[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 103 (Thursday, June 25, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE U.N. CHARTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 2015

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join in celebrating the 70th 
anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter and the 
establishment of one of the world's greatest organizations for peace 
and the advancement of humanity.
  As the representative from San Francisco, this anniversary holds a 
particular pride for the people of my city and for me--for it was San 
Francisco that played host to the grand conference of delegates that 
wrote the U.N. Charter; and it was in the San Francisco War Memorial 
and Performing Arts Center, on June 26, 1945, that the Charter was 
signed.
  On that day, President Harry S Truman came to the Plenary to offer 
his congratulations and his hopes for the future of the new United 
Nations: ``You have created a great instrument for peace and security 
and human progress in the world,'' President Truman said. ``The world 
must now use it.''
  Seven decades later, 193 member states have ratified the Charter. The 
world's greatest leaders and thinkers have been among the United 
Nations representatives. In 1946, United Nations General Assembly 
Delegate and Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt helped draft the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which builds on President 
Franklin D. Roosevelt's commitment to ``freedom of speech, freedom of 
religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want'' for all people.
  The United Nations has worked to end disease, hunger and poverty. It 
has sought to advance human rights, human dignity, and the 
opportunities of women and girls. It has focused the world's attention 
on the urgency of the climate crisis and the plight of refugees. It has 
stood against violence, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. It 
has been a great bulwark for global peace.
  The U.N. continues to confront the challenges of the 21st century by 
striving to not only meet the Millennium Development Goals but to 
expand them with the Sustainable Development Goals to be finalized this 
fall. It is my firm hope that the United States will be a strong and 
active participant in the effort to realize the Sustainable Development 
Goals to achieve progress for all the peoples of the United Nations.
  In striving to fulfill the ideals and promise of its charter, the 
United Nations, related agencies, programs and staff have been awarded 
the Nobel Peace Prize eleven times.
  In 1950, Ralph Bunche, an American, became the first person 
affiliated with the new organization to be awarded the Nobel Peace 
Prize. In his acceptance speech, he remarked, ``I am but one of many 
cogs in the United Nations, the greatest peace organization ever 
dedicated to the salvation of mankind's future on earth.''
  This weekend, the city of San Francisco will once again welcome the 
U.N.'s highly respected Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and other 
representatives of the United Nations. Our mayor Ed Lee and the people 
of San Francisco are thrilled and proud to once more play host to 
another milestone of U.N. history in our beautiful city.
  Under the vital leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the 
United Nations remains a strong, resolute, unwavering voice for peace 
in a world burdened by war. May it continue to stand as a beacon of 
peace for the next 70 years and beyond.

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