[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 43 (Monday, November 1, 1993)]
[Pages 2165-2166]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6618--United Nations Day, 1993

 October 23, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    As the world continues to experience sweeping change after the end 
of the Cold War, it is increasingly important that we rededicate 
ourselves to the uplifting principles of the United Nations Charter and 
to the hard work of bringing those principles closer to reality. 
Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali lists development, peace, and 
democracy as the overriding goals of the United Nations. On the 48th 
anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the United States 
must continue its work in cooperation with the United Nations to bring 
these principles closer to reality.
    America alone is responsible for protecting its own vital interests. 
But many of the concerns we have about political, military, economic, 
and environmental challenges around the world are shared by other 
states. By working with the United Nations, and by doing all we can in 
association with like-minded governments to reform and energize it, we 
can advance our own interests and, at the same time, strengthen the ties 
that bind the international community.
    The United Nations has often been on the front lines of efforts to 
deter, contain, and put an end to the rash of ethnic and subnational 
conflicts that have erupted in the post-Cold War era. Despite 
limitations on its capabilities and resources, the United Nations has 
the potential to be a resolute force for peace and democracy. In 
troubled areas around the globe, UN peacekeepers and observers are 
repatriating refugees; clearing land mines; monitoring elections; caring 
for victims of violence; helping protect human rights; arranging and 
monitoring ceasefires; and helping to construct democratic institutions 
where anarchy once prevailed.
    Efforts of the United Nations have contributed greatly to the birth 
of a democratic Namibia, have helped bring an end to the civil war in El 
Salvador, and have created the conditions under which the Cambodian 
people could form a government legitimized by free elections and a new 
constitution. In Somalia, the United States and the UN have worked 
together to save hundreds of thousands of lives threatened by anarchy-
induced famine. In Bosnia, the UN's humanitarian relief effort has been 
sustained under dangerous and frustrating conditions. In many nations, 
particularly in Africa, UN operations are working to facilitate the 
transition from civil conflicts to peaceful development.
    The cause of peace is linked to the need for inclusive and lasting 
economic growth that gives more and more people a stake in stability and 
a voice in decisions that affect their lives. America's interest in 
enlarging the world's community of market democracies is echoed in the 
Preamble of the UN Charter, which calls for ``social progress and better 
standards of life in larger freedom.''
    The United States applauds the work of a variety of UN programs and 
agencies that

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promote development and counter the hardships of poverty, homelessness, 
and disease. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, whose workload has 
regrettably increased in recent years; the World Health Organization, 
whose responsibility it is to halt the deadly spread of AIDS; and the UN 
Development Program, which is being reinvigorated under new leadership, 
all deserve special recognition for their momentous achievements in the 
face of enormous obstacles.
    Despite the efforts of the many dedicated public servants at the 
United Nations, there remains an urgent need to improve the management 
of the UN system in order to make it more efficient, effective, and 
accountable. The United States is working actively with UN officials and 
with other governments on a number of management-related initiatives. 
The Secretary General is to be commended for recently establishing an 
office and appointing an Assistant Secretary General for Inspections and 
Investigations. This is a useful first step, but more must be done to 
translate such steps into tangible results.
    It has been said that ``all work that is worth anything is done in 
faith.'' The United Nations was built on the profound faith that people 
from different backgrounds, creeds, races, and religions can live 
together peaceably and can pursue shared goals. That faith is the 
antithesis of the hatred we see in some parts of the world today and is 
the foundation upon which a future of trust and goodwill among all 
nations and peoples can be built. The United States has a bipartisan 
tradition, established long before the creation of the United Nations, 
of support for an international organization dedicated to social 
progress and the preservation of world peace. As President, I intend to 
carry on that tradition.
    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 Sunday, 
October 24, 1993, as ``United Nations Day,'' and urge all Americans to 
acquaint themselves with the activities and accomplishments of the 
United Nations.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third 
day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-
three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two 
hundred and eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:42 a.m., October 25, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
26.