    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [September 14, 2005]
    [Pages 1428-1434]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Plenary Session of the United Nations General Assembly in
    New York City
    September 14, 2005

        Mr. Secretary-General, Mr.
    President, distinguished guests, ladies and
    gentlemen: Thank you for the privilege of being here for the 60th
    anniversary of the United Nations. Thank you for your dedication to the

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    vital work and great ideals of this institution.
        We meet at a time of great challenge for America and the world. At
    this moment, men and women along my country's gulf coast are recovering
    from one of the worst natural disasters in American history. Many have
    lost homes and loved ones and all their earthly possessions. In Alabama
    and Mississippi and Louisiana, whole neighborhoods have been lifted from
    their foundations and sent crashing into the streets. A great American
    city is working to turn the flood waters and reclaim its future.
        We have witnessed the awesome power of nature and the greater power
    of human compassion. Americans have responded to their neighbors in
    need, and so have many of the nations represented in this chamber. All
    together, more than 115 countries and nearly a dozen international
    organizations have stepped forward with offers of assistance. To every
    nation, every province, and every community across the world that is
    standing with the American people in this hour of need, I offer the
    thanks of my nation.
        Your response, like the response to last year's tsunami, has shown
    once again that the world is more compassionate and hopeful when we act
    together. This truth was the inspiration for the United Nations. The
    U.N.'s founding members laid out great and honorable goals in the
    charter they drafted six decades ago. That document commits this
    organization to work to ``save succeeding generations from the scourge
    of war,'' ``reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights,'' and ``promote
    social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.'' We
    remain committed to those noble ideals. As we respond to great
    humanitarian needs, we must actively respond to the other great
    challenges of our time. We must continue to work to ease suffering and
    to spread freedom and to lay the foundations of lasting peace for our
    children and grandchildren.
        In this young century, the far corners of the world are linked more
    closely than ever before, and no nation can remain isolated and
    indifferent to the struggles of others. When a country or a region is
    filled with despair and resentment and vulnerable to violent and
    aggressive ideologies, the threat passes easily across oceans and
    borders and could threaten the security of any peaceful country.
        Terrorism fed by anger and despair has come to Tunisia, to
    Indonesia, to Kenya, to Tanzania, to Morocco, to Israel, to Saudi
    Arabia, to the United States, to Turkey, to Spain, to Russia, to Egypt,
    to Iraq, and the United Kingdom. And those who have not seen attacks on
    their own soil have still shared in the sorrow, from Australians killed
    in Bali to Italians killed in Egypt, to the citizens of dozens of
    nations who were killed on September the 11th, 2001, here in the city
    where we meet. The lesson is clear: There can be no safety in looking
    away or seeking the quiet life by ignoring the hardship and oppression
    of others. Either hope will spread or violence will spread, and we must
    take the side of hope.
        Sometimes our security will require confronting threats directly,
    and so a great coalition of nations has come together to fight the
    terrorists across the world. We've worked together to help break up
    terrorist networks that cross borders and rout out radical cells within
    our own borders. We've eliminated terrorist sanctuaries. We're using our
    diplomatic and financial tools to cut off their financing and drain them
    of support. And as we fight, the terrorists must know the world stands
    united against them. We must complete the Comprehensive Convention on
    International Terrorism that will put every nation on record: The
    targeting and deliberate killing by terrorists of civilians and non-
    combatants cannot be justified or legitimized by any cause or grievance.
        And the world's free nations are determined to stop the terrorists
    and their allies from acquiring the terrible weapons that

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    would allow them to kill on a scale equal to their hatred. For that
    reason, more than 60 countries are supporting the Proliferation Security
    Initiative to intercept shipments of weapons of mass destruction on
    land, on sea, and at air. The terrorists must know that wherever they
    go, they cannot escape justice.
        Later today, the Security Council has an opportunity to put the
    terrorists on notice when it votes on a resolution that condemns the
    incitement of terrorist acts, the resolution that calls upon all states
    to take appropriate steps to end such incitement. We also need to sign
    and implement the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts
    of Nuclear Terrorism so that all those who seek radioactive materials or
    nuclear devices are prosecuted and extradited, wherever they are. We
    must send a clear message to the rulers of outlaw regimes that sponsor
    terror and pursue weapons of mass murder: You will not be allowed to
    threaten the peace and stability of the world.
        Confronting our enemies is essential, and so civilized nations will
    continue to take the fight to the terrorists. Yet we know that this war
    will not be won by force of arms alone. We must defeat the terrorists on
    the battlefield, and we must also defeat them in the battle of ideas. We
    must change the conditions that allow terrorists to flourish and
    recruit, by spreading the hope of freedom to millions who've never known
    it. We must help raise up the failing states and stagnant societies that
    provide fertile ground for the terrorists. We must defend and extend a
    vision of human dignity and opportunity and prosperity, a vision far
    stronger than the dark appeal of resentment and murder.
        To spread a vision of hope, the United States is determined to help
    nations that are struggling with poverty. We are committed to the
    Millennium Development goals. This is an ambitious agenda that includes
    cutting poverty and hunger in half, ensuring that every boy and girl in
    the world has access to primary education, and halting the spread of
    AIDS--all by 2015.
        We have a moral obligation to help others and a moral duty to make
    sure our actions are effective. At Monterrey in 2002, we agreed to a new
    vision for the way we fight poverty and curb corruption and provide aid
    in this new millennium. Developing countries agreed to take
    responsibility for their own economic progress through good governance
    and sound policies and the rule of law. Developed countries agreed to
    support those efforts, including increased aid to nations that undertake
    necessary reforms. My own country has sought to implement the Monterrey
    Consensus by establishing the new Millennium Challenge Account. This
    account is increasing U.S. aid for countries that govern justly, invest
    in their people, and promote economic freedom.
        More needs to be done. I call on all the world's nations to
    implement the Monterrey Consensus. Implementing the Monterrey Consensus
    means continuing on the long, hard road to reform. Implementing the
    Monterrey Consensus means creating a genuine partnership between
    developed and developing countries to replace the donor-client
    relationship of the past. And implementing the Monterrey Consensus means
    welcoming all developing countries as full participants to the global
    economy, with all the requisite benefits and responsibilities.
        Tying aid to reform is essential to eliminating poverty, but our
    work doesn't end there. For many countries, AIDS, malaria, and other
    diseases are both humanitarian tragedies and significant obstacles to
    development. We must give poor countries access to the emergency
    lifesaving drugs they need to fight these infectious diseases. Through
    our bilateral programs and the Global Fund, the United States will
    continue to lead the world in providing the resources to defeat the
    plague of HIV/AIDS.

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        Today, America is working with local authorities and organizations
    in the largest initiative in history to combat a specific disease.
    Across Africa, we're helping local health officials expand AIDS testing
    facilities, train and support doctors and nurses and counselors, and
    upgrade clinics and hospitals. Working with our African partners, we
    have now delivered lifesaving treatment to more than 230,000 people in
    sub-Sahara Africa. We are ahead of schedule to meet an important
    objective, providing HIV/AIDS treatment for nearly 2 million adults and
    children in Africa. At the G-8 summit at Gleneagles, Scotland, we set a
    clear goal, an AIDS-free generation in Africa. I challenge every member
    of the United Nations to take concrete steps to achieve that goal.
        We're also working to fight malaria. This preventable disease kills
    more than a million people around the world every year and leaves
    poverty and grief in every land it touches. The United States has set a
    goal of cutting the malaria death rate in half in at least 15 highly
    endemic African countries. To achieve that goal, we've pledged to
    increase our funding for malaria treatment and prevention by more than
    $1.2 billion over the next 5 years. We invite other nations to join us
    in this effort by committing specific aid to the dozens of other African
    nations in need of it. Together we can fight malaria and save hundreds
    of thousands of lives and bring new hope to countries that have been
    devastated by this terrible disease.
        As we strengthen our commitment to fighting malaria and AIDS, we
    must also remain on the offensive against new threats to public health
    such as the avian influenza. If left unchallenged, this virus could
    become the first pandemic of the 21st century. We must not allow that to
    happen. Today I am announcing a new International Partnership on Avian
    and Pandemic Influenza. The Partnership requires countries that face an
    outbreak to immediately share information and provide samples to the
    World Health Organization. By requiring transparency, we can respond
    more rapidly to dangerous outbreaks and stop them on time. Many nations
    have already joined this partnership. We invite all nations to
    participate. It's essential we work together, and as we do so, we will
    fulfill a moral duty to protect our citizens and heal the sick and
    comfort the afflicted.
        Even with increased aid to fight disease and reform economies, many
    nations are held back by another heavy challenge, the burden of debt. So
    America and many nations have also acted to lift this burden that limits
    the growth of developing economies and holds millions of people in
    poverty. Today, poor countries with the heaviest debt burdens are
    receiving more than $30 billion in debt relief. And to prevent the
    build-up of future debt, my country and other nations have agreed that
    international financial institutions should increasingly provide new aid
    in the form of grants, rather than loans. The G-8 agreed at Gleneagles
    to go further. To break the lend-and-forgive cycle permanently, we
    agreed to cancel 100 percent of the debt for the world's most heavily
    indebted nations. I call upon the World Bank and the IMF to finalize
    this historic agreement as soon as possible.
        We will fight to lift the burden of poverty from places of
    suffering, not just for the moment but permanently. And the surest path
    to greater wealth is greater trade. In a letter he wrote to me in
    August, the Secretary-General commended the G-8's
    work but told me that aid and debt relief are not enough. The Secretary-
    General said that we also need to reduce trade barriers and subsidies
    that are holding developing countries back. I agree with the Secretary-
    General: The Doha round is ``the most promising way'' to achieve this
    goal.
         A successful Doha round will reduce and eliminate tariffs and other
    barriers on farm and industrial goods. It will end unfair agricultural
    subsidies. It will open up global markets for services. Under Doha,
    every

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    nation will gain, and the developing world stands to gain the most.
    Historically, developing nations that open themselves up to trade grow
    at several times the rate of other countries. The elimination of trade
    barriers could lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over
    the next 15 years. The stakes are high. The lives and futures of
    millions of the world's poorest citizens hang in the balance, and so we
    must bring the Doha trade talks to a successful conclusion.
        Doha is an important step toward a larger goal. We must tear down
    the walls that separate the developed and developing worlds. We need to
    give the citizens of the poorest nations the same ability to access the
    world economy that the people of wealthy nations have, so they can offer
    their goods and talents on the world market alongside everyone else. We
    need to ensure that they have the same opportunities to pursue their
    dreams, provide for their families, and live lives of dignity and self-
    reliance.
        And the greatest obstacles to achieving these goals are the tariffs
    and subsidies and barriers that isolate people of developing nations
    from the great opportunities of the 21st century. Today, I reiterate the
    challenge I have made before: We must work together in the Doha
    negotiations to eliminate agricultural subsidies that distort trade and
    stunt development and to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to open
    markets for farmers around the world. Today I broaden the challenge by
    making this pledge: The United States is ready to eliminate all tariffs,
    subsidies, and other barriers to free flow of goods and services as
    other nations do the same. This is key to overcoming poverty in the
    world's poorest nations. It's essential we promote prosperity and
    opportunity for all nations.
         By expanding trade, we spread hope and opportunity to the corners
    of the world, and we strike a blow against the terrorists who feed on
    anger and resentment. Our agenda for freer trade is part of our agenda
    for a freer world, where people can live and worship and raise their
    children as they choose. In the long run, the best way to protect the
    religious freedom and the rights of women and minorities is through
    institutions of self-rule, which allow people to assert and defend their
    own rights. All who stand for human rights must also stand for human
    freedom.
        This is a moment of great opportunity in the cause of freedom.
    Across the world, hearts and minds are opening to the message of human
    liberty as never before. In the last 2 years alone, tens of millions
    have voted in free elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, in Lebanon and the
    Palestinian Territories, in Kyrgyzstan, in Ukraine, and Georgia. And as
    they claim their freedom, they are inspiring millions more across the
    broader Middle East. We must encourage their aspirations. We must
    nurture freedom's progress, and the United Nations has a vital role to
    play.
        Through the new U.N. Democracy Fund, the democratic members of the
    U.N. will work to help others who want to join the democratic world. It
    is fitting that the world's largest democracy, India, has taken a
    leadership role in this effort, pledging $10 million to get the fund
    started. Every free nation has an interest in the success of this fund,
    and every free nation has a responsibility in advancing the cause of
    liberty.
        The work of democracy is larger than holding a fair election. It
    requires building the institutions that sustain freedom. Democracy takes
    different forms in different cultures, yet all free societies have
    certain things in common. Democratic nations uphold the rule of law,
    impose limits on the power of the state, treat women and minorities as
    full citizens. Democratic nations protect private property, free speech,
    and religious expression. Democratic nations grow in strength because
    they reward and respect the creative gifts of their people. And
    democratic nations contribute to peace and stability because they seek
    national

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    greatness in achievements of their citizens, not the conquest of their
    neighbors.
        For these reasons, the whole world has a vital interest in the
    success of a free Iraq, and no civilized nation has an interest in
    seeing a new terrorist state emerge in that country. So the free world
    is working together to help the Iraqi people to establish a new nation
    that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself. It's an
    exciting opportunity for all of us in this chamber. And the United
    Nations has played a vital role in the success of the January elections,
    where 8\1/2\ million Iraqis defied the terrorists and cast their
    ballots. And since then, the United Nations has supported Iraq's elected
    leaders as they drafted a new constitution.
        The United Nations and its member states must continue to stand by
    the Iraqi people as they complete the journey to a fully constitutional
    government. And when Iraqis complete their journey, their success will
    inspire others to claim their freedom; the Middle East will grow in
    peace and hope and liberty; and all of us will live in a safer world.
        The advance of freedom and security is the calling of our time. It
    is the mission of the United Nations. The United Nations was created to
    spread the hope of liberty and to fight poverty and disease and to help
    secure human rights and human dignity for all the world's people. To
    help make these promises real, the United Nations must be strong and
    efficient, free of corruption, and accountable to the people it serves.
    The United Nations must stand for integrity and live by the high
    standards it sets for others. And meaningful institutional reforms must
    include measures to improve internal oversight, identify cost savings,
    and ensure that precious resources are used for their intended purpose.
        The United Nations has taken the first steps toward reform. The
    process will continue in the General Assembly this fall, and the United
    States will join with others to lead the effort. And the process of
    reform begins with members taking our responsibilities seriously. When
    this great institution's member states choose notorious abusers of human
    rights to sit on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, they discredit a
    noble effort and undermine the credibility of the whole organization. If
    member countries want the United Nations to be respected--respected and
    effective, they should begin by making sure it is worthy of respect.
        At the start of a new century, the world needs the United Nations to
    live up to its ideals and fulfill its mission. The founding members of
    this organization knew that the security of the world would increasingly
    depend on advancing the rights of mankind, and this would require the
    work of many hands. After committing America to the idea of the U.N. in
    1945, President Franklin Roosevelt declared: ``The structure of world
    peace cannot be the work of one man or one party or one nation.'' Peace
    is the responsibility of every nation and every generation.
        In each era of history, the human spirit has been challenged by the
    forces of darkness and chaos. Some challenges are the acts of nature;
    others are the works of man. This organization was convened to meet
    these challenges by harnessing the best instincts of humankind, the
    strength of the world united in common purpose.
        With courage and conscience, we will meet our responsibilities to
    protect the lives and rights of others. And when we do, we will help
    fulfill the promise of the United Nations and ensure that every human
    being enjoys the peace and the freedom and the dignity our Creator
    intended for all.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:48 a.m. in the General Assembly Chamber
    at the United Nations Headquarters. In his remarks, he referred to
    Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations. The Office of the
    Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these
    remarks.

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