Ban Ki-moon addresses UNA-UK

On 13 June 2008 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered a speech under UNA-UK’s auspices in his first major public appearance in the UK. In the speech, entitled ‘Securing the Common Good: The United Nations and the Expanding Global Agenda’, Mr Ban praised UNA-UK’s role in cultivating constructive UK government engagement with the UN and in ‘explaining the UN to the UK while helping to convey the concerns of British citizens to the UN’.

Click here to read more about the address and to view photos

Kofi Annan addresses UNA-UK

In an historic speech on 31 January 2006 at Central Hall Westminster, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered a wide-ranging address to a large audience of UNA-UK members, diplomats and civil society. The event commemorated the 60th anniversary of the first meeting of the UN General Assembly, which was itself held in Central Hall Westminster in January 1946.

Click here to read more about the address and to watch the event online

In Larger Freedom: public debates

In early 2005 UNA-UK was tasked by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to conduct a public and expert engagement process on UN reform in the lead-up to the UN Millennium Review Summit in September 2005.

A series of national and regional public debates were undertaken to examine the recommendations made in the UN Secretary-General's report, In Larger Freedom. The purpose of the debates was to ensure the widest possible public input into the development of the UK government's priorities for the UN World Summit. Click here to find out more about the consultations.

 

2008 Keynote speech: Lord Malloch-Brown, FCO
Lord Malloch-Brown, former UN Deputy Secretary-General and now Foreign Office Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, delivered the keynote address on 30 March 2008. He discussed the centrality of the UN to the UK's foreign policy, and talked about the differences between his current position and his service at the UN.
Click here to read more about the conference

2007 Annual Conference keynote speech: Dame Margaret Anstee
Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General Dame Margaret Anstee delivered the Conference keynote address on 'a surivor's tale: a personal account of life and work at the United Nations' on 15 April 2007.
Click here to listen to the address >>

2006 Annual Conference keynote speech: Shashi Tharoor
United Nations Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor delivered the keynote address on 'The future of the UN' in Durham Cathedral on Saturday, 22 April 2006. In addition to members of UNA-UK , local parliamentarians, postgraduate students and academics were in attendance.
Click here to read the text of the speech.

UNA-UK partners with UNDP, ODI and APGOOD to host UK launch of the UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2007
On Thursday, 19 July UNA-UK co-hosted an event titled 'MDG Midpoint: too little progress?', which served as the UK launch of the Millennium Development Goals Report 2007, which assesses progress made towards achieving the Goals.

Click here to hear audio recordings and read more about this event

July 2007: 'The Oxford Handbook on the UN' launched in London and Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The UK launch of 'The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations' took place on 5 July and was hosted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in its beautiful Locarno Rooms. Chaired by Lord Hannay, the event featured a speech by new FCO Minister Sir Mark Malloch Brown and presentations by Professor Sir Adam Roberts, Ambassador Nick Thorne and Dr Ngaire Woods. Professor Tom Weiss and Sam Daws - the editors of the Handbook - made closing remarks.

Click here to view photos and find out more about the event

July 2007: UNA-UK and partners host UK launch of NGO report assessing the Peacebuilding Commission's first year

On Tuesday, 10 July, UNA-UK co-hosted a seminar at the Foreign Press Association in London to present findings from three major NGOs on the UN Peacebuilding Commission's (PBC) first year and its pilot interventions in Sierra Leone and Burundi.

The event served as the UK launch of a major research report by ActionAid, CAFOD and CARE International UK, entitled ‘Consolidating the peace? Views from Sierra Leone and Burundi on the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission’.

Click here to read the report, view photos from the event and find out more

June 2007: UNA-UK Co-hosts launch of Annual Review of Global Peace Operations
On 26 June, for the second year in a row, UNA-UK partnered with the Canadian High Commission and the Centre on Internation Cooperation at New York University to host the UK Launch event of the Annual Revew of Global Peace Operations at Canada House in Trafalgar Square.

The Review is a project of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, with the support of the Peacekeeping Best Practices Section of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the International Peace Academy.

Click here to read more about the review and the UK Launch event.

February 2005: UK government launch of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel Report

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeared together at the commencement of a half-day conference, at the Banqueting House in Whitehall on 10 February 2005, to mark the government’s launch of the UN High-level Panel report: 'A more secure world: our shared responsibility'.

UNA-UK was given a major role in this high-level event. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and FCO Minister Bill Rammell MP used the occasion to announce that UNA-UK would be conducting, on behalf of the Foreign Office, a series of regional public debates on the report and its recommendations. Click here to read more about the event.