[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 43 (Monday, October 30, 2000)]
[Pages 2607-2608]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7369--United Nations Day, 2000

October 24, 2000

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Fifty-five years ago, the United States played a leading role in 
founding the United Nations, and the treaty creating the U.N. was signed 
in San Francisco. Today, we are proud to serve as host country for the 
United Nations, whose headquarters in New York City stands as an 
enduring symbol of the promise of international peace and cooperation.
    The United States remains fully committed to the principles of the 
United Nations Charter, and we support efforts to make the U.N. a more 
effective tool to meet the challenges of our changing world. Many of 
those challenges--poverty, disease, ethnic violence, and regional 
conflict--recognize no borders and can only be addressed by nations 
working together with shared resources and common goals. The United 
Nations is uniquely positioned to facilitate such collaborative efforts.
    Today, more than half the world's people live under governments of 
their own choosing, an achievement that reflects the role the U.N. has 
played as a steadfast peacemaker and staunch advocate of international 
human rights. But three- fourths of those people live in developing 
countries, and more than a billion of them live in abject poverty. 
Through agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary 
Fund, the U.N. is working to address this gap between the

[[Page 2608]]

world's richest and poorest countries by supporting comprehensive debt 
relief and providing billions of dollars in loans and grants to 
developing nations for projects that promote health, nutrition, 
education, entrepreneurship, and civil society.
    While the devastating world wars of the 20th century are now a part 
of history, ethnic and regional conflicts continue to threaten global 
stability and contribute to human misery. Millions of innocent people 
have lost their lives in such conflicts, and millions of families have 
been driven from their homelands to seek refuge in neighboring nations. 
Through its international diplomacy efforts, peacekeeping operations, 
and humanitarian assistance, the United Nations serves as a beacon of 
hope for countries torn apart by ethnic, religious, or regional strife.
    In September of this year, the leaders of 189 countries came 
together in New York at the United Nations Millennium Summit. This 
unprecedented gathering of international leaders reaffirmed that the 
importance of the U.N.'s mission is undiminished after more than 5 
decades of extraordinary challenge and global change.
    As we observe United Nations Day this year, let us celebrate the 
spirit of international cooperation and dedication to peace enshrined in 
the U.N. Charter. For 55 years, the United Nations has led the world in 
addressing international security problems and promoting human rights 
and human dignity. Today we reaffirm our commitment to this vital 
institution and pledge to work with other member nations to ensure that 
the U.N. is equipped with the resources it needs to remain a powerful 
instrument of the international community and an effective force for the 
common good.
    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, 2000, as United Nations Day. I encourage all Americans to educate 
themselves about the activities and accomplishments of the United 
Nations and to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, programs, 
and activities devoted to enhancing international cooperation.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth 
day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
fifth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., October 26, 
2000]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
27.