UN Diplomat and Academician, Dr. Lawrence S. Finkelstein, graces UN Day Commemoration.

For the third year in a row, Fletcher commemorated UN Day with a mixture of inspiring speakers and student music. UN Day, first commemorated in 1947, is observed annually in recognition of the day in the spring of 1945 when the UN Charter first went into effect. Fletcher’s celebration attracted faculty, students and other members of the Tufts community, and was graced by guest speaker Dr. Lawrence S. Finkelstein. Dr. Finkelstein contributed to the drafting of the United Nations Charter and attended the 1945 San Francisco conference which founded the United Nations.

In the stillness of the morning, the program included beautiful music performed by Essence, Fanfare for Trumpets and the ‘Ambassachords’, Fletcher’s own a cappella group.

In his opening remarks, Provost and Senior Vice President of Tufts University, Professor Jamshed Bharucha, underscored the significance of the UN. “Today more than ever, we need the United Nations…as weapons get more dangerous and accessible; we need the United Nations more, not less”, he said.

Dr. Finkelstein welcomed Fletcher’s celebration of the UN Day. He recalled with fondness the formation of the UN, describing the 1945 San Francisco Conference where the UN Charter was adopted as a “a very significant event…it reflected the optimism and hope of a nation and world coming out of World War II and looking towards a future of peace…in which the UN was to be the cornerstone”. He emphasized that “peace and security were by all measures the main consideration that led to the desire to have a United Nations”.

Recalling the tragic bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad on August 19, 2003, Finkelstein observed that there is now a revived interest in what “we might call reform of the UN”. He suggested that there is a revitalized desire to make the UN work. He further sought to disabuse critics of the UN by emphasizing that, “There are many accomplishments of the UN, without which the world would be a much worse place. Not only has it survived for 58 years…but it has fostered world wide institutional growth”. He further added that if the UN didn’t exist today, we would have to invent it.

Fletcher students welcomed the celebration of UN Day. “It continues to be a wonderful public arena that unites everybody,” stated Jane Kembabazi, MALD 2005. Maria Speridakos, MALD 2004, observed that many challenges in the world today accentuate need for the United Nations.

To Fletcher students, Dr. Finkelstein said, “for many of the Fletcher students who come from other countries, and outside of the United States, I probably don’t have to tell them much, because the UN is widely appreciated…but for my fellow countrymen, its important for them to recognize how much better the US is out there in the world, if it takes the UN seriously”.

Dr. Finkelstein brought the event to an end after raising the UN Flag with the assistance of an ROTC honor guard.

Among his many achievements, Dr. Finkelstein, holder of three degrees from Columbia University, has been a member of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, serving two three-year terms. He has also been active in the Democratic Party in New Hampshire and joined the Board of Directors of the United Nations Association of Greater Boston (UNA-GB).

He is also a founding member of the Ralph Bunche Centenary Commemoration Committee, and is engaged in advancing its work in support of the ideals for which Dr. Bunche stood. Ralph Bunche won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 for his outstanding performance in the Island of Rhodes negotiating agreements between Israel and four Arab nations.