Evelyn Leopold: Here Comes the Queen: A Sense of History
Queen Elizabeth II addressed the UN General Assembly for the first time since 1957, walking down the aisle with Prince Philip in bridal party fashion, with delegates standing and applauding. Although her walk to the green marble podium was similar to her first visit, the British Empire in 1957 still had colonies while many of the UN's 192 members now are former British colonies.
The 2010 speech by the 84 year-old queen was much meatier than the nine paragraphs she recited in 1957, where one would be hard-pressed to detect that World War II ended only 12 years earlier and much of Europe was still in tatters.
On Tuesday, in her eight-minute speech, she spoke of terrorism, of climate change, of poverty, of peace, saying: "In my lifetime, the United Nations has moved from being a high-minded aspiration to being a real force for common good....It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all."
In her five hour visit to New York, after a nine-day stay in Canada, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip placed a wreath of flowers at a site of the Sept. 11 attacks and chatted with victims' families in a 15 minute visit in 100F degree (38C), weather to the World Trade Center site. She also attended a memorial for British victims of the attack.
Rituals change little. The 1957 visit featured the same walk-in down the aisle rather than an entry behind the podium, barely altered since then. But the 31-year old Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip rode in an open car (gasp!) to the UN front gate and security was lax enough for crowds to gather in the driveway and the sidewalks surrounding the world body. The famed Swedish UN secretary-general, Dag Hammarskjold, did the honors and New York hosted a ticker-tape parade.
Glamour and Gloves
In 1957, she was glamorous in a dark colored sheath dress, a mink stole, high heels, a light-colored hat --and of course gloves, according to a newsreel from the era. Heat or no heat, the gloves remained on Tuesday but there was no fur. She wore a summer white two-piece dress dotted with small flowers and a matching hat.
Queen Elizabeth said that the greatest transformation she had witnessed in all her years was in social attitudes, science and technology, many caused by citizens and not their governments. (The United Nations had 82 members when she first spoke compared to 192 today.)
"Many of these sweeping advances have come about not because of governments, committee resolutions or central directives -- although all these have played a part -- but instead because millions of people around the world wanted them," she said.
Yet she said the "achievements of the United Nations are remarkable." When she was first here, there were just three UN operations overseas. Now over 120,000 people are deployed in 26 missions around the world.
She was escorted into the cavernous hall by Assembly President Ali Treki and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said her reign over many decades, witnessed "the challenges of the cold war to the threat of global warming, from the Beatles to Beckham."
The Queen noted that for over six decades, the UN had helped shape the international response to global dangers.
"The challenge now is to continue to show this clear and convening leadership while not losing sight of your ongoing work to secure the security, prosperity and dignity of our fellow human beings. When people in 53 years from now look back on us, they will doubtless view many of our practices as old-fashioned. But it is my hope that, when judged by future generations, our sincerity, our willingness to take a lead and our determination to do the right thing will stand the test of time."
Commonwealth
The sense of history was palpable. In 1957, the Commonwealth of Nations, which the Queen heads, had 10 of the UN's 82 members: Britain, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and two states which had just become independent: Malaysia (then Federation of Malaya) and Ghana.
Now the Commonwealth has 54 members in the United Nations. They have a combined population of 2.1 billion people, almost a third of the world population, of which 1.17 billion live in India and 94 percent live in Asia and Africa combined. Most are former British colonies while others, like Rwanda, have asked to join. But in the United Nations, they do not form a block and take similar views.
The Queen is also head of state in 16 nations: Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis with a combined population of 128 million.
"Very impressive," said Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin after the speech. The US delegation was headed by Alejandro Wolff, the deputy ambassador. US Ambassador Susan E. Rice attended President Obama's lunch with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.