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1st Ld Writethru: UN Charter's 70th anniversary of signing to be commemorated

Xinhua, June 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon will travel to San Francisco, California, next week to attend a series of events calculated to mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter, said a UN spokesman Tuesday at a daily news briefing.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the secretary-general, said Ban will travel to San Francisco on June 26 and attend the Charter Commemoration Ceremony at the City Hall, together with San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee and United States House of Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

While in San Francisco, Ban will also participate in more events focusing on the priorities of the UN, including sustainable development, climate change and human rights, and attend a roundtable discussion with environmentalist Tom Steyer and other participants, on climate change and building momentum for action at the forthcoming "Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris," said Haq.

Ban is also expected to travel to Palo Alto to give a lecture at Stanford University, highlighting achievements of UN since it came into being seven decades ago.

The secretary-general is expected to receive the Harvey Milk Medal for launching the UN Free & Equal Campaign. Launched in 2013, the campaign is meant to raise awareness of homophobic and transphobic violence, and discrimination, and promote greater respect for the rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people everywhere.

Ban will attend a meeting with representatives from the private sector, including the Chief Executive Officer of Dell, Michael Dell, to discuss ways in which major tech companies in the Bay Area can contribute to advancing the global development agenda. He will also meet young entrepreneurs at a tech-focused start-up incubator, according to Haq.

In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco for the UN Conference on International Organization to draw up the charter, which was signed on June 26, 1945 at the conclusion of the conference.

The United Nations officially came into existence on Oct. 24, 1945, when the charter had been ratified by signatories. A special day, known as United Nations Day, has been set aside to celebrate establishment of the world body on Oct. 24 each year. This year marks the 70th anniversary of founding of the United Nations. Endite