2005 is the 60th anniversary of the United Nations and it comes at a decisive time for this world organization.  In September a Summit meeting with Heads of State will be held in New York to review progress on achieving the goals of the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by consensus of all UN Member States at the 2000 Millennium Summit. This meeting is so critical that Secretary General Kofi Annan states, "The decisions to be taken there may determine the whole future of the United Nations."

Kofi Annan believes the United Nations is at the proverbial "fork in the road." One path leads to a strengthened and improved UN made capable of resolving our serious global problems, including the authority to resolve conflicts between nations and peoples through the framework of world law (there is no alternative to free humanity from weapons of mass \destruction and perpetual war).

The other path is to do nothing of consequence leading to stagnation and an eventual disaster for humanity. The decision is in the hands of the Member States, particularly the rich and powerful. But in the final analysis it is the responsibility of the citizens to become involved and apply sufficient collective persuasion and pressure to ensure their governments act responsibly so the UN takes the correct path in the road that lies ahead.   This means a total commitment to achieve the goals of the Millennium Declaration.

As we approach this decisive event people need reminded that in today's divided and violent world the United Nations remains the one global symbol of hope and vision for a future. The universal membership of the UN is one of great milestones in history and the first step toward building the world community on which the future of humanity depends.

I. Values and Principles

* We, heads of State and Government, have gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 6 to 8 September 2000, at the dawn of a new millennium, to reaffirm our faith in the organization and its Charter as indispensable foundations of a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.

* We are determined to establish a just and lasting peace all over the world in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter...

* We consider certain fundamental values to be essential to international relations in the twenty-first century: Freedom--Equality--Solidarity--Tolerance--Respect for nature-Shared responsibility.

II. Peace, Security and Disarmament

* We will spare no effort to free our peoples from the scourge of war, whether within or between States, which has claimed more than 5 million lives in the past decade. We will also seek to eliminate the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction.

* To make the United Nations more effective in maintaining peace and security by giving it the resources and tools it needs for conflict prevention, peaceful resolution of disputes, peacekeeping...

* To strive for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, and to keep all options open for achieving this aim... note that this commitment was made more precisely in Article IV of the Non-Proliferation Treaty:

"Each of the parties to the treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control."

III. Development and Poverty Eradication

* We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected...

* To implement the enhanced program of debt relief for the heavily indebted poor countries without further delay and to agree to cancel all official bilateral debts of those countries in return for their making demonstrable commitments to poverty reduction...

* To halve, by the year 2015, the proportion of the  world's people whose income is  less than one dollar a day and the proportion of people  who suffer from hunger and, at the  same date, to halve the proportion of people who  are unable  to reach safe drinking water...

* By 2020 to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers...

IV. Protecting our Common Environment

* We must spare no effort to free all humanity, and above all our children and grandchildren, from the threat of living on a planet irredeemable spoilt by human activities, and whose resources would no longer be sufficient for their needs...

V. Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance

* We will spare no effort to promote democracy and strengthen the rule of law, as well as respect for all internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms...

* To respect fully and uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

* To work collectively for more inclusive political processes, allowing genuine participation by all citizens in all our countries...

* To ensure the freedom of the media to perform their essential role and the right of the public to have access to information...

VII. Meeting the Special Needs of Africa

* We will support the consolidation of democracy in Africa and assist Africans in their struggle for lasting peace, poverty eradication and sustainable development, thereby bringing Africa into the mainstream of the world economy.

* To help Africa build up its capacity to tackle the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other infectious diseases.

VIII. Strengthening the United Nations

* We will spare no effort to make the United Nations a more effective instrument for pursuing all of these priorities: the fight for development for all the peoples of the world; the fight against poverty, ignorance and disease; the fight against injustice; the fight against violence, terror and crime; and the fight against the degradation and destruction of our common home...

* We solemnly reaffirm, on this historic occasion, that the United Nations is the indispensable common house of the entire human family, through  which we will seek to realize our  universal aspirations for peace, cooperation and development.  We therefore pledge our unstinting support for these common objectives and our determination to achieve them.

What President Kennedy stated in his 1961 inaugural address remains true today: "the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace..."