Sorensen To Speak on United Nations Nov. 18

Gillian Sorensen, senior advisor and national advocate at the United Nations Foundation, will speak at two events on the Illinois State University campus on Wednesday, Nov. 18.  Both presentations are free and open to the public.

Sorensen will present "The United Nations and the United States: Controversy and Opportunity - Where Do We Go From Here?" at 12 p.m. in the Bone Student Center Third Floor East Lounge.  That evening at 7 p.m. she will speak on "International Intervention in Humanitarian Crises: Balancing Nations' Sovereign Power and Human Rights," in the Bone Student Center Prairie Room. 

Sorensen served as assistant secretary-general for external relations on appointment by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan from 1997 to 2003.  In that role she was responsible for outreach to civil society, including NGOs committed to peace, justice, development and human rights.  She also served from 1993 to 1996 as special adviser for public policy on appointment by Secretary-General Boutros Bourtros-Ghali, where she led the global commemoration of the U.N.'s fiftieth anniversary and the coordination of the UN50 Summit at Headquarter in New York.  From 1978 to 1990, she was the New York City commissioner for the United Nations, head of the city's liaison with the world's largest diplomatic community.   She is a frequent speaker on United Nations issues and the U.S.-U.N. relationship. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Women's Foreign Policy Group.

The United Nations Foundation is an independent, public charity that seeks to inform and educate Americans about the U.N. and U.S.-U.N. issues, with a focus on the environment, children's health and human rights in the developing world.

Sorensen's presentations are sponsored by The League of Women Voters of McLean County and Illinois State's Global Review Student Association, and International Studies Seminar Series.