AHA'S UNITED NATIONS NGO OFFICE

777 U.N. PLAZA
NY, NY 10017
(914) 588-5284
(212) 867-9150
aha@cebo.org

Strategically Located on UN Plaza

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The AHA's New York City office is located on UN Plaza at First Avenue, directly across the street from the United Nations in the busy "Church Center for the UN" (an office building owned by the Women's Division of the Methodists).  It is home to dozens of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOS), who maintain their UN offices and host UN gatherings in its meeting rooms. Indeed, this location means that the building is often a 'shadow' UN.  NGOs, members of the public and UN members may all meet here on 'neutral' ground, and many important initiatives have taken place in this structure.

The AHA UN office was first established here in 1978 by Jesse Gordon, a long- time New York Humanist and professional journalist/publicist. He, along with other Humanists, founded the local AHA Chapter in 1974 as The Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York.  777 UN Plaza thus became the home to our UN representatives, New York Chapter activities and many other Humanist endeavors.

AHA's UN Office: Then and Now

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Humanists have been organizing in New York for nearly a quarter of a century. A bit of history: the very first New York Humanist group in the 1930s was led by Charles Francis Potter, and seems to have been absorbed into the Ethical Culture Society. In the 1950s, a campus group at Columbia University was formed by Warren Allen Smith, then a student, who had been inspired by the teachings of his Professor, Dr. Corliss Lamont. Philosopher John Dewey thrilled the students at the time by joining the group; Smith still has Dewey's uncashed $2 membership check as a memento.

Thanks to the vision and persistence of Jesse Gordon, the AHA's application for certification as a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) was approved in 1976, and he became our first Representative.

This relationship with the UN proved to be a very advantageous connection. The Humanist Society began to host ambassadors and other interesting or controversial speakers in what became the very popular Humanist Dialogues, a regular feature of the Chapter's Dinner Meetings. With the passage of time and the loss of the original leaders, the Humanist Dialogues and the Chapter Meetings, as well as the AHA's New York office were maintained for years by Dr. Julius Manson and Sala Ellen Farber. Ms Farber is the Executive Director of an Elder Program at NY Pace University.

Dr. Manson invited Humanist Chaplain Beth Lamont to join him at the UN in 1996. At Dr. Manson's passing, several more long-time Humanists joined the team: first, educator and former priest Joseph Fahey, then, Robert Grant, a lawyer/author/ethicist.  At present, Beth Lamont is the primary representative and activist librarian Mary Beaty, certified as a Humanist chaplain, is the co-representative.

The AHA has supported the work of the United Nations for decades.  It has issued many strong resolutions in support of the vision of a global, inter-related world, ruled by law, reciprocal treaties, respect for human rights and the goals of social and economic justice.  These resolutions include the dedication of the AHA to lobby our domestic government in support of United Nations and its treaties and conventions which support religious freedom, environmental treaties, disarmament, arms control, including small arms and land mines, women's rights, and all the other multilateral agreements which lead to a just and safer world.

However, the current climate of aggressive unilateralism pursued by the US has not only brought a cold chill to these many years of work, but left the United States in a lonely position in the world.  While many new and emerging countries have imbedded the International Declaration of Human Rights, a purely Humanist document, in their new constitutions, and made concerted efforts to apply the standards of the United Nations conventions in the fields of women's rights, the environment, arms proliferation and social development, the U.S. has repeatedly repudiated and withdrawn from these agreements.  And the US, of all nations the proponent of democracy, has opted out of the new International Criminal court, designed, for the first time in history, to bring tyrants to their knees.

As we continue to promote the cause of Humanism at the United Nations, we call for the renewed dedication of the AHA and its members, to "think globally and act locally." And to renew our efforts to inform and urge Congress to act wisely, logically and heroically to restore the United States to the world stage in a position of leadership instead of one of belligerence and diplomatic isolation.

We are proud to be Americans because we continue to believe in the ideals of representative democracy and justice before the rule of law. We are proud to be at the UN because we still believe that the UN is our only hope for bringing the whole human family into a forum for the non-violent resolution of global crises. We will do our best to continue, as the United States itself agreed when it signed the Charter,  "to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace".  Article 1, section 2, Charter of the United Nations.

AHA's UN Office Operations

As the AHA is a national, as opposed to an international organization, and an advocacy organization, rather than a "hands-on" service entity, like the International Red Cross, our NGO affiliation at the United Nations is with the Department of Public Information (DPI), as opposed to the Economics and Social Council (ECOSOC).  The International Humanist and Ethical Union, as an international association, is a member of ECOSOC.   DPI status is intended to be interactive, and allows us to attend UN weekly briefings presented by Ambassadors, UN departments, International agencies such as Human Rights Watch and Commissions, and to participate in annual UN conferences such as the Status of Women, Racism, Sustainable Development, Indigenous Peoples.  We may also attend, participate in, and host ad hoc events held at the UN and at associated agencies. As NGOs represent Civil Society, an increasingly important sector on the world scene, we serve as the eyes and actions of the civilian public (as compared to the national interests of the States represented at the United Nations, or multinational corporations, or international bureaucracies such as the International Monetary Fund) 

To maintain our certification, the United Nations and the DPI office ask and expect that NGO DPI members will support and promote the work of the United Nations, actively engage in lobbying for the UN and our own organization's objectives with our national governments, as well as making common cause with other organizations to take the work of the UN forward.  To this effect, this office not only distributes information, but participates in conferences, events, online and print media and radio and television programs, including regular appearances on special interest programs such as  "Equal time for Free Thought" at WBAI Pacifica Radio and "The Here and Now Show", a New York public access television program focused on Humanist activities and the United Nations.

Personal contact is vital. The opportunity to discuss Humanist issues with international decision-makers, along with the hope of being of influence is, of course, tremendous. In addition to hands-on networking, we distribute the Humanist magazine and the Humanist Manifestos and other materials during briefings or conferences. We join in coalitions with other NGOs to make statements. We may deliver letters, recommendations, or publications expressing the Humanist point of view to the Missions of any of the 191 nations. We can make an appointment for our delegation to visit a Mission, or to ask an Ambassador to speak at a gathering that we plan at the UN or at one our chapter meetings.

The AHA's official areas of interest (allowed designation) in the DPI are the fields of Human Rights, Education, Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Affairs and Freedom of thought and belief. We meet other NGOs from all sectors of society who share these interests.  They represent academic organizations (Economists Allied for Arms Reduction), charities, peace and social justice groups (Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, which existed before the founding of the UN) and a wide variety of special interest organizations. Many of our colleagues represent religious organizations, from progressive groups such as the Unitarians and Quakers to conservative groups.  Our dialogue on serious issues involving the welfare and survival of humankind is what unites our efforts across a wide spectrum.

The G77 Report

One note-worthy occasion whereby the AHA sought to be of influence was to facilitate a formal report by the G77 nations after they returned to the UN from the Southern Conference in Havana, Cuba in April 2001.  The G77 is the name of the organization of self-designated Developing Nations, of which there were 77 at the group's formation in 1964. There are now 134 Developing Nations and together they constitute a never-yet-used Majority bloc at the UN.

Many important decisions had taken place at that historical conference which had not yet been publicized: the G77 demanded more equitable access to the UN Security Council. They desperately need forgiveness from the servicing of their overburdening debt-interest, as they pay six dollars on every dollar borrowed. They also need help with the development of the new empowering Information Technology for their third world populations

Considering the Humanist position of promoting world peace and respect for international law and human rights, it was appropriate for the AHA along with the National Service Committee of the American Ethical Union to co-host this opportunity to publicize the G77's decisions.  In order to meet inside of the United Nations building, we needed the sponsorship of a nation. Graciously, Ambassador Chowdhury of Bangladesh agreed, not only to sponsor, but to speak as well. We had a panel of five ambassadors and seven more in the audience who came to hear the report.

This became a grand occasion, with luncheon in the UN Delegate's Dining Room, attended also by many AHA members who traveled especially to the UN From the AHA/AEU Annual Conference which was taking place in New Jersey at that time. We NGO representatives were proud for other Humanists to be participating in these UN activities.

Networking for International Progress

Networking is essential at the UN. The AHA UN office is part of many coalitions and a member of particular committees: the Freedom of Religion or Belief Committee, the Communications Coordinating Committee of the UN, the Values Caucus, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the World Conference on Racism, and the Committee for the International Criminal Court.

In 1999, Beth Lamont attended the founding of the International Criminal Court process in Rome, and observed debates regarding the scope of the Court, including discussions of capital punishment, terrorism, definitions of aggression, and whether the Court would be subject to jurisdiction of the Security Council.  (An outcome promoted by the US, but which was defeated).  Capital punishment was also disallowed, after strong debate, when ethical arguments prevailed and reparations were emphasized over retribution. Beth wrote an article for the Humanist on this process.  We were all able to celebrate the official launch of the Court last year, in the presence of one of the remaining prosecutors from Nuremberg. This year, we were also able to be present at the election of the 18 judges, who were inaugurated in The Hague on 11 April.

Council of Ethics Based Organizations

However, since the Bush administration in the US has increasingly emphasized faith based initiatives, in 2001 at the suggestion of Mary Beaty, several NGOs at the UN agreed to form a new network, the Council of Ethics Based Organizations (CEBO) to describe the Humanist and Ethical sources of inspiration. This is the umbrella under which AHA, IHEU, NSC, and other Humanistic organizations are presently coordinating our efforts at the UN. We expect to make an impact. Our new web site, http://cebo.org/, established by Mary Beaty with space donated by the Institute for Humanist Studies, has been useful in providing timely ethical information to other UN organizations, and the feedback to this initiative has been most positive. We have also initiated a topical newsletter on subjects under current debate.  Each issue is contributed by a CEBO member, and topics have included such timely themes as the Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflict, The Ethics of Cloning, and World Water Resources,

The AHA and CEBO mobilized actions around war with Iraq. We joined a large group of NGOs in one of the first resolutions against the war.  The AHA co-hosted a meeting at Church House in honor of Dr. Robert Mueller, who offered his thoughts in the middle of the war.  One of our first efforts in behalf of CEBO council was a joint initiative sincerely thanking George Bush for appeal to the UN in the matter of the UNMOVIC and IAEA Inspection Teams' efforts to search for alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We were, of course, hoping that respect for international law and diplomatic solutions would gain credence in the Bush administration's foreign policy plans.  Subsequent events tell the sad tale.

The CEBO group endorsed Beth Lamont's letter urging Nations to take bold action to avert the threatened war and to take responsibility for solving the dilemma posed by the US.  The actions proposed included a UN Occupying Force to oversee the inspectors' continuing activities, a Security Council delegation going to Baghdad to confer first hand on the matter, and referring the matter to the UN General Assembly where a better outcome might have taken place. We AHA representatives contacted each Ambassador of the UN Security Council during those tense days, hand-delivering our appeal, and lobbying mission staff.

The CEBO group has continued our efforts after the initiation of the war.  We have worked on the Uniting for Peace proposal, Resolution 377, (first used during the Suez Crisis, to halt hostilities), and most recently serve on the drafting committee for a new Uniting for Peace call to the Security Council and the General Assembly to demand the occupying forces withdraw from Iraq. The draft document is attached to this report.  This initiative is a collaboration by major NGO groups, including Greenpeace, Amnesty, Madre, WILPF, etc., and has been drafted here in New York with conference calls from several countries.