On Thursday night Congressman Jim Himes was the featured speaker for the annual United Nations Day's Ruth Steinkraus-Cohen Memorial Lecture event. Himes serves Connecticut's 4th district which includes Westport and is currently the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in addition to the House Financial Services Committee.

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United Nations Day celebrates the organization's founding on October 24, 1945. This event is organized by the United Nations Association of Southwestern Connecticut (UNASWC.org) in honor of its founder Ruth Steinkraus-Cohen an important figure in the history and operations of the United Nations who was a Westport resident and for whom the the landmark bridge over the Saugatuck River which bisects Westport is named.

President of the United Nations Organization Of Western Connecticut Bill Haas recognized Daw Aye Aye Thant, daughter of U Thant, former Secretary General of the United Nations during the Kennedy administration. Ms. Thant, a board member of the organization had been a Westport Resident for many years but has recently relocated to Boston. UN Secretary General U Thant played a significant but unappreciated role in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis. As Soviet ships challenged the US-imposed blockade (quarantine) in October 1962, Thant made several important proposals directly to the protagonists, US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Mr. Haas began the event with a moment of silence, as is the custom of the opening of sessions of the UN General Assembly, then spoke of the challenges facing the world including the disaster of the recent storms in the U.S. southeast states. Hass next presented a video message from Secretary General Antonio Guterres who related details of the global mission of the United Nations and spoke about several important solutions upon which they have worked, recently enacting compacts to deal with climate change, digital tech, AI and outer space.

Maggie Mudd, also a member of the organization introduced the congressman, speaking upon his bio, including not only his achievements in office to which he was elected in 2009, defeating Chris Shays, the last republican congressman to serve in New England after serving ten terms in Congress, but his early years living in Peru and Columbia as his father worked for the Ford foundation and UNICEF. HImes currently lives in Greenwich with his wife and two children. Himes was received his undergrad degree at Harvard and received a Rhodes scholarship, gong on to work in the financial sector including Goldman Sachs before jumping into politics in Greenwich.

Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.

Photos above, (L to R) UNASWCT President Bill Haas, Maggie Mudd, Video by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and former UN Secretary General U Thant’s daughter, Daw Aye Aye Thant.

Himes spoke at length, prefacing his remarks by noting the unusual appearance at an event on the Untied Nations 12 days before a and extremely consequential election, adding his multiple years of global experience made for a great fit for this annual event. Himes discussed work the UN has done over the years and his involvement with the organization including his recent work with the IAEA and their efforts to address the threat of nuclear proliferation. He discussed world affairs in the news including the "unprovoked invasion" of a European country by "a member of the security council", "in clear violation of pretty much every tenet of the UN charter", as well as the situations in Israel /Gaza and tensions currently with China and in the South China Sea, as well as other global issues like Hati, stating "the world is a mess".

The Congressman addressed a myriad of other issues including AI, cyber security, especially as it relates to Russia and genetic research, engineering and bio synthesis. Himes spoke about genetic code creation, mentioning Ginkobioworks of Boston which uses the most advanced technology on the planet to grow better products.

The library hosted a lengthy Q & Q session after Himes' address, and questions were only selected if they were relevant to issues of concern to the United Nations.

Questions on topics including Iraq the Middle East and ISIS, Russian and Chinese aims and geopolitical goals and included the very recent events regarding North Korean troop's involvement in the war with Ukraine to which Himes' response included his views on the Biden administration's policy. He opined upon the decades long challenging China/Taiwan situation and the concerns about possible conflict. One question regarding the actions of Israel was posed by a person who claims that 108 members of their family have lost their lives in the conflict. HImes partially responded with a balanced approach stating his support of Israel while clearly expressing concern with the well documented, extensive lost of life in the conflict.

The full event is available on the Westport Library's YouTube channel and can be viewed here: Westport Library UN Day - Jim Himes.

Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.