Ask anyone for their abiding memory of 2015 and they will most likely recall a negative one. Some will recall the horrifying stories of death and destruction caused by conflicts around the world, most notably in Syria, where over 250,000 people have lost their lives and almost 11 million people have been displaced. Others will recall a sense of grief, fear and anger after violent extremists attacked, tortured, kidnapped and executed innocent civilians around the world. Others still might recall a simple but disturbing fact they heard in passing — that 2015 was the hottest year on record or that over 15,000 children continue to die annually, mostly from preventable diseases.

Yet, despite all of this, 2015 was also a year of progress and breakthroughs. It was the year, for instance, when health workers and public officials supported by the international community brought an end to the Ebola Epidemic in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. It was the year when the United Nations Millennium Development Goals expired, having helped to reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty globally by over 50 percent.

And it was the year when talks not tanks led to improvements in relations between the United States and Cuba, an Iranian nuclear deal, a breakthrough in peace talks in Colombia, transition in the Central African Republic. And most recently, a road map on resolving the Syria conflict was agreed on in the Security Council; the hope is that finally we can begin to contain this humanitarian disaster.