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Home , Eleanor Roosevelt, Fred Rogers, Marian Wright Edelman, Richard Holbrooke

NATIONS UNIES

POSTAL ADDMBSS ADRESSC POSTALC: UNITBO NATIONS. N.Y. IOO17 CABLE ADOHIH AOHI»I TU-IORAPHIQUC: UNATIOHI MCWYORK

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE CECRETARY-OENCRAL

CABINET OU SECRETAIRE GENERAL

22 July 1999

On behalf of the Secretary-General, I should like to thank you for your letter dated 10 June 1999 in which you inform him of having been awarded the Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal to be given to him at a ceremony taking place 17 October 1999.

The Secretary-General thanks you for your kind words and has asked me to tell you how honoured he is that he has been selected for this medal.

The Secretary-General acknowledges that to be associated with the work of and her tireless efforts for , is truly an honour, but I regret to inform you, however, that due to officials duties connected with the United Nations General Assembly he is unable to attend.

The Secretary-General has asked me to convey to you his gratitude for having been chosen for this prestigious award.

Sincerely yours,

Gillian Martin Sorensen Assistant-Secretary-General for External Relations

Mr. Daniel A. Strasser Executive Director Eleanor Roosevelt Centre at Val-Kill Hyde Park

&fto^ 3 "V Universal Declaration of Human Rights June 10, 1999 An Unfinished Agenda for the New Millennium His Excellency Secretary General of the United Nations , NY 10017

Board of Directors Dear Mr. Secretary General: M. Glen Johnson President On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill Judith A. Lewittes Vice President (ERVK), it is my honor to inform you that you have been selected to receive the James F. Passikoff 1999 Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal. The Medal Ceremony is scheduled for Treasurer Shirley M. Handel October 17, 1999 at Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt's home, in Hyde Park, New York. Others who have agreed to receive the award this year include educator Hazel B. Barcher and former President of , Johnnetta B. Cole; the President of the Robin Bell-Stevens Carnegie Corporation, Vartan Gregorian; and H. Peter Stern, President of the Allida Black Roland Butts Storm King Art Center, the foremost outdoor sculpture park in the . Angela Cabrera Eleanor Roosevelt's life was dedicated to changing the world around her for the Glenn S. Clarke Lucille Cohan better. Reginetta Haboucha Joanne Hayes Mary Lou Heissenbuttel This medal is awarded in her honor, here at Val-Kill, her home in Hyde Park, Michael Henderson, NFS where she received such figures as the King and Queen of England, Haile Selassie, Margaret A. King Patricia Duane Lichtenberg Marshall Tito, Nehru, Khruschev, Adlai Stevenson, and John F. Kennedy and William E. Scheuerman where she brought fellow delegates to the United Nations to deliberate. It is Elayne Seaman Thomas Spence given to outstanding individuals who live their lives with a similar purpose to Mrs. Frances P. Taft Roosevelt's. You are one of these people. John G. Tarleton Marc A. vanderHeyden Herbert Zohn Over the past year, ERVK has promoted the importance of the Universal

Daniel A. Strasser Declaration of Human Rights, Mrs. Roosevelt's greatest contribution, through a Executive Director series of programs that include a national lecture series (which has already brought talks by Mrs. Clinton, Justice and President Oscar Arias), human rights education programs, human rights domestic monitoring and programs empowering young women. This ceremony will link your tireless dedication to bettering the human condition with the vision of Eleanor Roosevelt. We who work in Eleanor Roosevelt's name understand and appreciate your deep commitment to the oppressed, the needy and the underprivileged. Like Mrs. Roosevelt, you choose to rise above the fray to look to the needs of every individual. Like her also, your work for a humanitarian includes a capacity to be pragmatic in the face of difficult options. a.tt, do. cwUveii&al 6.ciata.n. ii$.&t& fceyiet? *?et 4,tKa.tt fttacee., ctn&e. to- 6.0-m.e... " £tea,na-t T^ Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal Recipients, 1987 - 1998: 1998: Anne E. Dyson, Frances D. Fergusson, Richard C. Holbrooke, ; 7997: Trude W. Lash. Rachel Robinson. Hollis W. Shaw. Margaret R. Zamierowski; 1996: Dennis J. Murray, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, Lea Rabin. Frances S. Reese; 7995: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hamilton Meserve. Helen Meserve. ; 1994: , Mary Lou Heissenbuttel, Lucille P. Pattison, ; 1992: Edward Asner, *. Jack A. McEnroe, Ethel C. Torgesen*; /99/: John Chancellor*, Keeley, Norman Vincent Peale*. John C. "Chips" Quinn*; /990: Hamilton Fish, Jr.*, Schuyler M. Meyer, Jr.*, Cynthia Parsons. Marie N. Tarver; 1989: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., *, Father Bruce Ritter, Rabbi Erwin Zimet*: 1988: Mother Clara McBride Hale*, Eugene M. Lang, MacArthur*. Richard K. Wager; 1987: Harry Belafonte, Trevor Ferrell, Celeste Holm, John E. Mack, . *deceased

ERVK is a nonprofit organization. All contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. C The United Nations arose from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's vision of the post-World War II world built on respect for human dignity and rights. Mrs. Roosevelt carried forth that vision by becoming the symbol of US support for the UN as both a delegate, chairing the Human Rights Commission's drafting of the Declaration, and as the leader of the American Association for the United Nations. Your life's work to help make the United Nations an effective organization for the pursuit of peace and human dignity coincides with Mrs. Roosevelt's philosophy that an individual can and must make a difference.

How wonderful it is that the United Nations is available to bring about a resolution of conflict and an end to human rights abuses. The organization has once again shown its importance by approving the peace arrangements in that will allow an end to ethnic cleansing and other abuses. None of this would have happened if the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, were not available as a universal standard of human rights. Today, you stand as the chief spokesman of the United Nations, which acts as of the Universal Declaration and the Covenants and other treaties deriving from it. Through your humanitarian and peacekeeping work in Kuwait and Bosnia, your courageous diplomacy with , and your engaging the UN in a settlement in Kosovo, you have established a strong personal legacy. In a little over two years as Secretary General, you have provided the office and the institution the dignity and effectiveness needed to carry out its important global mission.

Since 1987, thousands of people have come to Val-Kill to witness the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal bestowed to worthy recipients. Among them have been Hillary Rodham Clinton, Queen Noor of Jordan, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, Harry Belafonte, Lea Rabin of , Marian Wright Edelman, Rachel Robinson and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Other medal recipients are listed on our letterhead.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal Award Ceremony and luncheon is planned for 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 17. The Medal Ceremony is an important symbolic event as well as an opportunity to raise the funds necessary to carry on the programs of ERVK in areas of women's' empowerment, youth development, racial harmony and promoting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In keeping with Mrs. Roosevelt's personality, the ceremony is a warm and inspiring occasion and is a major event drawing about 500 guests from near and far

I enclose material about ERVK, as well as programs from recent medal ceremonies. It is our great hope that you will be able to join us for this important occasion. If you or your representatives have any questions, I can be reached at the above contact numbers. We truly hope that your busy schedule will allow us an opportunity to honor you.

Daniel A. Strasser Executive Director

Enclosures: As stated