The program today, the idea for this program came from something a question David Roosevelt asked to last year where he said whatever happens to my parent United Nations . Ae idea was that there was vision president roosevelt and mrs. Roosevelt had about how the world would respond. Would try tod prevent a catastrophe like world war ii. President roosevelt did not live long enough to see it come to. Ruition Eleanor Roosevelt did and was one of the United Nations first female representatives and wrote the first declaration of human rights. Today, we look back that they had a vision. The United Nations was created, and what happened to it. Linda, i turn it over to you. Thank you. First, i would like to welcome you and say it is an honor to be here on the 70th anniversary of the human i find it exciting you are here in the home of fdr and mrs. Roosevelt. One can only imagine, i believe they came to work here or lived here in 1941, the u. N. Charter was approved in june of 1945. I can only imagine, and think, fdr was planning and thinking while living here about the nature of the u. N. Charter, how he envisioned the u. N. To be. As stephen so eloquently discussed in his book, it really was fdr who was the pivotal force behind the u. N. That he did here, without that they would be no u. N. Towas a realist, and he had njole, barter, and push churchill to a certain degree. I think it is appropriate and special we are here for the 70th anniversary. Saidcovered the u. N. Since on the invaded kuwait in 1990. That was my first serious experience with the u. N. It was the end of the cold war and the first Major Mission of the un Security Council. Russia was the soviet union and china was on board, to deal with probably the last traditional kinds of war. Saddam invaded kuwait. The Security Council jump into action. They imposed sanctions. Dust dozen year they there were u. N. Weapons councils going back and forth. There, the good, the bad, the neutral. I find it fascinating here we are in 2015 and still high on the agenda is iraq. I started with saddam hussein. He is long gone. We have major problems with iraq, isis, civil war in syria, and the major problems. Wantis a little of what i to say about myself. On a lighter note, while we are discussing the role of the u. N. , the around the world the u. N. Has launched in celebration of the 70th anniversary, something blue. Turn the world u. N. As we speak, the Empire State Building is in blue light. The great wall of china, the egyptian pyramids, the Leaning Tower of peace, you name it. Festive partythey atmosphere in terms of celebrating this event. I am pleased we have such distinguished speakers. Author ofgin with an about the founding of the United Nations. He is a lawyer by training. Journalist with time magazine. He coedited letters of his distinguished father. More recently, he headed up the World Policy Institute and is a fellow at the century foundation. A great pleasure to introduce. [applause] you for the nice introduction and for having me at this auspicious occasion. I am delighted to be honoring the institution of the United Nations on its 70th anniversary. Is a remarkable anniversary. The league of nations only lasted for 20 years. Most have short shelf lives. For a modern day Security Organization to be around after seven decades is a next ordinary accomplishment. We know the survival to the vision of the man at whose library we are visiting, Franklin Delano roosevelt. Roosevelt almost singlehandedly brought this organization into existence. He had kept the idea of a live boy World Security body for three decades following his the Woodrow Wilson administration under the secretary of navy and was a big component in the league of nations. The Security Nation for the world was his most important legacy. The thing he care the most deeply about. He first enunciated principles by which it would come into being. In his famous 1941 speech, putting forth the 4 freedoms, freedom of speech, worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. People everywhere in the world should enjoy. He askedmultaneously his own state department in secret to draft a charter for a u. N. And United Nations organization. Ifwas very careful because anyone knew we were involved in that it such a charter might defeat the whole idea. It began in 1938 and 1939, when he gave that division to the state department. The two closest wartime allies where Winston Churchill of Great Britain and josef stalin of the soviet union. Churchill was first lukewarm about the u. N. He had an idea of small regional u. N. S rather than a central body. Joseph stalin is another major ally. He felt it could be used against him. He had fears about it. Eventually, a number of wartime to arences, they agreed meeting in San Francisco in june in april of 1945. The notion of the u. N. In 1945, it is the most powerful country on the earth after the Second World War. We dont need a primitive security facility. He had a longer vision. He knew after the catastrophe of two world wars within a 20year span, a war which killed 90 Million People together, the u. N. Security could not be a matter of a fortress usa. We needed allies. If there is any proof of that it was that we needed allies to when the Second World War. Announced byuld be a security body. Roosevelt would have to choose a time to create the body. A way to get countries interested in doing something of a colossal nature. All the states would be clamoring for a protective shield against future conflict. If you try to do it any longer when the warmest oh going on or later, especially after the cold war began. The war with japan was still ongoing until august. Reason why this body has survived for 70 years is because roosevelt from the beginning had a key sense between realism and idealism and creating the organization. He learned the lessons from the failure of the league of nations and did not replicate its failures but kept its key features. He places no restrictions on the admissibility of nations and the u. N. Except yet to be part of the coalition. Tinazi they do not have to be democracies. They did not have to uphold human rights. 19 he was concerned about in 45 was maintaining security, security, security around the globe. To make sure that happened, he wanted to involve all the of the that were part antinazi and antijapanese coalition. He formulated language for the u. N. Charter that made the u. N. A global behave like police force. That is what he wanted. If you look at the key passages in the u. N. Charter in regards to military action in chapter seven, it proposes armed actions like blockades and sanctions. Air and sea assaults. An arsenal of military tools designed to defeat aggressors. Franklin roosevelt did not shy away from the use of force with the United Nations. Adays a security designed to block aggressions. Roosevelt recognized the states rather than elected representatives had to form the basis of the u. N. If the organization would operate successfully. That the recognition old formula of sovereign nations still dominated the way the world works. The u. N. Is not a formal democratic body. It is a reflection of different nations, each with their own political structure. This is Franklin Roosevelts realism about the world. Of 2 organizations in the u. N. The Security Council and the General Assembly. The Security Council reflects the truest realism about world power in foreign policy. This is the body that makes all war and peace decisions at the u. N. They are binding on any member treaty. Hat signs the any resolution that the 2 Security Councils passes. Only five nations are given the veto power. League, they were not obligatory on any nation, and all states in the league had the veto. That meant a single world state could block any action. That was Franklin Roosevelts biggest change from the league. He wanted to have a realistic grasp on the power realities in the world than the league did. This has created a controversy ever since about the five countries with the veto power. Even today you hear protests about why those should have been selected. On the realistic side, he General Assembly, where all states, no matter how big or small, rich or poor, had equal votes and could debate World Problems publicly. The resolutions were not binding on Member States. The General Assembly, when it passed the resolution, really had a moral force but not an Obligatory Force for the rest of the membership. Final, which i think is important in the way that roosevelt addressed the u. N. Charter, he made sure the charter itself was very flexible. Much like our u. N. Constitution. Able to be responsive and that may notcrises necessarily have been predictable in 1945. Since 1945 the u. N. Pioneered notrams and departments mentioned in the original charter on peacekeeping, Environmental Protection urbanism, economic development, nuclear energy, nationbuilding. All growing out of the central charge of United Nations to maintain International Peace and security. As a result, roosevelts vision of the u. N. Has survived the and expansion from 51 states to 193, and the refusal of some states not to pay dues oftenweaknd the responses to crises as we know today in syria, yemen, and north korea. Scapegoatingtable that comes with an organization taking on responsibilities. In the end, countries have faith the u. N. Would find its way to find solving problems and securing the peace and has done so on multiple occasions. Whether it is bringing peace to guatemala, mozambique, el salvador, it goes on and people forget that. But, that is where the u. N. Is focusing the most talented diplomats to bring conflict to an end. This does not mean that the u. N. Is a flawless body. We know it has its weaknesses, and obviously it still needs , changes. Even the american constitution has required amendments from time to time. In the end, it is a tribute to a Great American president , franklin roosevelt. It was truly his greatest gift to this planet. Let us hope the vision never dies. Thank you. [applause] host thank you. We now turn to a guest who has been involved in the u. N. For 35 years. She was the new york city commissioner to the nine and nations. Run there, she worked for 10 years with the secretarygeneral Boutros Boutrosghali and kofi annan. She led the commemoration and is she led the commemoration for the 50th anniversary. She is an expert in dealing with experts of public policy, public outreach, and did this for 2 secretaries general. She is an advisor to the u. N. A giftedn and is quite speaker, who goes around the country talking about the United Nations. [applause] good afternoon and thank you for the nice introduction. It is wonderful to be on the podium with you. And with stephen. We have been friends and colleagues for a long time and it is a pleasure to see them. Stephen gave remarks and i am reminded of his brilliant book, act of creation about the birth of the United Nations that is required reading for anyone who was to know about the organization coming about. I still have my copy, well marked and annotated, that i will go back to from time to time. We were talking a bit about ,ranklin roosevelt and the u. N. Then and now. I thought i would reflect and surprises that he might not have expected, or he may have been disappointed or saddened by. Wasuld begin by saying, he a visionary. The fact that he started thinking about this organization so early in his political career even when the war was going fulltilt, he was committed to seeing that this happened and that legacy would be there, is extraordinary. The people that were put to work on the early drafts of the vision. Also share that i think the charter is an extraordinary document. That the core of it is still the heart and basis of the u. N. , but it has been flexible enough to evolve over time. Remembering San Francisco and the charter in 1945, you might recall there were 52 Member States participating in the drafting of this charter and, in this country, there was surprisingly bipartisan support for it. Republicans and democrats. Roosevelt had worked hard to bring over some of the isolationists, including the senator from my home state of the war had turned making themroup to receptive to the notion of having an organization for peace. He was determined not to make the mistake of Woodrow Wilson in not creating the Political Support necessary to ratify this. He did that with enormous success. When you go back and read about that, there is more than enthusiasm, it was almost in a fouryear it was almost a euphoria, about with you new United Nations would be. You look at the details and the numbers participating are astonishing. There was Something Like 1000 journalists covering this and delegates from all parts of the world. I will come back to that in a moment when we talk about the actual drafting. The number 52 Member States is important. Later, therer are over 150 Member States. Fdr was a visionary. Would he have believed that there would be 192 states over time . The second would the, the secretarygeneral. We have had 8 over 70 years. The first was from norway, the second from sweden, then burma, austria, peru, egypt, ghana, and south korea. Would he have been surprised that a secretarygeneral comes am a member state that was not a member that was present at the creation of the u. N. Or how , small states have put forward some of their best leaders to lead the United Nations . Would he have been surprised in the coming choice for secretarygeneral, which happens next year, that there would be intense discussion about whether the next sg would be a woman. He might be surprised, but i like to think he would have supported that notion. [applause] i wonder if he would have been surprised where the United Nations found its home. Of 1945, it did not have a home base. It floated for a couple of years. It really did not happen until the Rockefeller Family put together a parcel of land, 14acres or 15acres on the east side of manhattan in an area that was slaughter houses and tenements, and offered it to the u. N. As a gift if they would make their home there. They accepted that and in 1950 they moved in. New york city became the host city, an official and legal commitment. Our hostay, given connection over the next 70 years, it will be the home, and hopefully will be, for the next 70 years. I think he would have been surprised about the role of Regional Groups. That was debated quite a beat. The African Union had a different name, and so forth, access to the United Nations. It turned out to be the case, and is very helpful. If a Regional Group can solve it, all the better. That is where it should happen. He also, i am sure, would be surprised about what was then called consultants. Today, we call them n. G. O. Consultants2 observing the drafting of the charter. Groups that you know well, the council of foreign relations, the American Jewish conference, the american bar association, the chamber of commerce, the naacp, the american legion, and so on, and so on. There were 42 of them, each with major delegations. They made major contributions during the charter in pressing for the inclusion or references on education, human rights, and a formal recognition of their consulting roles. That wasroup deliberately excluded was called the world federalists. They were the ones that talked about a world government. Something else altogether, and that was not welcomed or appreciated by most of the Member States. Consultants, now number 4000. They cover every area you can imagine. There are citizens groups, organized by themselves, usually singleissue groups that are passionate about what they are committed to, covering everything from issues relating to the environment, the elderly, the disabled, and across the spectrum of global issues. Ofy have become a force peaceful arming in support of the United Nations. Speaking of conferences in regards to their issues the peacekeeping role is in the original charter. Would be surprised about the range of things they do now. Not just peacekeeping and enforcement, but monitoring elections and supporting failed states, working on nuclear nonproliferation, bomb inspection, and so on. The peacekeeping efforts, you may know, only constitute 20 of work, but makes most of the headlines. Certainly, soldiers from many <