About Us

eleanoreRoosevelt_thumb“…the destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens in all our communities.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
“In Your Hands”, March 27, l958

The National Ethical Service represents Ethical Culture at the United Nations and provides our members with information we learn from the United Nations. ALL ETHICAL CULTURE members are, by association, MEMBERS of the National Ethical Service.  We measure our success by our transforming educational initiatives, programs, and actions in local Ethical Societies that promote global citizenship and support for the highest ethical principles at the UN.

NES board members represent NES on the steering Committee on the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace; the Executive Council of the CONGO Committee Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns; the sub-committee against racism with the CONGO Committee on Human Rights; and we are a founding member of the Working Group on Climate Change with the Committee on Sustainable Development. We are associated with the Department of Global Communications, the Finance for Development Commission, and with religious and non-religious NGOs who are peace builders, including the United Religions Initiative and the International Peace Day creators. We are also part of the worldwide interspiritual movement especially through Interspirituality in Action. We inaugurated the Rose L Walker Fund, which is dedicated to building mutually beneficial partnerships through seed grants.

Statement of Mission

Delivered at NES Gathering, NYSEC, November 16, 2024, delivered by NES Secretary, Carolyn Parker.

National Ethical Service is a not for profit organization. We are a non-governmental organization in association with the United Nations Department of Global Communications and affiliated with the American Ethical Union (AEU), the federation of Ethical Societies. We dedicate ourselves to promoting and enhancing the highest principles at the United Nations, the AEU, and the Culture of Peace worldwide. We understand humanitarian work is vital not only to the relief of suffering but essential to building a peaceful world.

In plain language, our purpose is to represent and promote the values that are central to  Ethical Culture:

  • Respect for and protection of the inherent worth and dignity to every person;
  • Respect for and protection of the connection between ourselves and all others and to the planet on which we live; and
  • The purposive practice of inspiring ourselves and others to become our best selves.

Therefore, we see our role at the United Nations as advocates for peace building, human and earth rights, and pluralism based in transparency, accountability, and the affirmation of the Global Commons. In relation to the American Ethical Union and its member Societies, we seek to support efforts to advocate for US adoption and implementation of those international instruments whether binding or non-binding that are necessary to promote the culture of peace. This includes ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Criminal Court, Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and adherence to the letter and spirit of all Resolutions.

Drafted by Carolyn A. Parker, PhD

NES Secretary