Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. Representative to the United Nations
New York, New York
September 9, 2021
AS DELIVERED
Thank you so much, Mike, for welcoming us here and giving us so much of your time. Alice, thank you very much. And thank you to members of the Security Council for joining us here today and really commemorating this very solemn moment.
This is the first Security Council Event since COVID began and, unfortunately, it’s a sad event, but it’s also an important event. And it’s an important event that reflects the unity of this Council on this issue. This has been a particularly busy month and I thank Geraldine for allowing us to use part of her time this month; it means a lot to us to be able to gather here today as a group and pay tribute to the victims of 9/11 and to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the action that the Council took as a united front in response to the attack.
Over 90 countries, including some of us here today, lost citizens on that day. And I hope that we can use this occasion to reflect and remember and honor those victims, as well as the survivors and first responders from that day. The Council and the world should never forget the attack on the city that we all now call our home. And so many other people feel that New York is a global city, it’s an international city, it’s a city that they all feel close to. And so, we have to make sure that we honor this city and show our respect for this city moving forward.
Last night I watched an event on TV that shared the experiences of some of the people who survived the attack. And it was heart wrenching to hear what they went through, it was heart wrenching to see, in real time, what they went through. And to see the city destroyed and then to come here, today, and see the amazing work that you’ve done and all of you to put this together. All I can say is thank you.
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*Photo courtesy of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum
