United Nations Day
Thursday, 24 October 2002

Statement by Mr. Kim Hak-Su,
Under-Secretary-General, United Nations,
and Executive Secretary,
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP)

Your Excellency, the Prime Minister,
President of the United Nations Association of Thailand,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to the United Nations Day.

I should like to express our profound gratitude to His Excellency, Mr. Korn Dabbaransi, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, for his presence on this occasion.

As we celebrate United Nations Day, I should like to recall the words of President Truman when he addressed the conference on the founding of the United Nations on 26 June 1945. He said, "You have created a great instrument for peace and security and human progress in the world. The world must now use it! If we fail to use it, we shall betray all those who have died in order that we might meet here in freedom and safety to create it. If we seek to use it selfishly - for the advantage of any one nation or any small group of nations - we shall be equally guilty of that betrayal. The successful use of this instrument will require the united will and firm determination of the free peoples who have created it."

The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, which was established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles. The League of Nations ceased operating after failing to prevent the Second World War. Today, there is again the threat of war. Our great challenge is how to use this "instrument" effectively to prevent this war from happening.

But there is an even more pernicious war that we continue to wage - the global war against poverty, hunger and deprivation. To win this war, we need our "united will and firm determination" to act collectively so that the poor may live a decent life, the hungry may be filled, and the deprived may find consolation.

Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On this special day, let us rededicate our efforts to the pursuit of the four objectives of the United Nations, which are: to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

I now have the pleasure and privilege of conveying to you the U.N. Day message from the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

* *** *

Back [ UN ESCAP Home Page] [UNIS Home] [Press Release]