Presidents*Message**A*Big*Year*for*the*UN*

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Dear!Friends:!
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We!are!heading!into!perhaps!the!most!important!UN!
General!Assembly!in!decades.!This!year!the!member!
states!of!the!UN!will!grapple!with!some!of!the!most!
important!human!rights!and!environmental!issues!that!
face!the!world!today.!!
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One!major!issue!the!UN!will!tackle!is!the!global!crisis!
of!climate!change!at!the!GA!and!at!COP21!in!Paris!this!
December.!!!

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Further,!it!will!work!towards!the!most!open!election!of!a!new!Secretary!General!of!
the!UN!in!history,!as!it!deals!with!the!mounting!refugee!crisis!caused!by!conflicts!in!
the!Middle!East.!At!the!same!time,!the!GA!will!struggle!to!cope!with!superpower!
conflicts!and!the!dangerous!conditions!in!Ukraine.!!!
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Together!we!are!taking!initial!steps!in!the!UNLbrokered!deal!with!Iran!to!halt!their!
production!of!nuclear!weapons!and!restore!normal!trade!and!economic!
relations.!We!know!this!path!is!dangerous!and!we!need!to!go!forward!with!care.!!
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The!UN!will!also!deal!with!provocations!from!North!Korea,!as!it!prepares!for!an!
NGO/DPI!conference!(according!to!the!South!Korean!Permanent!Representative!to!the!
UN)!on!education,!which!will!take!place!in!Seoul!in!June!2016.!!And!after!successes!
dealing!with!the!frightening!Ebola!outbreak!in!West!Africa,!the!global!body!is!working!
to!build!better!capacity!to!deal!with!future!health!crises.!!!
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On!September!14,!2015,!the!High!Commissioner!For!Human!Rights!painted!a!grim!
picture!of!human!rights!around!the!world.!The!UN!will!soon!ratify!the!consensus!
agreement!on!the!2015L2030!Sustainable!Development!Goals.!It!is!clearer!than!ever,!
that!this!body!is!the!last!best!hope!for!peace,!human!rights!and!sustainable!
development.!!!
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It!is!also!clear!that!the!United!Nations!has!no!power!to!realize!any!of!its!objectives!
alone.!It!will!require!the!robust!engagement!and!hard!work!of!civil!society!and!of!the!
member!state!governments!to!reach!our!shared!common!goalsaddressing!the!
challenges!posed!by!war,!weapons,!poverty,!climate!change,!income!inequality,!and!
human!rights!abuses.!!!
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Harkening!back!to!the!beginning!of!the!UN!Charter,!it!is!We!the!Peoples!of!the!United!
Nations!that!need!to!work!together!to!realize!these!important!goals!for!our!planets!
survival!and!that!of!all!life!on!earth.!!Time!to!roll!up!our!sleeves!and!get!to!work!!
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In!peace,!
Bruce!Knotts!
President,!NGO!Committee!on!Disarmament,!Peace!and!Security!