[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 39 (Thursday, March 2, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3373-S3374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SECRETARY GENERAL'S MESSAGE ON 1994 UNITED NATIONS DAY
Mr. PELL. Mr. President, last year, during the ceremony for United
Nations Day on October 24, 1994, United Secretary-General Joseph Verner
Reed delivered a message at U.N. headquarters on behalf of Secretary-
General Boutros Boutros Ghali. That occasion launched the Golden
Anniversary celebration of the United Nations and was the first in a
series of planned events that will continue well into this year.
As Ambassador Reed--whom, by the way, many of my colleagues will
recall from his distinguished service in the U.S. Government--noted in
his introductory remarks to the Secretary General's message.
Forty-nine years ago in San Francisco, the United Nations
was launched as our world organization and began its long
journey for a better world. The signators of the charter were
fifty-one sovereign states, and today the United Nations
comprises 184 member-states; the organization represents the
world with all its problems and all its aspirations.
I had the honor of serving on the International Secretariat of the
San Francisco Conference which drew up the U.N. Charter. I have since
then held the hope that the United Nations would fulfill the noble
thoughts expressed in the charter and have tried to promote ways to
make the United Nations become a functional and effective alternative
to international conflict and discord.
Because of my longstanding interest in and support for the United
Nations, it is a particular pleasure for me to witness and participate
in the events to celebrate its 50-year anniversary. I also sure the
sentiment expressed by the Secretary General in his message that * * *
with the active commitment of people, the United Nations can continue
to play its indispensible role for peace and security, social and
economic progress, and global human development.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Ambassador Reed's remarks
and the Secretary-General's message be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Message of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Dr. Boutros
Boutros-Ghali on the Occasion of United Nations Day 1994
Excellencies, Friends of the United Nations, Ladies and
Gentlemen, it is an honour to represent the Secretary-General
of the United Nations, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, at United
Nations Day 1994 as we launch the year of the golden
anniversary of our world organization here at headquarters,
in this great world city--New York. Forty-nine years ago in
San Francisco, the United Nations was launched as our world
organization and began its long journey for a better world.
The signators of the charter were fifty-one sovereign States,
and today the United Nations comprises 184 member-States;
the organization represents the world with all its problems
and all its aspirations.
[[Page S3374]] In this spirit, ladies and gentlemen, may I
bring you the message from the Secretary-General:
United Nations Day has become a universally recognized time
for celebration and reflection on the state of the world.
Today we all live in a global context. Societies which once
felt able to stand alone, now see themselves interlocked with
others. The great goals of peace, development and democracy
increasingly are understood to require greater multilateral
effort.
Without peace, nothing is possible. Without development,
societies cannot look forward to the future. Without
democracy, progress will not rest securely on a foundation of
popular participation and commitment.
In the coming year, the United Nations calls upon the
peoples and governments of the world to take charge of the
development effort. This year, we shall review progress on
the agreements reached at the United Nations Conference on
environment and development held at Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
We shall also continue to implement the decisions reached at
the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna in 1993.
At the World Summit for Social Development, to be held in
Copenhagen 1995, we meet to find solutions to the development
crisis faced by all nations, rich and poor. At the Fourth
International Conference on Women, to be held in Beijing in
September 1995, we meet to discuss the special role of women
in development.
This year, as we prepare for the fiftieth anniversary of
the United Nations, let us recall the opening words of the
charter: ``We the peoples of the United Nations * * *.'' We--
all of us--are the United Nations. The United Nations is now,
and increasingly will be, what we choose to make of it.
Knowledge about the United Nations is thus ever-more
important for people everywhere. With the active commitment
of people, the United Nations can continue to play its
indispensable role for peace and security, social and
economic progress, and global human development.
Let us take up the challenge of the next fifty years. It is
in our power to use the United Nations as a force for
fundamental transformation to a world of peace and enduring
prosperity.
Let this day be the starting point for taking your United
Nations on the road to the future.
This concludes the message from the Secretary-General.
I believe it is in the spirit of United Nations Day 1994 to
say that fostering harmony through understanding among the
peoples of the world continues to be the principal mission of
the United Nations; that is so today even more than in the
past. The year of the fiftieth anniversary of the United
Nations offers a unique opportunity for governments, peoples
and institutions around the world to set aside social,
racial, political and religious differences and initiate a
real and productive dialogue on the burning problems of the
world as we move towards a new century. On this day, United
Nations Day 1994, let us rededicate our energies and join our
forces towards this goal.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina is recognized.
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