For Immediate Release
June 20, 2005
EU-US Declaration on the 60th Anniversary of the Signing of the San Francisco Charter
Sixty years ago, on June 26th, 1945 the San Francisco Charter creating
the United Nations was signed. Born out of the desire "to save
succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice... has
brought untold sorrow to mankind" (Preamble of the Charter of the UN),
the United Nations has ever since provided the framework for the
nations of the world to strive for peace and security, prosperity and
international cooperation based on respect of international law. We
salute the groundbreaking work accomplished six decades ago by the
authors of the Charter and we rededicate ourselves to the noble
principles and values embodied in this fundamental text.
Today, the world faces threats and challenges, both old and new,
which can only be addressed in common, based on a spirit of
cooperation, shared institutions, and a rule-based international system
as exemplified by the United Nations.
True to the inspiration of the San Francisco Charter, the nations
of the world are called to define a new international consensus on the
ways and means to manage together the burning questions of our time. In
this respect, the High Level Event on Millennium Review in September of
this year provides an opportunity to assess the implementation of the
commitments of the Millennium Declaration and the results of the major
UN Summits and Conferences.
It also offers the occasion for the international community to
promote the emergence of a United Nations better oriented towards the
threats and challenges of our time, more responsive to the needs of its
members and more efficient and effective in the way it operates.
The United States and the European Union share the objective of
such a renewed United Nations and are willing to cooperate closely in
order to contribute to a balanced and ambitious outcome of the
September High Level Meeting. They share, inter alia, the perspective
that the interlinked dimensions of peace and security, human rights,
rule of law, democracy, and development need to be addressed
coherently, within more efficient and transparent institutions and
procedures.
Satisfactory solutions need to be found in the crucial areas of
terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The
creation of a properly configured Peacebuilding Commission can provide
useful and timely guidance for the management of post-conflict
situations.
Achieving the development goals of the Millennium Declaration will
require significant additional resources, which should come from many
sources, as set out at Monterrey, including increased foreign direct
investment, trade, remittances, public aid and private charitable
contributions. Developing countries will need to make concerted
efforts in their own development through good governance, the rule of
law, respect for human rights and sound policies that promote
sustainable development and empower individuals to participate more
fully and freely in economic activity. We underline the importance of
national ownership for development strategies. We stand ready to
increase our financial assistance to countries with good governance and
sound policies and transparent, ambitious and accountable strategies to
achieve long-term economic growth and reach the internationally-agreed
development goals in the Millennium Declaration.
The strengthening and mainstreaming of the dimensions of human
rights, rule of law and democracy should be achieved, inter alia,
through the creation of a new, effective and credible Human Rights
Council and the establishment of a UN Democracy Fund.
The improvement of the overall performance of the UN system will
imply major reforms in the budget and management areas, including
accountability and oversight mechanisms
On these issues as well as on other questions that will be on the
agenda of the High-Level meeting, the US and the European Union will
consult closely in the weeks and months to come in order to contribute
to a successful and substantive outcome in September.
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