Articles
A selection of speeches and articles that show the close connection between Rotary International and the United Nations.
January 2000 — The United Nations and Civil Society, by Jayantha Dhanapala, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs
Excerpt:
Speaking last month in Seattle, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed his admiration for the work of Rotary International as an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide. He noted that you are represented in 192 countries -- more than the UN itself -- and that Rotary clubs had contributed more than $400 million to the World Health organization’s efforts to eliminate polio. Clearly, Rotary International has left its mark and the world is a better place as a result. To a large extent, you offer a model of what civil society can accomplish for the collective good in the world today. In Sri Lanka, Rotary’s record over a 70-year period as a community service organization has been unquestionably impressive in providing humanitarian service and encouraging ethical standards in all vocations.
October 2019 — Q&A with Tom Sauer: A New Debate on Nuclear Arms (from the Rotary International website)
Excerpt:
“The threat presented by nuclear weapons is dire, with nuclear-armed nations maintaining enough firepower to destroy the world many times over. But nuclear disarmament expert Tom Sauer, associate professor of international politics at the University of Antwerp in Belgium, says there are reasons to be hopeful — if you know where to look and are willing to act.
For two years in the late 1990s, thanks to a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship (sponsored by the Rotary Club of Tessenderlo, Belgium), Sauer was a research fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in the Kennedy School of Government — “an academic paradise,” he says.
Sauer has written on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, nuclear terrorism, and NATO’s role in nuclear policy. In June, at the Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany, he received the Rotary Alumni Global Service Award.”
September 2013 — Remarks at the Breakfast meeting of the International Service Division Rotary International by Virginia Gamba, Director of the Office for Disarmament Affairs Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
Excerpt:
“My words of thanks, however, extend to you and all of your colleagues in Rotary International for your many activities on behalf of humanity around the world. You have some extraordinary achievements in polio eradication, in reducing hunger, in promoting literacy, and in strengthening peace. For many years you have worked with the United Nations in pursuing such worthy goals and I am very pleased indeed that disarmament is among them.
I have been asked this morning to discuss the UN’s disarmament activities. The best way to think about our work in this field is to view it as part of the wider framework of United Nations activities and norms to strengthen international peace and security.
In other words, we do not view disarmament as an end in itself. It is instead an indispensable element in a peace and security system based on the UN Charter. We seek, first of all, the prohibition and total elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, specifically chemical and biological weapons. This is our primary disarmament objective and it is one of the oldest goals of the UN and one of its longest sustained activities.”
May 2013 — Secretary-General, in Message, Expresses Gratitude to Rotary International’s Long-time Interest in Advancing ‘Great Goal’ of Nuclear Disarmament — from the UN press office website
Excerpt:
(Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the Rotary International Peace Forum, in Hiroshima, 17 May):
“I am pleased to greet the participants of this Peace Forum as it opens in the beautiful city of Hiroshima. I commend the President of Rotary International, Mr. Sakuji Tanaka, and welcome your theme “Peace through Service”, as well as the many activities that Rotarians have already undertaken to put this vision into practice.
Together, you have recognized the importance of engaging a broad spectrum of humanity, including our younger generation who are increasingly assuming the responsibilities of advancing your organization’s ideal of “Service above Self”.
Rotarians everywhere understand well the extent that peace, security and prosperity depend on the hard work of our fellow citizens. Together, we at the United Nations and you at Rotary International are guided by this shared duty to advance the common interests of humanity.”
August 2022 — Rotary Action Group for Peace Civil Society Observers at The Tenth Nuclear Nonproliferation Review Conference at the United Nations in New York — Rotary International website
“There is no greater existential threat to humanity and our planet than nuclear weapons. The planetary destruction that will ensue if nuclear weapons were unleashed by intent, or by accident or miscalculation will have immediate consequences, none of which we are prepared to manage. And yet, despite the high risk to civilization, some states parties continue to expand nuclear weapons, while others call for adherence to promises made in 1970. In 2022, Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) states parties gathered for their treaty proscribed tenth review conference. In addition to the member states, the United Nations allows accredited civil society organizations to send observers to these meetings to educate themselves and others on the discussions and outcomes.”
2013 — From the Senate to the United Nations: A Few Words About the Bomb — Randy Rydell speaking at the University of Richmond, Youtube