Check against delivery

Luncheon for the Board of Directors
of United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund

New York, 11 December 2002
Remarks by H.E. Mr. Jan Kavan, President of the 57th United Nations General Assembly
(to be delivered by the Vice President of the General Assembly,
H.E. Ambassador Abdulmejid Hussein)

I have the honour to welcome all the distinguished guests on behalf of the President, H.E. Mr. Jan Kavan, and members of the General Assembly. The President, Mr. Jan Kavan, who could not be here today due to pressing prior commitments, has requested me to convey his message and I quote:

As President of and on behalf of the United Nations General Assembly,

It is my pleasure and honour to welcome Mr. Ted Turner, Chairman and founder of the United Nations Foundation, Honourable Timothy Wirth, President of the Foundation, and the eminent Directors of the Board of the Foundation. I also welcome members of the Better World Fund and all of the distinguished guests who are here with us, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the partnership between United Nations Foundation and the United Nations.

At the outset, let me express my admiration to you, Mr. Turner. Your generosity and immense vision set a world record in philanthropy in support of the work of this world body. Your gesture, Mr. Turner, has indeed, inspired us all in re-affirming the United Nations ideals as enshrined in its Charter. The entire world community felt the ripples of excitement generated by the size and scope of the individual act of this contribution. It helped project the significance of the role of United Nations to forge a better world - a world where justice prevails, a world flourishing because of global peace and security, a world free of hunger and environmental degradation, a world where all the citizens of this planet can live in dignity and harmony among themselves and with nature. The United Nations is greatly strengthened by your support, to work towards such a world.

The potential and importance of partnerships between the United Nations and civil society, multilateral organizations, the private sector, non-governmental and philanthropic organizations, as well as the volunteers in every community, to attain the Millennium goals, towards making a better world, has been given an added impetus by the financial support from the United Nations Foundation. The General Assembly fully supports the work of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships in its efforts to recruit new partners and expand the resource base for implementing the Millennium Goals. The active participation of all the partners is indispensable in the equation formulated to eradicate poverty, and to reach these objectives.

In concluding, I welcome you again and thank you for being here. Your positive actions in support of the United Nations, as exemplified by the five year collaboration we are celebrating today, would contribute to ensure the goal of a kinder and more humane world for our children and the generations to come. unquote