It is a pleasure to send greetings to the World Conference of Religions for Peace and the Arias Foundation and all the participants in this Global Youth Campaign on Disarmament for Shared Security. I thank the Government of Costa Rica for hosting this event and for its staunch support, expressed at the September Summit of the UN Security Council, for the disarmament agenda and for my own five-point action plan to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

The world is over-armed and peace is under-funded. We are now a generation beyond the end of the Cold War, but military spending is rising and is now well above $1 trillion. More weapons are being produced, flooding markets, destabilizing societies and feeding the flames of civil war and terror.

Yet the world is also witnessing a new wave of interest in advancing disarmament goals –an interest shared by Governments and civil society alike. People everywhere are recognizing as never before the tremendous burdens and risks of continuing to invest vast sums and energies in nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction, small arms, landmines, cluster munitions and other deadly weapons. Disarmament is back on the global agenda, and we must make the most of this new moment of opportunity.

The United Nations has always recognized the critical role religious communities play in building peace. Religious leaders and people of faith around the world, including Religions for Peace, have long been active in advocating for a number of disarmament measures, including the recent adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. This year's global, multi-religious youth campaign is another welcome effort. I urge you to use this event to build and strengthen the networks of mutual support that are so essential for the success of disarmament initiatives. I hope young people will also support the UN's “We Must Disarm!” campaign by joining us on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and elsewhere to tell the world why these weapons should have no place in the 21st century.

There can be no development without peace and no peace without development. Disarmament can provide the means for both. With your voice and strong support, we can get this message across and advance the international disarmament agenda. Please accept my best wishes for a successful conference.