United Nations considers World Flag too Political to Display @ General Assembly
Tiokasin Ghosthorse, host and producer of First Voices Indigenous Radio, NYC, brought a 3×5′ World Flag to the UN General Assembly to display during his speech on the rights of indigenous peoples. As an inspirational speaker and one who understands the power of symbols and words, his connection to The World Flag happened at a chance meeting during the San Francisco Green Festival.
Tiokasin was hoping to display the flag during his speech but it had not been “cleared” and was considered “political” by the United Nations. It is no surprise that the UN would not allow The World Flag to be displayed. By it’s very nature and design, the UN may very well be the most political organization in existence. There is a very delicate balance which occurs when you assemble dignitaries, ambassadors, and world leaders from many countries to discuss rather somber world issues. The etiquette of flags and where and how to hang the flags of countries in close proximity to each other becomes a balancing act of diplomacy, decorum, and respect. Each country has a sense of pride and honor, in a sense a clinging to it’s own collective ego.
This is exactly what The World Flag Seeks To Transcend
The World Flag is about breaking down the barriers between countries and eliminating the false boundaries created by the governments of the world. It is a symbol for the people of the world, having nothing to do with politics, or governments.
The essence of The World Flag is Teaching Unity in Matters of Global Concern, so that all people of the world realize that the major challenges facing each of us; scarcity of clean drinking water, human rights abuses, environmental degradation, scarcity of food resources, access to education, etc, are issues that affect all of us. These issues no longer exist in isolation as the world becomes more and more connected and interdependent.
The World Flag is also about sharing and celebrating cultural diversity. The colorful aspects of each countries’ unique culture; it’s history, food, dance, language and customs are to be celebrated and enjoyed. Sharing what makes us unique and opening our eyes to new ways of being in the world, new ways of seeing each other, will allow us to work together to meet the challenges facing us all.
The designer of The World Flag chose country flags as the mark making system because of their immediate emotional connection and recognition. Symbols can be shared without speaking the same language. The World Flag works as a visual catalyst to begin the conversations of shared concern, to use that intense emotional connection of a sense of “home”, and open our minds to the simple truth that the world is our shared home. We must begin to accept that all humans take pride in their sense of ‘country’. Phrases such as ‘our land’, and ‘our home’ can be transcended from being about a man made or government created boundary, to a place of accepting that we all love and share this beautiful planet. The love of country is something that we all share and as Pablo Casals so eloquently put it:
“The Love of One’s Country is a Splendid Thing, But Why Should that Love Stop at the Border?”
Even though not the intention, by it’s very nature the United Nations operates from a place of strongly delineated separation, where each countries separateness is naturally reinforced by the voting processes and organizational structure.
The original idea of a United Nations is certainly of noble intention. The extraordinary accomplishments it has achieved in the past 65 years are nothing short of astonishing. But has the UN achieved a true sense of connectedness amongst the countries of the world? Has cooperation transcended politics in matters of global concern? Is it not time for the UN to fly The World Flag and embrace what the people of the world already know? That this is our shared planet, this is our shared world.
One World – One Flag
Just fly it! The World Flag
about 1 year ago
The United Nations is not a singular or simplex organization. Just as there is no such thing as a typical American, there are too many aspects of the United Nations to consider lumping everything into one object.
The UN’s work with the government sector is very, very different from the work with the civil sector which is very, very different than the UN’s work with the business sector, etc. We can easily see that the government sector, the Security Council and the General Assembly, leaves a lot to be desired. But that is because of the members – not the UN. Because all 193 members are approaching it using the paradigm of competition and control, there is very little good coming out of it. The US is not the only country to be more concerned about competition and control as there are many countries operating the same way.
However the work of the UN Agencies with the civil sector is quite a different matter. It is through UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, UNIDO, etc. that shows the good that the UN accomplishes. These Agencies work within the paradigm of collaboration and cooperation rather than competition and control.
So rather than level charges of ineptitude and inefficiences against the UN as a whole, it is better to level those charges against specific parts of the UN.
I am concerned that the World Flag fosters competition and control paradigm rather than the spirit of a Global Citizen which is based on collaboration and cooperation.
about 1 year ago
David, thank you so much for taking the time to respond to our blog post. Thank you also for your additional insight into the inner workings of such a complex organization as the United Nations.
In response to your comments I think I may have made things a bit more clear by bringing up the fact that it was indeed the General Assembly where Tiokasin Ghosthorse wanted to display The World Flag. As you said the government sector, which includes the Security Council, is where the 193 member nations approach things from a place of competition and control. It is within this context that I made the comment about the United Nations being a “political” organization. The constant maneuvering for control works only to reinforce the separateness of nations working solely for their own agendas.
Conversely I do understand and appreciate the civil sector of the UN, which is where so much of the good work is accomplished. Within the blog text, I had created a link to the United Nations page which highlighted many positive accomplishments since its inception. There was no attempt to solely level “charges of ineptitude and inefficiencies against the UN as a whole”.
Your concern that the World Flag itself fosters a “competition and control paradigm” is rather confusing. The very essence of The World Flag is that it is not about supporting any one country or nation above any other. Nor do we promote any political leaning, any economic system, nor any one way of living life. Our goal is to foster the sense of a shared world. A world growing ever smaller in which we must work together to meet the global challenges that we are now facing.
The World Flag includes every country of the world and many territories and provinces. Tibet, Taiwan and the United Nations are included as well. The World Flag is a visual symbol meant to inspire that very spirit of Global Citizenship you speak of. Paul Carroll, the designer of The World Flag was inspired by the philosophy and world view of Buckminster Fuller, who understood that we must do “more with less” in order for mankind to survive on what he called “Spaceship Earth”.
The World Flag celebrates the people of the globe and will work toward our mission of raising awareness and funding for non-profit organizations working in the areas of Education, World Health, Human Rights and the Environment. It serves as a unifying symbol to inspire positive global change while continuing to embrace and celebrate our cultural diversity.
The World Flag; Teaching Unity – Sharing Diversity