UNA-NYC on the Election

*From left: UNA-NYC President Abid Qureshi, 2017 Humanitarian Award Honoree Joe Biden, and UNA-NYC Executive Director Ann Nicol at the UN Day Gala Dinner. | Photo: Melanie Zhang*

The United Nations Association of New York congratulates President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory in the 2020 election.

Despite a global pandemic, our country witnessed record voter turnout, with data indicating that more Americans voted in 2020 than any other election in the history of the United States. We commend our fellow Americans on this historic achievement and their trust in the democratic process.

As an educational institution that supports and advocates for the principles and vital work of the United Nations, we recognize that this election signifies a great deal of progress toward equality and human rights in our country. Ms. Harris will not only be the first woman but the first woman of color to serve as vice president of the United States, a critical moment in the fight for gender equality. On the state level, exciting progress has been made in Colorado, where a measure to limit access to abortion services was rejected by voters—an important move in protecting this UN-recognized right.

On the international stage, the world currently faces pressing challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. These crises need to be addressed through urgent solutions, and in an interdependent and connected world, our country, alone, cannot tackle them. To protect future generations, the United States needs to be committed to multilateralism and strengthening the UN system.

We echo the words of the 75th United Nations General Assembly President, Volkan Bozkir, who has noted that Mr. Biden has demonstrated “a long history of supporting [the] UN” which includes serving on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as Vice President to former President Barack Obama. Under his incoming administration, Mr. Biden has already made plans for the United States to rejoin the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Agreement, both essential to strengthening our country’s role in the international system.

UNA-NYC has a warm relationship with the new President-elect dating back to 2017, giving us further confidence in his presidency. At our UN Day Humanitarian Awards Dinner that year, we honored Mr. Biden for his leadership of the White House Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which was instrumental in increasing public and private resources to fight cancer. Speaking at the event, our president Abid Qureshi said that Mr. Biden “[exemplifies] the type of leadership… vital to helping the United Nations achieve its goals.”

Looking forward, we hope his presidency leads to a reinforced partnership between the United States and the UN over the next four years. Recognizing our key position as the host city chapter of the United Nations Association, we remain dedicated as always to promoting the UN’s critical work to our New York City community and advancing constructive United States leadership at the UN under the upcoming Biden-Harris administration and beyond.

SCENES FROM THE 2017 UN DAY GALA DINNER

gala dinner 2017 — *Above: 2017 Humanitarian Award Honoree* ***Joe Biden****, with* ***Dr. Lily Khidr****, executive publisher for Elsevier, at the UN Day Gala Dinner. | Photo: Melanie Zhang*

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