When I attempt to distill my experience to its most precious essence, I come up with a single word: independence. That word encapsulates what gave me the strength and the ability to make a positive difference regarding a number of seemingly intractable issues that had bedeviled the international community, defying solution for years and years.

I am confident that the United Nations, our United Nations, will continue to lead in innovation so that we reach the aim of the Charter for life in larger freedom.

Forty years with the United Nations taught me many lessons, but one remains foremost in my mind, that healthy and sustainable societies are based on three pillars: peace and security, sustainable development, the rule of law and respect for human rights. There can be no long-term security without development; there can be no long-term development without security; and no society can long remain prosperous without the rule of law and respect for human rights.

On this anniversary and on every single day, we must use our power and influence to do what is right and what is necessary to uphold the Charter. While we cannot prevent earthquakes and tsunamis, we can do much to address the disasters that arise from human folly and short-sightedness. This is a time of test but far more one of tremendous opportunity. As the distinctions between the national and the international continue to fall away, we can and must use the lessons of 70 years to come together as a single human family and chart a course towards a safer and more sustainable future for all.

So what does the birth of the United Nations signify?How is the birth of the United Nations itself an ethical matter?To answer that question we must turn to the actual language of the United Nations itself and how it envisions its own ethical framework.

There is no question that the presence and collaboration of indigenous peoples at the United Nations has gained significant prominence in the past few decades as a result of conference diplomacy.

The primary purpose of IAUP is to strengthen the international mission and quality of higher education worldwide. IAUP offers a regular forum for higher education leaders and institutions to identify and discuss in a global and cross-cultural context the major issues and challenges facing institutions of higher learning today.

Over the last two hundred years, diplomatic interpreting has evolved quite significantly, due to changes in the world's geopolitical landscape, new political settings and technical revolutions which have vastly modified transportation and communications systems.

The year 2014 marks the twentieth anniversary of the entry into force of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Convention). The Convention has been widely accepted. As of 16 November 2014, the number of States Parties to the Convention stood at 166, including the European Union.

In February 2014, 42 countries met in London and signed the Declaration on Illegal Wildlife Trade, where they made a collective commitment to end this scourge, help communities that suffer from its side effects and protect endangered species.