early June 2006, our closest U.S.
ally the United Kingdom provided innovative, effective leadership by
hosting a U.N. Security Council delegation to Darfur to advance
humanitarian relief and agreement on a U.N. peacekeeping mission to
stop the genocide. Bolton chose not to go on the delegation.
Instead, he traveled to England to give a speech in his personal
capacity to a conservative think tank.
What the United States Needs at the U.N. to Stop Genocide
If the administration is serious about stopping genocide, it should
send an ambassador to the United Nations:
- Who believes in international laws that criminalize and punish
genocide. Ambassador Bolton has stated publicly that he doesn’t
believe in international law.
- Who works cooperatively with allies to find diplomatic and lasting
solutions to the world’s most pressing crises.
- Who acts with integrity and matches words with actions.
Background
President Bush was forced to give John Bolton a recess appointment
on August 1, 2005 because the Senate wouldn’t confirm someone for
the top U.N. post who shuns diplomacy, angers allies, doesn’t
believe in international cooperation and abuses staff that disagree
with him. Bolton’s year-long tenure has borne out the Senate’s
concerns.
Darfur is just one example of Bolton’s inability to work with U.S.
allies to address the world’s most pressing crises. Despite Bolton’s
record, President Bush has resubmitted Bolton for confirmation and
is lobbying the Senate hard for his swift approval. Senators need to
hear from you to vote against Bolton.
UUSC thanks colleague organization Citizens for
Global Solutions
for providing material for this alert. For more information and to
take further action, visit www.stopbolton.org |
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