Profile in Peace: Dr. Robert Muller, Former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) by Denise Scotto, Esq

Profile in Peace: Dr. Robert Muller,

Former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General (ASG)

by Denise Scotto, Esq How to encapsulate the life of Dr Robert Muller, a champion for creating a better United Nations, Organization (as an institution) and one that, in practice, nurtures a world that benefits all and our beautiful planet all the while advancing universal peace? How to convey the influence upon countless persons the world over including me, one individual? To start, I suggest that we read Dr Muller’s very own words. He was a prolific author and broached a multitude of topics from many dimensions. As in the case with illuminated yoga masters or other teachers for that matter, if the reader is open, the words effortlessly work their own magic and touch the spirit. After all, it is the essence of the energy behind the words that may influence the reader resulting in a new understanding or unexpected consequences that are beyond the borders of the mind and heart. Here we go:

Decide to be human To be a world citizen A global being A member of the human family To place humanity before anything else

To love your human bretheren and sisters As your own family

Never to kill, To help the further ascent of the human race To cherish its endless, beautiful diversity To educate your children as world citizens

not even in the name of a nation and children of God

Never to exercise physical or verbal violence

To know, love and respect your beautiful planetary home To live in it as a grateful, joyful guest To contribute to humanity your peace,

kindness and happiness

And to leave behind you the remembrance Of a good, kind, loving human being

I’m writing this tribute to Dr Muller, so that a new generation is familiar with his immeasurable contributions to shaping the UN as a caring organization, to defining policy that has impacted peoples across the world in many areas of their lives as well as our precious planet, and to modeling how one’s thoughts/vision/action promotes the values we find in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights along with the deeper meaning of yoga-respect, dignity, equality, interdependence, harmony, a culture of peace, non-violence and peaceful co-existence. If you search the internet, you will find words which describe the story of his life.

Although he was born in Belgium, Robert Muller grew up in France in the area which borders Germany. He experienced the horrors of World War II firsthand as a refugee of the Nazi occupation in France, through imprisonment and finally by his escape from prison. Significantly, he was a member of the French Resistance. As the war was nearing its end, he unsuccessfully tried to block the killing of a group of captured German soldiers. This was a turning point that led him to his future endeavors in working for peace. When the war ended, he returned home and earned a Doctorate of Law from the University of Strasbourg. In 1948, he won an essay contest concerning world governance which awarded an internship at the newly created United Nations.

Dr Muller became a staff person in the UN and devoted the next 40 years of his life working behind the scenes rising through the ranks to become Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) serving under three Secretaries-General. Markedly, he contributed to the creation of important UN specialized entities, including the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and the World Youth Assembly. Dr Muller is credited for laying the foundation for a “World Core Curriculum” which led to his receiving the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 1989. Essentially, through his “World Core Curriculum” he helped inspire the growing Global Education movement becoming known as ‘the father of global education’ thereby influencing innumerable people globally even to today. More than 30 Robert Muller schools were founded throughout the world.

In active “retirement,” Dr. Muller was the co-founder and first Chancellor of the University for Peace created by the UN which is based in Costa Rica. Appreciably, he has been called the “Philosopher” and “Prophet of Hope” of the UN. It is agreed that he is a deeply spiritual person. From his vantage point as a eminent global states-person, he has seen a strong connection between spirituality and the intersection with political and culture. In these later years, he concentrated his efforts on promoting greater human understanding, global awareness, world peace and drafted a “Framework for World Media Coverage” a “Framework for Planetary and Cosmic Consciousness” and a “Framework for the Arts and Culture.”

Aside from the notable works as stated above, Dr Muller jotted down different kinds of thoughts that included: 7,000 Ideas & Dreams for a Better World; The Miracle, Joy and Art of Living; Earth Peace Plan 2010; Paradise on Earth Plan for 2050 as well as poems. Is it any wonder that in his lifetime, he received awards and special recognition? I came across a short congratulatory message by Former US President Jimmy Carter that reads:

JIMMY CARTER October 24, 2002 To Dr. Robert Muller Rosalynn and I are pleased to congratulate you on receiving the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s 2002 World Citizenship Award. Since your prizewinning essay on world governance, written 54 years ago, you have devoted much of your life to the peacekeeping efforts of the United Nations, directly assisting three secretaries general. Your schools and books emphasize the increasing importance of global education. Your courageous leadership for peace is certainly worthy of this fine recognition. With warm best wishes, Sincerely, (US President) Jimmy Carter My fond recollection is from the mid or late 1990s. Being one of the lucky ones, I was comfortably seated in a packed Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium where people were sitting on the steps along the wall/railing and standing stacked like sardines in the back entranceways to get a glimpse of or to hear Dr Muller’s reflections and his famous harmonica playing. He may have played Ode to Joy, among other tunes but that is not the point. What I clearly remember is the standing ovation and how people did not want our time together to end, or, better yet, we did not want to let him leave us.

However, that is not the main idea I’d like to convey. What was striking was that there was a special presence we sensed that goes beyond the language of words. For us, staff working in the Organization, it was a unique, other-worldly reverence. For me, it was as if his spirit was streaming over us to elevate our essence and the UN itself as a global institution. This has left a life-long impression. I have had tremendous respect and admiration for many noteworthy UN staff and political leaders and have personally met many during my days as a UN employee at NY Headquarters. Yet, I have not felt what I experienced during those moments with Dr Muller from anyone else from the UN system. Dr Muller’s legacy lives on particularly in the subtle support that many of us engaged in the greater UN community regularly conduct and encourage. His impression continues to touch us all whether we are sitting in the Meditation Room in the Secretariat or advocating for a particular issue at one of the specialized ECOSOC Commission sessions or holding interfaith gatherings observing a specific UN Day. Our prayer for a better, a more just, equitable, harmonious, sustainable and prosperous world where we respect one another and all life and nature builds upon the strong foundation he laid.