Bruce Knotts
Last Update: Pre GA 2023
The UUA’s first General Assembly committed the UUA to engagement with the United Nations, and an office at the UN was formed in 1962. The UUA stopped funding the office in 1970. Local New York congregations re-formed the office into a independent organization with no support or management from the UUA. In 2011, due to financial issues, this independent UU office merged with the UUA. In the last few years, the UUA has reduced funding to its office at the UN. Current plans from the UUA propose working with UUSC to engage with the UN remotely. The following gives you a picture of the history-making accomplishments of the UU office at the UN. This level of success cannot be achieved remotely.
About Bruce Knotts
- A UN Representative of the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women
- Chair of the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security
- Co-Chair of the NGO Committee on Human Rights
- Steering Committee of the NGO Working Group on the Security Council
- Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions
- Commissioner Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation
- Second Enlightenment Movement, Scotland
- Advisory Board Academy North American Unitarian Association
- IARF Board Member
- Adjunct Faculty Silver School of Social Work, New York University
Bruce Knotts was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, worked for Raytheon in Saudi Arabia (1976-80) and on a World Bank contract in Somalia (1982-4), before he joined the Department of State as a U.S. diplomat in 1984. Bruce had diplomatic assignments in Greece, Zambia, India, Pakistan, Kenya, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire and The Gambia, where he served as Deputy Chief of Mission. While in Cote d’Ivoire, Bruce served as the Regional Refugee Coordinator for West Africa. Bruce worked closely with several UN Special Representatives and observed UN peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone from 2000-2003. Bruce retired from the Foreign Service in 2007 and began directing the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) in 2008. Bruce founded faith-based advocacy for sexual orientation/gender identity human rights at the United Nations and continues to advocate for the rights of women, indigenous peoples and for sustainable development in moral terms of faith and values. Bruce is co-chair of the UN NGO Committee on Human Rights, the chair of the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security, a member of steering committee of the NGO UN Security Council Working Group. Bruce retired from the UUA September 30, 2022. Bruce is currently the UN representative of the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women.
Bruce writes:
Policy engagement at the United Nations requires a physical presence in New York City and attendance at United Nations meetings, and engagement with civil society, member country diplomats, and United Nations staff. All of our faith-based colleagues have offices near the United Nations and their representatives have been building relationships and influencing policy at the United Nations. The only Unitarian Universalist organization that has that kind of consistent continuous engagement at the United Nations is the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women. We welcome visits by our colleagues at UUSC when they visit the UN every few months.
Where are the 7 Principles? 