As 76th General Assembly Convenes, United Nations Pays Tribute to 9/11 Victims
The United Nations paid tribute to victims of the 9/11 attacks with a special ceremony – organized on their behalf by their Office of Counter-Terrorism – at the Memorial on Monday. Over 300 participants attended, Heads of States, Ministers, and Delegations representing more than 120 Member States and international organizations convening in New York this week for the 76th UN General Assembly.
On behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres, Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Mr. Vladimir Voronkov highlighted the significance of this event.
“We have gathered from all over the world on this sacred ground in the host city of the United Nations to pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the terrible attacks that occurred here just over 20 years ago,” he said. “We will continue to stand in solidarity with all victims of terrorism. They will not be forgotten. No day shall erase them from the memory of time.”
Speaking at the ceremony, Alice M. Greenwald, the Museum’s President and CEO, said, “Your presence here is a powerful demonstration of global solidarity with the victims of 9/11 and their families, indeed with all victims of terrorism. Standing here today, you affirm the imperative of remembrance and underscore the obligation of our shared humanity – recognizing that the human impacts of terrorism and extreme violence are universal and collectively acknowledging the absolute illegitimacy of terrorism as a response to political grievance.”
The ceremony included a minute of silence and concluded with Under-Secretary-General Voronkov and Spain's Foreign Minister Albares Bueno laying wreaths in memory of 9/11 victims and terrorism victims around the globe.
Throughout the rest of the week, numerous other Heads of State visited the Memorial and Museum to pay their respects, including Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden; Marcelo Rebela De Sousa, President of Portugal; Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin; and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of the Ukraine.
By 9/11 Memorial Staff
Henry Leutwyler's photographs of objects from our collection let each remnant and remembrance tell its own piece of the 9/11 narrative. The photos - commissioned by National Geographic in cooperation with the Museum - are on view through the 26th at the Foley Gallery, as part of Leutwyler's "Sacred Dust" exhibit.
Brenda Berkman, a pioneering female firefighter, spent September 11 and the ensuing weeks as a first responder searching for survivors and remains at Ground Zero. After retiring from the FDNY, she turned to art as a way to channel personal and collective trauma, documenting the rebuilding of lower Manhattan in a series of prints. A collection of those prints - "Altered Skyline: Thirty-Six Views of One World Trade Center" - is now on view at the Flaten Art Museum in Minnesota.