UN Oral History Launch, by Ambassador mo

The UN Library’s Oral History Collection consists of interviews conducted during last 25 years with former delegates, UN staff members and journalists, all of whom recounted their experiences on major world events - 200+ interviews covering major events in the history of the UN has been launched (January 19, 2012) at UN Headquarters in New York. It will be accessible to the public through a website linked below. Interviews cover “various crises and wars of independence, as well as topics such as apartheid, weapons of mass destruction, and what it was like to work with former Secretaries-General Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros-Ghali.The UN Library’s Oral History Collection consists of interviews conducted over the course of 25 years with former delegates, UN staff members and journalists.”

The audio files and interview transcripts, which were conducted by UN staff and Yale University researchers, also include discussions held during the creation of the UN Charter as well as reflections of staff members who remembered what it was like working at Hunter College before the Headquarters moved permanently to Manhattan’s East Side. The Collection will further reveal for academic, researcher and global citizen the history of the founding of the UN and its role in conflict resolution since 1945.

Will We See (Hear) About Bosnia & Herzegovina and Rwanda?

Below is a list of subjects that are highlighted in the “Oral History Collection.” It is notable that Bosnia & Herzegovina (former Yugoslavia) and Rwanda conflicts nor genocide are mentioned. Those were notable disappointments/failures (depending on your perspective) which still deserve review both for perspective on what can be done to improve such situations today as well as what should have been learned. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia – ICTY (as well as Rwanda – ICTR) forever changed the course of international justice and gave impetus/shaped the Rome Conference (also absent and perhaps most critical event since creation of UN/UN Charter) and the International Criminal Court – ICC. Without ICTY there would have been probably no Rome Conference or ICC.

ApartheidAppointment of OfficialsBoutros Boutros-GhaliCambodia SituationCharter ReviewCommunication MediaCongo QuestionCuba SituationDag HammarskjöldEcuadorForeign PolicyIAEAInterim GovernmentsInternational Criminal CourtInternational OrganizationsIraqIraq-Kuwait SituationIsraelIsrael-Arab War (1973)Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
JournalismKofi AnnanKorean War (1950-1953)Kurt WaldheimMiddle East SituationNamibia QuestionOn-Site InspectionPalestine QuestionPeacekeeping OperationsPublic InformationSuez QuestionTrygve LieUN 1945 International ConferenceUN Security CouncilUN Special CommissionUN. Commission On Human RightsUnited Nations CharterWeapons of Mass DestructionWorld War II LINK to UN Oral History


By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey



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