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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMEMORATING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED NATIONS
______
HON. ED CASE
of hawaii
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 23, 2020
Mr. CASE. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the upcoming 75th
anniversary of the United Nations and recognize the continued
importance of multilateral action as we pursue a more peaceful,
prosperous and just world.
On October 24, 1945, less than two months after the world emerged
from the deadliest conflict in human history, the United Nations
Charter entered into force, formally creating the United Nations. The
Charter was and continues to be a visionary document dedicated to the
indispensable idea that, through diplomacy and consultation, states can
work together to achieve a better world.
American leadership played a central role in the effort to establish
the United Nations. Even before the United States entered the Second
World War, President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston
Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter to outline their vision for the
post-war international order. In the final years of the war,
individuals like Cordell Hull, Edward Stettinius Jr., Ralph Bunche and
many others played crucial roles in shaping the draft United Nations
Charter.
Congress was deeply involved as well, with Members on both sides of
the aisle participating in the San Francisco Conference.
Representatives Sol Bloom of New York and Charles Aubrey Eaton of New
Jersey and Senators Tom Connally of Texas and Arthur Vandenberg of
Michigan helped make the case for the United Nations in Congress and to
the American public. On July 28, 1945, the Senate voted to ratify the
United Nations Charter by an overwhelming vote of 89 in favor, 2
against--a dramatic change from the rejection of the League of Nations
just 26 years prior.
Yet the push for a United Nations also came from beyond the halls of
Washington. In 1943, a dedicated, passionate group of Americans created
the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-
USA), bringing the discussion of a post-war order to homes and
communities across the country. Thus began a rich history of advocacy
for American leadership and participation in the United Nations that
continues to this day, with over 20,000 UNA-USA members in over 200
chapters across the country.
In the decades since 1945, through the most turbulent years of the
Cold War, through the challenges of decolonization and entering the new
millennium, the United Nations has been center stage for the
international community in addressing issues like conflict and peace,
economic development, global health, gender equality, human rights and
more. Through the United Nations and the multitude of specialized
agencies that have emerged to coordinate international action, the
international community has come together to eradicate smallpox and
curb other infectious diseases, protect the ozone layer, lift millions
out of poverty, promote maternal and child health, preserve cultural
and historical sites and so much more.
Yet, in an era of renewed great power competition, we must not forget
nor neglect the responsibility of the United Nations for international
peace. This duty is enshrined first in the preamble of the United
Nations Charter in its resolution to ``save succeeding generations from
the scourge of war.'' In our world today, amidst heightened tensions,
rising nationalism and a growing rejection of multilateralism, we
cannot afford to forget United Nations Secretary-General Dag
Hammarskjold's famous statement that ``the United Nations was not
created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from
hell.''
No one can deny that there are limits and flaws to the United
Nations, and examples abound of ways in which the organization has
fallen short. Yet it is also an evolving institution, reshaping itself
to face the challenges and meet the demands of an ever-changing world.
To quote Hammarskjold again, ``setbacks in trying to realize the ideal
do not prove the ideal is at fault.''
The United Nations was America's answer to an uncertain global future
in 1945. Since then, the United Nations has been a pillar of the
liberal international order that has benefited not just the United
States but the entire world as well.
It is too early to say exactly how future historians will recall
2020. The challenges ahead are many, not just this COVID-19 pandemic,
but also a worldwide economic recession, a global refugee crisis,
climate change, and more. America's answer to those challenges must
include the United Nations. It falls upon all of us today, as heirs to
the legacy of those brave and visionary Americans who won both the war
and the peace after, to continue working with the United Nations in
pursuit of the future we want.
____________________
