The Brown & White

The U.S. needs to be a better leader in the world, said Gillian Sorensen, senior advisor at the United Nations Foundation, in a speech Wednesday about the U.N.'s role in world affairs and its relationship with the U.S.

Sorensen's lecture, entitled "The United Nations, the United States and the University," was held in Sinclair Auditorium.

"I speak to reinforce our friends and address our critics," she said.

Sorensen is a former assistant secretary general of external affairs of the U.N, working under Kofi Annan from 1997 to 2003.

Sorensen now works for the United Nations Foundation, but she still believes strongly in the power of the U.N.

"The U.N. is the place where realism and idealism meet," she said.

The U.N. is a voluntary association of governments who come together to accomplish more than any country could do alone, Sorensen said.

No other organization is able to do so much with so little, she said.

"The U.N. works on a shoestring. That they do as much as they do is amazing," Sorensen said.

Peacekeeping efforts are the only part of the U.N.'s work that makes headlines, Sorensen said.

"We need to widen the lens and remember that U.N. is so much more," she said.

The U.N. has won nine Nobel Prizes on humanitarian relief, she said.

"To say it changes and saves lives is too little a statement," she said.

Cameron Copeland, '08, president of the Global Union, said the U.N. does more than anyone gives it credit for.

Sorensen said the U.S. is a superpower and should use this leadership role - a role it seems to have lost in the past few years.

She said the U.S. is now seen as the "bully on the block."

The U.S. has the power to be a role model in military might and the soft power to be a beacon of what other countries should be doing, she said.

Sorensen said the U.S. has the privilege to lead and should be taking that responsibility seriously.

"It pains me to see we have fallen from our own high standard," Sorensen said.

When asked by a student which presidential candidate she believes the U.N. would endorse, Sorensen said she believes Senator Barack Obama would be its choice. She said her prediction is only a guess, but the message it would send to the world would be extraordinary.

Rita Jones, director of the Women's Center, said the Beijing Declaration proved that the U.N. has invested in many issues, including treatment of women.

At a dinner in the Iacocca Hall Tower Room prior to the lecture, Sorensen spoke about the U.N. Foundation and important issues facing the world today.

The UN Foundation was launched 10 years ago with a billion dollar donation from CNN founder Ted Turner. The foundation accepts many donations from corporations and those who want to know their money will be used in a responsible way, Sorensen said.

The purpose of the foundation is to build and implement public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and broaden support for the U.N. through advocacy and public outreach, according to its Web site.

"It sounds like a lot of money but when thinking about the globe, it's not so large," she said.

"This kind of philanthropy is purely American," Sorensen said.

She said the foundation is known for accountability and that Turner is "aware of every penny."

The foundation also prides itself on independence, she said.

"The foundation is not part of a government, particularly in this administration," Sorensen said.

The Foundation does not seek funds from governments at all, besides the dues of governments, but from reliable, responsible partners, she said.

Sorensen said the U.N. Foundation played a key role in moving climate change awareness forward as an urgent and important issue in the world today.

"I regret that the largest life-saving and life-changing efforts don't get the attention," Sorensen said.

The humanitarian efforts are not as dramatic as the peacekeeping of the U.N., but the balance of both is equally important, she said.

When a student brought up the conflict in Darfur, Sorensen said the assistance there is severely under-equipped.

"What does this tell you about great and powerful nations who could do more but don't?" Sorensen asked.