Bill Clinton

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”