Are UU's 'Globalists'?
Words can have many meanings and be used in a variety of inflections to indicate whether the label being thrust on another party is a compliment or a reason to be concerned. Most Americans understand very little about Unitarian Universalists and perhaps even less about the United Nations itself.
Few UU's could be considered to be in favor of an actual one world government as feared by the detractors of UU'ism. Local cultural identities and the many rich national traditions of the international community are in general, valued as unique manifestations of humanity.
Contained in the seven principles that all UU's formally agree with we read:
"The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all." (#6)
Community and shared national identity are not the same terms, so globalism in the sense of one governing world body is not implied nor endorsed.
It is a similar mistake to believe that the United Nations is capable or willing to become a legislative or ruling authority for the entire planet. UU's are among the few groups currently in the United States who actually realize the mission of the UN is to promote discussion and perform humanitarian services, in part because we keep up with the organization itself and also because as UU's, our mission is so similar, if not identical, in nature.
-Craig O'Manion, MLUUC Social Justice Chair & UU-UNO Envoy
Mountain Light is one of about half of all UU congregations to have in their membership an Envoy from the UU office at the UN whose responsibility it is to promote the humanitarian, and sometimes diplomatic functions of the UN both in the congregation and society at large.
The remainder of this page contains information about both our UN office and the UN in general. For more information about the issues that are extremely current, go to our social justice page on this site.
UU-UNO History
The UUA's involvement in the United Nations can be traced to the early part of the 20th century. Both the Unitarians and the Universalists were active in the League of Nations Association and later closely monitored the creation of the United Nations. In 1946, the American Unitarian Association appointed Elvira Fradkin as an official delegate to the United Nations. In the 1950's, the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association adopted resolutions in support of the United Nations.
In 1956, Universalists and Unitarians convened the first annual UN Seminar at the Church Center. With the merger of the two denominations in 1961, the Unitarian Universalist Association formed an Advisory Committee on the United Nations. In 1963, the UUA Principles and Purposes were merged into one document with marked similarity to the United Nations Charter (1945) and to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
The founding of the UU-United Nations Office can be traced to April of 1962. US Ambassador to the United Nations and a Unitarian, Adlai Stevenson wrote to UUA President Dana McLean Greeley suggesting that each UU congregation nominate an envoy.
Let me recommend to you the appointment of envoys in UU churches . . . to promote better knowledge and understanding of the United Nations. In this disastrous and shrinking world it is no longer possible - if it ever was - for local communities to be more secure than the surrounding world. Our ultimate security therefore lies in making the world more and more into a community. . . . All of you have the opportunity to share in the answer, and thus help us build a peaceful world.
That same year, working out of a makeshift space at Community Church in New York City, the first members began implementing Ambassador Stevenson's recommendation. Elizabeth Swayzee, the first Executive Director, and Velva Sabin sent letters to UU congregations in the US and Canada. By 1965, the network had grown to over 300 envoys. Today, the UU United Nations Office represents 138 congregations and 1,855 members through 496 Local Envoys and 25 District Envoys.
Beginning in 1946, all work by Unitarians and Universalists at the UN was conducted on a volunteer basis. From 1965 to 1970, the UUA allotted funds for UN activities, but in 1971, all financial support from the UUA ceased, and the UU United Nations Office incorporated as a separate non-profit organization. Since then, the Office’s funds have come mainly from individual and congregational contributions, along with significant support for several years from the Community Church of New York and the Veatch Foundation at the UU Church of Shelter Rock on Long Island, which sustained the Office at the Church Center.
Today, the UU United Nations Office is an associate member of the UUA with
United Nations ECOSOC consultative status and DPI/NGO status. On September
3, 2002, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan inaugurated the International Criminal
Court, passing the gavel to the Assembly of States Parties. The first religious
leaders to formally attend this historic ceremony were UUA President Rev.
William Sinkford and Rev. Olivia Holmes, UUA Director of International Affairs
and UU United Nations Office Board Member.
UN Overview and principles
The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership totals 191 coutnries. When States become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accespt the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty that sets out basic priciples of international realtions. According to the Charter, the UN has four purposes: to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.
The United Nations is not a world government and it does not make laws. It does, howver, provide the means to help resolve international conflicts and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us. At the UN, all the Member States - large and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and social systems - have a voice and a vote in this process.
The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them - the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Coucil and the Secretariat - are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located at The Hague in the Netherlands.
source: UU Office at the UN - some revision and emphasis added.
Credit: http://www.un.org and http://untreaties.un.org
