World’s iconic landmarks celebrate the UN’s 70th birthday
Edinburgh Castle will be lit blue from dusk tonight to celebrate the UN’s 70th anniversary. The castle will join landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Tokyo’s Skytree Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa as part of a global initiative to turn the World UN Blue.
It’s been 70 years since the UN was formed. The castle will turn blue to mark the occasion and to encourage people to reflect on the United Nation’s achievements over the last seven decades.
Scotland has a valuable contribution to offer the world, in support of UN objectives, through our expertise on climate change and energy, our clear commitment to human and children’s rights, our work on public health and research, and our innovative approach to international development.
Culture, Europe and External Affairs Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, said: “Over the last 70 years the United Nations has protected and improved the lives of so many the world over. Tonight, we want to congratulate the UN on its many achievements and help to promote its message of peace, development and human rights by lighting Edinburgh Castle blue.
“While we celebrate the UN’s 70th anniversary, we know that more work is required by all of us to fulfil the promise of a life in peace and dignity for all that the UN stands for. Scotland shares the UN’s value and goals and is committed to promoting them.
“Many Scottish civil society organisations and individuals work hard to help the UN achieve its aims, often as unpaid volunteers. We want to thank them for this engagement and encourage more people to join their efforts.”
You can join in too – members of the public are being encouraged to share their pictures @UN #UNblue
Speaking at the UN Day Concert in New York, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommitted the organisation’s goal of creating a better world for all, serving ‘We the Peoples’ on frontlines. He said:
Happy United Nations Day to all.
I am delighted to welcome all of you to this special seventieth anniversary celebration. We are honoured by the presence of so many talented performers.
I thank the KBS Traditional Music Orchestra, the K-pop duo Davichi, the world-famous Harlem Gospel Choir, and Lang Lang, my very dedicated UN Messenger of Peace.
Their performances can inspire the United Nations family as we ready ourselves for the enormous challenges ahead.
Wars and violence continue to devastate communities and countries. The effects of climate change are real and worsening. The gap between rich and poor is growing wider. Violent extremists, human traffickers and other criminals are abusing human rights with impunity.
But even on this grim landscape, I see signs of change. Governments have just come together to forge an inspiring vision for a life of dignity for all people — and a set of Sustainable Development Goals to achieve it.
We now have the largest youth population in history. The world’s 1.8 billion young people can help drive us to a new future. And individuals everywhere are using the communications revolution to demand their rights and pressure their Governments to deliver.
The United Nations is strongly committed to remaining at the forefront of this global wave of progress. That is what we have done for 70 years — and it is what we will continue to do in serving “we the peoples”.
I know from my own life the difference the United Nations can make. When war came to Korea, help came, bearing the United Nations flag.
Today, I am determined to see the United Nations bring help and hope to others.
Over the decades, we have helped to bring freedom to millions, dismantle colonialism, defeat apartheid and defend human rights for all, regardless of race, religion, nationality, gender or sexual orientation.
Today, our blue helmets and humanitarian workers work on the frontlines of conflict and disaster. We fight poverty, hunger and disease. We stand against corruption, impunity and injustice.
Our enterprise is not perfect. But without the United Nations, our world would be a far bleaker place.
And now, with the adoption of the inspiring 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations has pointed the way towards progress for all humankind.
To achieve these goals, we need a strong United Nations — a strong UN for the well-being of people and planet alike.
Tonight, we light up our Headquarters in UN Blue. Tomorrow night, more than 200 iconic landmarks in over 55 countries around the world will also shine under blue lights in honour of the UN’s seventieth anniversary.
I thank all of those who have made this great project possible.
Above all, I pay tribute to UN staff and all those they serve to advance peace, development and human rights around the world.
United Nations Day, for me, will always be a day for “we the peoples”.
Let us dedicate all celebrations by recommitting ourselves to achieving the goal of a life of dignity and a better world for all.
Thank you for your leadership and your commitment.
“Together, we’ve spent 70 years striving for peace, 70 years helping the poorest and most vulnerable”
Speaking at the General Assembly Meeting on the 70th Anniversary of the UN, Ambassador Matthew Rycroft of the UK Mission to the UN said:
Ever since my distant predecessor Gladwyn Jebb served as acting Secretary-General of the embryonic UN 70 years ago, Britain has been proud to play a leading role in the multilateral system.
Together, we’ve spent 70 years striving for peace, 70 years helping the poorest and most vulnerable, and I’m pleased to say, 70 years co-operating, whatever our differences.
So looking back, there is so much to celebrate. In the last seven decades, we have helped negotiate countless peace agreements, supported by over 60 peacekeeper and observer missions to the world’s trouble spots. We’ve built on that peace, providing elections assistance to over 100 countries. The UN remains rightly an ambitious organisation; as the agreement of the sustainable development goals shows.
Today, the UN provides food to 90 million people in 80 countries, vaccinates 58 per cent of the world’s children, saving 3 million lives a year. It assists 39 million refugees and keeps the peace with over 120,000 peacekeepers in 16 operations on 4 continents.
But in looking back, we cannot lose sight of the challenges ahead; climate change, violent extremism, and issues like anti-microbial resistance which still lie below the radar. These are all issues where global action is the only solution, where the UN needs to show leadership.
To tackle these, and more, the UN needs to adapt and reform. Organisations that stand still quickly lose relevance. The UK supports modernisation of the UN. We want to bring greater diversity to the authority of the Security Council, by expanding its membership to include Germany, Japan, Brazil and India, as well as more African representation.
And we also want to see a strong leader in the next Secretary-General, who can help deliver these ambitious reforms, who is selected through a transparent, equal and fair process. And with all other things being equal, the UK believes that the UN’s next leader should be a woman.
So this year will be a seminal one in the UN’s history. It is a time for the multilateral system to demonstrate how effective it can be in delivering positive change – be it in a deal to tackle climate change, or in a plan to end the crisis in Syria. The best way to mark our 70th anniversary would be for progress to be made on all these fronts.
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