UNA-USA Statement on 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

Oct. 9, 2009 -- Ambassador Thomas J. Miller, president of the United Nations Association of the USA, has issued the following statement on the Nobel Committee’s awarding of the 2009 Peace Prize to President Barack Obama.

The United Nations Association of the USA congratulates President Barack Obama for winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. During his term in office so far, the president of the United States has demonstrated a strong commitment to international cooperation and problem-solving. His speech on Sept. 23 to delegates at the opening of the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly, as well as his chairmanship of a summit-level meeting on Sept. 24 at the Security Council on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament underscore the president’s belief that solving global challenges requires global responses.

“We very much agree with the Nobel Committee’s view that President Obama has ‘created a new climate in international politics,’ ” said UNA-USA President Thomas J. Miller. In addition, Miller cited Obama’s address to the UN in which the president emphasized the potential of the UN, saying, “We have sought in word and deed a new era of engagement with the world.”

Read UNA-USA’s op-ed on Sept. 22, 2009, in the International Herald Tribune/New York Times titled “Do as I Do Diplomacy,” calling on President Obama to lead by example.

                                                               

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