[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
[September 23, 2003]
[Page 1189]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Prior to Discussions With Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations in New York City
September 23, 2003

    I appreciate being here with the Secretary-General. He's a leader 
and a friend. We look forward to working with the United Nations to 
achieve big objectives. The big objective, of course, is for there to be 
peace and freedom--peace in the Middle East, freedom for people who are 
oppressed.
    I assured the Secretary-General our Nation will still continue to 
provide help for famine and disease. We're mostly going to talk about 
today the need for the United Nations and the free world to work against 
slavery in all forms, particularly the sex slavery that takes place all 
over the world--in our civilized world. The world must combine our 
resources and our will to stop this abhorrent practice.
    Mr. Secretary, thank you, sir. It's great to be back.

Note: The President spoke at 9:50 a.m. at the United Nations 
Headquarters. A tape was not available for verification of the content 
of these remarks.