[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 208 (Thursday, October 28, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 57967-57968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28435]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 1999 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 57967]]

                Proclamation 7244 of October 22, 1999

                
United Nations Day, 1999

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                As the 20th century draws to a close, Americans are 
                taking time to reflect on the institutions that have 
                shaped our past and that hold great hope for our 
                future. One of the most important of these institutions 
                is the United Nations. A dream of peace rising from the 
                ashes of World War II, the U.N. has made great strides 
                toward fulfilling the goals of its founders by saving 
                lives, enhancing the security of law-abiding nations, 
                and improving living conditions across the globe. This 
                year, in marking the 54th anniversary of the founding 
                of the U.N., we celebrate not only the organization's 
                many accomplishments, but also its potential to bring 
                the family of nations together to work toward a more 
                peaceful, democratic, just, and prosperous world.

                Since the U.N.'s founding more than half a century ago, 
                humankind has learned a great deal--how to produce 
                enough food for growing populations, how human activity 
                affects the environment, how telecommunications can 
                link the countries of the world into a single global 
                community. But one of the most important lessons 
                humanity has learned is one that Americans have always 
                known: open societies are more just and open markets 
                create more wealth.

                Through the United Nations, America has access to a 
                powerful forum where we can join with the other peoples 
                of the world to raise awareness of these truths and to 
                advance common interests and shared values. During the 
                past decade, U.N. conferences have brought together 
                nearly 50,000 people in Beijing to advance the rights 
                and well-being of women; 47,000 in Rio de Janeiro to 
                discuss ways to promote development while protecting 
                the environment; and 30,000 people in Istanbul to seek 
                solutions to urban problems.

                In the last year alone, we have seen abundant evidence 
                of the ways in which the United Nations benefits 
                America and the world. The United Nations is the 
                primary multilateral forum to press for international 
                human rights and lead governments to improve their 
                relations with their neighbors and their own people. As 
                we saw during the Kosovo conflict, and more recently 
                with regard to East Timor, the perpetrators of ethnic 
                cleansing and mass murder can find no refuge in the 
                United Nations and no source of comfort in its charter. 
                It is the institution the international community turns 
                to in pursuit of solutions to armed conflict. It is the 
                primary vehicle for broad international cooperation in 
                addressing the needs of refugees and of the tens of 
                millions of people around the world who remain mired in 
                abject poverty. The United Nations and its affiliated 
                agencies also provide a powerful voice for upholding 
                and furthering the development of the rule of law and 
                standards of international commerce--rules and 
                standards that are crucial to global and economic 
                stability and progress.

                In acknowledging the far-reaching contributions of the 
                United Nations to the international community, we must 
                renew our commitment to work with our fellow U.N. 
                members to advance international peace and prosperity 
                and to champion human rights. In achieving these goals, 
                the United Nations should make wise use of the 
                international resources at its disposal; and the United 
                States should meet its obligation to provide our share 
                of these

[[Page 57968]]

                resources. By doing so, we can ensure that the United 
                Nations will be an integral player in making the next 
                millennium an era of unprecedented global peace, 
                security, and prosperity.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim October 24, 1999, as United 
                Nations Day. I encourage all Americans to acquaint 
                themselves with the activities and accomplishments of 
                the United Nations and to observe this day with 
                appropriate ceremonies, programs, and activities 
                furthering the goal of international cooperation.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-second day of October, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 99-28435
Filed 10-27-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P