Annan, General Assembly Mark Sixtieth Anniversary Of UN Charter
The sixtieth anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter was celebrated by a musical ceremony in the
General Assembly Hall today along with testimonials by Assembly President Jean Ping of Guyana and Secretary-General Kofi
Annan at UN headquarters in New York.
“The words we have just heard – the words of the preamble to our Charter – are engraved on the collective memory of
mankind,” said Mr. Annan, following a musical presentation of those words by the United Nations singers.
“Over 60 years, the Unit Nations has striven to redeem those pledges,” he added, reviewing the successes and failures of
the Organization in keeping and building peace, protecting human rights and promoting respect for justice and the rule
of law.
He said that in a new century, the UN faces new threats and challenges, but also new opportunities, with the “better
standards of life in larger freedom,” as mentioned in the Charter now within mankind’s reach. To reach them, he said,
the Organization must advance on all three fronts: development, security and human rights.
Mr. Ping said that 60 years after its entry into force in October 1945, the Charter has not lost either its force or the
relevance of its vision, and continues to guide the action of the Organization in face of challenges and threats with
which our world is challenged.
“This commemoration is then a new occasion to reaffirm our dedication to the goals and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations, in promoting development, in rejecting war as a way of settling differences between nations and in
condemning without reservation all violations of the most basic human rights,” he said.