United Nations Day
24 October 2002
Message by H.E. Mr. Jan Kavan,
President of the Fifty-seventh session of the United Nations
General Assembly
version
for print
 As
we celebrate the 57th anniversary of the United Nations, we
may rejoice on this day and pay tribute to the founders and
their foresight in establishing an organization that was mandated
to ensure a just and peaceful world, an organization that would
reflect the universal moral conscience, an organization which
is the most inclusive of all world forums and where nations
could settle their differences and disputes peacefully. The
relevance of United Nations is confirmed more than ever in these
times when there are so many global problems challenging our
world. On this day, we can take pride and satisfaction that,
every country and therefore every citizen, is a stakeholder
in this enterprise.
Over the years,
United Nation's influence and substantive work has impacted on
issues such as decolonization, democratization, human rights,
gender sensitivity, protection of the environment and most important
of all in the domain of peace and security backed by world solidarity.
Focus of the
United Nations on crucial issues of development materialized in
the Millennium Declaration followed by the Monterrey Consensus
in Mexico and the Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
The Millennium Development Goals including the eradication of
poverty and HIV/AIDS have received new impetus in the follow up
process.
Another important
addition in the work of the United Nations is the concept of new
partnerships that have been fostered between the non-governmental
organizations, the civil society, the religious and ethnic groups
and the multinational corporations and multilateral organizations.
As the United
Nations continues to enlarge its membership that now stands at
191 members - it has also embarked on important reforms and changes
within the organization to consolidate various departments, to
increase efficiency and better serve Member States. The introduction
of the internet has provided the opportunity to disseminate, to
a wider public, information on the role of the United Nations
and its work on global issues.
In conclusion,
I would like to reiterate that, although United Nations has many
important achievements to its credit, the ultimate test of its
credibility is based not only on its ability to articulate political
goals but also, and primarily, on its ability to mobilize the
will for their implementation.
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