[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 37 (Monday, September 19, 2005)]
[Pages 1394-1399]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 
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

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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 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

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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.
    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

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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 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

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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 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.

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    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.