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Who Speaks for Man (1969-11-10)
About this film
This episode provides a critical look at the United Nations, which was established almost 25 years ago as the world's collective conscience. It examines the body's action and inaction in such troubled areas as Czechoslovakia, the Middle East, Vietnam, and Biafra, and assesses the diminishing influence of the Secretary General in vital world affairs. There are films from the opening of the 24th General Assembly and unusual coverage of the Commission for Human Rights, with a penetrating study of its function. (The Commission hears reports by governments on human rights within their countries; however, individuals are unable to seek redress through the UN.)2028Against the formalism of the United Nations, a Columbia student's immolation forms a stark contrast. His suicide, in reaction to the suffering of Biafra, took place on UN grounds. The program contains exclusive interviews with observers, who relate his death to the UN's powerlessness in the face of world tragedy.2028There are also exclusive interviews with leading world figures at the UN. They include Abba Eban, Israel's foreign minister; Carlos Romulo, foreign minister of the Philippines, who is known as "Mister United Nations"…
Directors & creators
National Educational Television and Radio Center
Subjects
public broadcasting, AAPB, United Nations, Thirteen WNET, Who Speaks for Man, Bruce Mayrock, Abba Eban, Carlos Romulo, George Wald, Angela Brooks, Andrei Vyshinsky, Columbia University, Biafra, Commission on Human Rights, national sovereignty, Cold War, 24th United Nations General Assembly, genocide
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