Proclamation 6618

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

As the world continues to experience sweeping change after the end of the Cold War, it is increasingly important that we rededicate ourselves to the uplifting principles of the United Nations Charter and to the hard work of bringing those principles closer to reality. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali lists development, peace, and democracy as the overriding goals of the United Nations. On the 48th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the United States must continue its work in cooperation with the United Nations to bring these principles closer to reality.

America alone is responsible for protecting its own vital interests. But many of the concerns we have about political, military, economic, and environmental challenges around the world are shared by other states. By working with the United Nations, and by doing all we can in association with like-minded governments to reform and energize it, we can advance our own interests and, at the same time, strengthen the ties that bind the international community.

The United Nations has often been on the front lines of efforts to deter, contain, and put an end to the rash of ethnic and subnational conflicts that have erupted in the post-Cold War era. Despite limitations on its capabilities and resources, the United Nations has the potential to be a resolute force for peace and democracy. In troubled areas around the globe, UN peacekeepers and observers are repatriating refugees; clearing land mines; monitoring elections; caring for victims of violence; helping protect human rights; arranging and monitoring ceasefires; and helping to construct democratic institutions where anarchy once prevailed.

Efforts of the United Nations have contributed greatly to the birth of a democratic Namibia, have helped bring an end to the civil war in El Salvador, and have created the conditions under which the Cambodian people could form a government legitimized by free elections and a new constitution. In Somalia, the United States and the UN have worked together to save hundreds of thousands of lives threatened by anarchy-induced famine. In Bosnia, the UN's humanitarian relief effort has been sustained under dangerous and frustrating conditions. In many nations, particularly in Africa, UN operations are working to facilitate the transition from civil conflicts to peaceful development.

The cause of peace is linked to the need for inclusive and lasting economic growth that gives more and more people a stake in stability and a voice in decisions that affect their lives. America's interest in enlarging the world's community of market democracies is echoed in the Preamble of the UN Charter, which calls for "social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom."

The United States applauds the work of a variety of UN programs and agencies that promote development and counter the hardships of poverty, homelessness, and disease. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, whose workload has regrettably increased in recent years; the World Health Organization, whose responsibility it is to halt the deadly spread of AIDS; and the UN Development Program, which is being reinvigorated under new leadership, all deserve special recognition for their momentous achievements in the face of enormous obstacles.

Despite the efforts of the many dedicated public servants at the United Nations, there remains an urgent need to improve the management of the UN system in order to make it more efficient, effective, and accountable. The United States is working actively with UN officials and with other governments on a number of management-related initiatives. The Secretary General is to be commended for recently establishing an office and appointing an Assistant Secretary General for Inspections and Investigations. This is a useful first step, but more must be done to translate such steps into tangible results.

It has been said that "all work that is worth anything is done in faith." The United Nations was built on the profound faith that people from different backgrounds, creeds, races, and religions can live together peaceably and can pursue shared goals. That faith is the antithesis of the hatred we see in some parts of the world today and is the foundation upon which a future of trust and goodwill among all nations and peoples can be built. The United States has a bipartisan tradition, established long before the creation of the United Nations, of support for an international organization dedicated to social progress and the preservation of world peace. As President, I intend to carry on that tradition.

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 Sunday, October 24, 1993, as "United Nations Day," and urge all Americans to acquaint themselves with the activities and accomplishments of the United Nations.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighteenth.

William J. Clinton