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86.

The United Nations and Switzerland

STATEMENT
AT THE SWISS FORUM FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Geneva, 29 September 2000

Your Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

T his is a pleasure for me to address the Swiss Forum for Interna-
tional Affairs. First of all, I would like to express my appreciation of
the efforts by the Coordinator of the Forum, Mr. Alain Nicollier,
and all those involved, for the preparation of this important gathering. This
event provides a good opportunity to look from different angles at the role of
the UN in the new global society and to contribute to the evaluation of the new
attitude of Switzerland towards our Organization.

This meeting of today is taking place after the conclusion of the
Millennium Summit in New York. There, the political leaders of the world have
come to the consensus that, in addition to the responsibilities to their own
societies and the sovereignties of their countries, they have a collective
responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity at
the global level. They, therefore, reaffirmed their duty to all the people of the
world, especially the most vulnerable and, in particular, the children of the
world, to whom the future belongs.

This historic UN forum has also explicitly reaffirmed the immutable
significance of the UN Charter and the role of the global organization as a
center for agreed actions of its 189 member states in promoting a more
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