Conversations at the United Nations
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CONVERSATIONS AT THE UNITED NATIONS AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE PERMANENT MISSIONS, UN ADMINISTRATION, AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Thomas V. McConnon Legwork Legwork TeamTeam Publishing New York Legwork Team Publishing New York Legwork www.legworkteam.com Team Copyright © 2018 Thomas V. McConnon ISBN: 978-1-935905-82-0 (hc) This book may be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Section 107 and 108 of the US Copyright Law) and for reviews for the public press. Please inform the publisher. Disclaimer: The information provided in this book is based on a compilation of monthly conversational meetings between Rotary International and distinguished UN ambassadors, international representatives, and special guests. It is intended to provide the reader with “behind the scenes” insights and a clearer understanding of the United Nations and its worldwide role. Conversations and situations have been transcribed from actual Rotary/ UN meetings, and the author and the book’s contributors have taken every care in representing conversational details. Information, opinions, and references to individuals named herein are believed to be accurate and all contributor submissions are used by permission. All Internet address links appearing in this book were verified when the manuscript was submitted for publishing. However, neither author nor publisher has control of subsequent changes made by Internet website administrators. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are solely those of the author, Rotary International guest speakers and listed contributors, and do not necessarily reflect or represent views or opinions of Legwork Team Publishing or its staff. The publisher, its staff, and agents have done their best to ensure full informational integrity throughout, but make no guarantees whatsoever regarding the accuracy, comprehensiveness, utility of the work, suitability, or validity of information or philosophies stated, quoted, or implied herein, and will not be liable for any content errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. However, please inform us if any inaccuracies are noted so they may be corrected in future editions. First Edition XX/XX/2018 Printed in the United States of America This book is printed on acid-free paper To Barney and Josef The publication of this book was made possible by a grant from the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) account of Thomas Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Service Company, Inc., Garden City Park, NY (A Service for the New York Real Estate Manager.) All of Mr. McConnon’s royalties for this book are being assigned to the Foundation of the Rotary Club of New York and The Rotary Foundation in equal proportion. Both are highly-rated, tax-exempt 501(c) (3) organizations under the Internal Revenue Code. Preamble of the UN Charter WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, and for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods,that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims. Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations. CONTENTS Foreword.......................................................................................................... xiv Preface............................................................................................................. xvi Acknowledgments.......................................................................................... xvii Introduction.................................................................................................. xviii Rotary’s Role in the Formation of the United Nations.............. 1 Formation of the United Nations 2 United Nations Committee Votes that the new International Organization Should be Located in the United States and New York City is an Interim Site 6 Rotary Starts the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program 8 The Ambassadors of the Permanent Missions............................... 11 Mr. Trygve Lie, First Secretary-General of the United Nations, Addresses Rotary International’s 40th Convention 1949 11 Ms. Madeleine Carroll, the First “Goodwill Ambassador” for UNICEF Addresses Rotary International’s 40th Convention 1949 18 Mr. Dag Hammarskjold, Second Secretary-General of the United Nations Addresses Rotary International’s 50th Convention 1959 27 The German Mission, German Ambassador, Dr. Wolfgang Trautwein 34 Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations, Michael von Ungern-Sternberg, Minister Plenipotentiary 35 Spanish and Turkish “Alliance of Civilization” Initiative Seeking Civil Society Support 41 “Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Vanu Gopala Menon” By Sheila Washington, (Visiting Rotarian from San Diego, California) 41 Slovenian Ambassador, Eva Tomic, Outlines Gender Equality at the United Nations 44 vii CONTENTS “Ambassador Gomez, Mexico/United States Relations” By Sheila Washington 46 Permanent Representative to Kenya, Ambassador Bahemuka 47 The Consul General of India in New York, The Honorable Neelam Deo49 United States Ambassador, John Bolton, Outlines Key United Nations’ Concerns 50 Representative to the United Nations for South Korea, H.E. Mr. Kim Bong-hyun 51 Mission of Uzbekistan, H.E. Murad Askarov 53 Holy See Permanent Observer, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt 53 Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Ms. Byrganym Aitimova 54 Ambassador of Botswana, H.E. Mr. Charles Thembani Ntwaagae 55 Brazilian Mission, Mr. Aloisio Barbosa De Sousa Neto 55 Permanent Observer of the Holy See, His Excellency, The Most Reverend Celestino Migliore 56 “The Role of the Holy See and Catholic Organizations at the United Nations” By Josef Klee, PhD 61 Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone, H.E. Joe Robert Pemagbi 71 President of the 60th Session of UN General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Jan Eliasson 72 The Ambassador of El Salvador, Rubén Hasbún 73 Ambassador of Poland, Witold Sobków, Outlines WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) Policy 74 Ambassador of Iraq, H.E. Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida’ie Outlines Iraq after First Election 74 Ambassador of South Korea, Sul 76 Consul General of Bulgaria, H.E. Mr. Milen Lyutskonov 76 China’s Ambassador Zhanga Explains China’s Role at the UN 77 History of Rotary in China 79 viii CONTENTS Representative of the United States to the Office of the UN at Geneva, Ambassador Betty E. King 81 Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN, H.E. Mr. Riyad Mansour 82 The Deputy Ambassador of the Russian Federation, H.E. Mr. Konstantin Dolgov 82 Mr. Francis Dubois, Frequent Guest and Moderator 83 UN Peacekeeping Operations, Major General Randhir Kumar Mehta 84 Croatian Ambassador Mladineo Outlines Useful Model for Small-State Nationalism 85 UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Actress, Mia Farrow 86 Ambassador of Iraq Visit to Thank Gift of Life, H.E. Mahmoud Sumaida’ie 87 Permanent Representative of Belgium, H.E. Ms. Bénédicte Frankinet 88 Permanent Representative of Israel, Ambassador Daniel Carmon 89 Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations 91 Pope Benedict XVI 92 German Mission, Ms. Victoria Zimmermann Von Siefart, Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of the Economic Department 94 UN Under-Secretary-General, John Holmes 94 “Singapore’s Ambassador to the United Nations, H.E. Vanu Gopala Menon” By Sheila Washington, (Visiting Rotarian from San Diego, California) 95 The United Nations Administrators ...................................................... 99 Clean Water: the World’s Most Precious Resource 99 WHO (World Health Organization) Fight Against Polio, Andrey V. Pirogov 104 Mr. Carlos G. Ruiz Massieu, Representative of the Mission of Mexico to the United Nations 106 Ms. Virginia Gamba, Director and Deputy of the Office for Disarmament Affairs 106 Office of High Commissioner for Refugees, Director Udo Janz 107 ix CONTENTS Deputy Chief, UN Department of Public Information, Ms. Isolda Oca 107 Director of UNESCO’s New York Office, Ms. Helene-Marie Gosselin108 UNAIDS (UN Program on HIV and AIDS), Dr. Ortega 110 Chief of the Education Cluster at UNICEF, Mr. Cream Wright 110 UNICEF’s Water, Environment and Sanitation Section, Clarissa Brocklehurst 111 United Nations Millennium Project Director, Professor Jeffrey Sachs 112 Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Rima Salah 114 Senior External Relations Officer at WHO, Dr. Richard Alderslade115 United Nations University in Tokyo,