U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Susan E. Rice today attended a back-to-Sschool event with U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley at Harry S Truman High School.
Ms. Rice shared a brief background about United Nations at the event. She highlighted UN was formed after World War II, the most destructive conflict in world history, when Harry Truman and other world leaders joined together and pledged to work to maintain international peace and security.
“And today, the UN is the only place on the planet where all 193 countries can come together to try to address the collective problems that we all face in the world.” -Ms. Rice
She stressed that UN is more important today than it’s ever been because the way the world has changed, the problems that we face are increasingly the kind that can only be solved by countries working together. She added that no one country, even one as powerful as United States own, can tackle these challenges in isolation.
“Whether we’re talking about global warming, or poverty, or genocide, or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or pandemic disease, these are kinds of things-terrorism-that we need as many countries and as many people around the world working to solve if we are really going to crack the problem. And that’s why institutions like the United Nations, which is unique, are more valuable than ever.” -Ms. Rice
She announced that newt week, President Obama makes his annual trip to the United Nations. She said all leaders from around the world come to New York City and to the United Nations for a week of intense meetings and high-level negotiations. She further explained that they will discuss and decide will, have real world implications.
“We’re going to talk about Libya, we are going to talk about how to fight corruption and increase transparency. We are going to talk about issues like nuclear safety and security. And we are going to deal with crises like the famine in Somalia and the Horn of Africa.” -Ms. Rice
She encoureged all the high school students to approach their education as an act of patriotism.
“We need you, your country needs you, whether you become engineers who develop alternative energy solutions to protect our environment and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, or whether you become scientists who will find cures for diseases like HIV/AIDS.” -Ms. Rice