UN Ambassador Rice Makes Pivotal Policy Speech at Visit to the Center for Global Affairs

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, delivered a major policy speech at NYU-SCPS in August, articulating the Obama administration’s most comprehensive and detailed statement on its UN policy.

In her address, cosponsored by the School’s Center for Global Affairs and NYU’s Center on International Cooperation, Rice spoke about the array of global challenges and transnational security threats the world faces and listed three core premises the administration abides by: that global challenges cannot be met without U.S. leadership; U.S. leadership, while needed, is insufficient without the cooperation of a broad range of allies; and that others will share more of the “global burden” if the United States “leads by example, acknowledges mistakes, corrects course when necessary, forges strategies in partnership, and treats others with respect.”

“If ever there was a time for effective multilateral cooperation in pursuit of U.S. interests and a shared future of greater peace and prosperity, it is now,” said Rice. “We stand at a true crossroads. We must move urgently to reinvigorate the basis for common action.”

Although Rice did not specifically mention Obama’s predecessor by name, she often alluded to a change in policy and Obama’s “new era of engagement.” Rice said Washington would “build will by setting a tone of decency and mutual respect rather than the condescension and contempt” that had crept into U.S. government attitudes toward the international community.

“We have seen the costs of disengagement,” she said. “We have paid the price of stiff-arming the UN and spurning our international partners. The United States will lead in the 21st century—not with hubris, not by hectoring, but through patient diplomacy and steadfast resolve.”

While acknowledging the United Nations as “imperfect,” Rice emphasized that it is vital to the U.S.’s efforts to craft a better, safer world. “The time for action is now,” Rice said in conclusion. “The challenges we face are vast. But the opportunities are even greater. And we will seize them—because the United States is back.”