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TheUnited Nations
After40Years:
ORIGINAL SIGNERS
SPEAKOUT
by
Gene H. Hogberg
Conferences are being held to assess the role of the U.N . m its first 40 years.
O
N Ü CTOBER
24, politi–
cal leaders from a round
the world will assemble
at t he United N ations head–
quarters in New York to com–
memorate the 40th anniversa–
ry of the official beginning of
the world body.
Three original signers of U.N.
rter:
Earlier this year a major review
conference was held in San Fran–
cisco from June 23 through 26.
P lain Truth
representatives were in
attendance.
I t was in San Francisco in 1945
that delegates from 50 nations con–
vened to design the Charter of the
United Nations. T he delegates
deliberated for two months, April
25 through June 26. On
that June 26, the Charter
wás signed in the Herbst
Theater, near the War
Memori al Opera House
where the plenary ses–
sions took place.
To commemorate that
historie event 40 years ago,
the represe n tatives of
about 100 countries ac–
credited to the U.N.
accepted invitat ions to this
year's San Francisco con–
ference ent itled "Assess–
ing the U.N. After Forty
Years: Why This Retreat
From I nternationalism
and Mu lt ilateralism?"*
Stassen of t he U.S., Dr. Charles H. Malik of
Lebanon, Philippine General Carlos P. Romulo.
U.N. Secretary-Gener–
al Perez d e Cue l lar
addressed delegates, civic
d ignitaries and newsmen
on June 26, as did U.S.
The celebration is part of an ongo–
ing series of events being held in
1985 to assess the condition of the
U.N. in the modero world.
2
*The conference was jointly sponsored by the
United Nations Association of San Francisco. the
World Affairs Council of Northern California and
the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
Secretary of State George Shultz.
The representatives to the U.N.
from all five permanent members
of the Security Council- the
Soviet Union, the United States,
the United Kingdom, France and
China- a lJ spoke, as d id the
ambassadors from severa! ot he r
member states.
Three of the original participan ts
in the 1945 Charter signing also
addressed the participants. These
were General Carlos P. Romulo,
chairman of the Philippine delega–
tion, Harold E. Stassen, member of
the U .S. delegation, and Dr.
Charles Habib Malik, member of
the delegation of Lebanon.
High ldeal s, Grlm Reality
All the delegates to thjs review con–
ference praised the idealism that
inspired the thoughts of the design–
ers of the U.N. Charter. But most
agreed that idealism soon was swal–
lowed up by the realities of the
world's power struggles.
T he original "goals and purposes
of the United Nat ions," U.S. Sec–
retary of State S hultz stated, "were
lofty goals and noble purposes....
Today, few of the goals proclaimed
here 40 years ago have been real–
ized. The bi r th of t he United
Nations certainly did not t ransform
the world into a paradise.
"Divisions among nations and
peoples persisted," continued Mr.
The
PLAIN TRUTH