[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 208 (Thursday, October 28, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 57967-57968]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28435]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 208 / Thursday, October 28, 1999 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 57967]]
Proclamation 7244 of October 22, 1999
United Nations Day, 1999
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
As the 20th century draws to a close, Americans are
taking time to reflect on the institutions that have
shaped our past and that hold great hope for our
future. One of the most important of these institutions
is the United Nations. A dream of peace rising from the
ashes of World War II, the U.N. has made great strides
toward fulfilling the goals of its founders by saving
lives, enhancing the security of law-abiding nations,
and improving living conditions across the globe. This
year, in marking the 54th anniversary of the founding
of the U.N., we celebrate not only the organization's
many accomplishments, but also its potential to bring
the family of nations together to work toward a more
peaceful, democratic, just, and prosperous world.
Since the U.N.'s founding more than half a century ago,
humankind has learned a great deal--how to produce
enough food for growing populations, how human activity
affects the environment, how telecommunications can
link the countries of the world into a single global
community. But one of the most important lessons
humanity has learned is one that Americans have always
known: open societies are more just and open markets
create more wealth.
Through the United Nations, America has access to a
powerful forum where we can join with the other peoples
of the world to raise awareness of these truths and to
advance common interests and shared values. During the
past decade, U.N. conferences have brought together
nearly 50,000 people in Beijing to advance the rights
and well-being of women; 47,000 in Rio de Janeiro to
discuss ways to promote development while protecting
the environment; and 30,000 people in Istanbul to seek
solutions to urban problems.
In the last year alone, we have seen abundant evidence
of the ways in which the United Nations benefits
America and the world. The United Nations is the
primary multilateral forum to press for international
human rights and lead governments to improve their
relations with their neighbors and their own people. As
we saw during the Kosovo conflict, and more recently
with regard to East Timor, the perpetrators of ethnic
cleansing and mass murder can find no refuge in the
United Nations and no source of comfort in its charter.
It is the institution the international community turns
to in pursuit of solutions to armed conflict. It is the
primary vehicle for broad international cooperation in
addressing the needs of refugees and of the tens of
millions of people around the world who remain mired in
abject poverty. The United Nations and its affiliated
agencies also provide a powerful voice for upholding
and furthering the development of the rule of law and
standards of international commerce--rules and
standards that are crucial to global and economic
stability and progress.
In acknowledging the far-reaching contributions of the
United Nations to the international community, we must
renew our commitment to work with our fellow U.N.
members to advance international peace and prosperity
and to champion human rights. In achieving these goals,
the United Nations should make wise use of the
international resources at its disposal; and the United
States should meet its obligation to provide our share
of these
[[Page 57968]]
resources. By doing so, we can ensure that the United
Nations will be an integral player in making the next
millennium an era of unprecedented global peace,
security, and prosperity.
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, 1999, as United
Nations Day. I encourage all Americans to acquaint
themselves with the activities and accomplishments of
the United Nations and to observe this day with
appropriate ceremonies, programs, and activities
furthering the goal of international cooperation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of October, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-fourth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 99-28435
Filed 10-27-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P