United Nations Day, 2000

Proclamation 7369 of October 24, 2000

United Nations Day, 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 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.