SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE TO INTER-PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE IN ISTANBUL
Press Release
SG/SM/5958
SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE TO INTER-PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE IN ISTANBUL
19960415 Following is the text of the message from Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to the ninety-fifth Inter-Parliamentary Conference, which began today in Istanbul:On behalf of the United Nations and on my own behalf, I would like to wish you the greatest success in the work you are about to undertake at this Conference.
I have, on several occasions, had the opportunity to tell you how important I consider the Inter-Parliamentary Union and its work in the service of peace, democracy and closer relations among peoples.
Last August, I had the pleasure of welcoming to New York, at the United Nations itself, the special session of the Inter-Parliamentary Council.
On that occasion, I made a point of underscoring the place that must, henceforth, be given to the democratic imperative in international relations. For the globalization of the economy must go hand in hand with a globalization of democracy.
From that point of view, you have an essential role to play, within your national parliaments, within the Inter-Parliamentary Union and alongside the United Nations.
As we know, it is a fact that the world has, once and for all, entered into the era of the global society.
Whether we consider the circulation of goods or of capital, or the publicizing of information, the protection of the environment, the management of population growth in the future, the control of transnational crime or the struggle against terrorism, it is now clear that these issues arise on a global scale and can be grasped only very partially on the scale of the nation State.
We must, therefore, accept the stewardship, over the long term, of the great transformations that occur in the world and undertake forward-looking action to make the future more secure.
To set things in motion, the international community needs to mobilize all its members -- not only States and intergovernmental organizations, but also non-governmental organizations, business circles, the media, the universities, national parliaments, and all the actors in civil society.
The action we must take, all of us together, is one in which the very future of the world is at stake.
This seems to me to be essential if we are to gain mastery over the global society in which we are expected from now on to live.
We know that most of the big issues the international community will have to resolve tomorrow have barely taken shape today. In years to come, humankind will be responsible for dealing with questions it has not yet managed to put into words.
As of now, the United Nations is engaged in an immense collective reflection on economic and social issues, as it organizes a whole series of international conferences devoted to transnational problems that will determine what is to come, and even what is to become of humankind.
This is the perspective one must take on the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development that was held in Rio in 1992. The same outlook prompted the convening of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development, the Naples World Ministerial Conference on Organized Transnational Crime, the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development and the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women.
And right here, in a few weeks, a world summit will be held on the future of human settlements.
At each of these great world rendezvous, the non-governmental organizations made an important contribution.
Now, I would like to thank, personally, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and each and every one of you, for your commitment in the service of these world conferences.
It is thanks to you and your dedication that the United Nations can evince its determination to move imperceptibly from concerted action between States to transnational cooperation, and thus to institute a veritable global assembly.
In these few words, it has been my intention to tell you what a crucial role you play in the service of the values of the Charter of the United Nations.
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It has been my intention as well to tell you that you can count on me to support the action you take and to see to it that your discussions are heard and your aspirations satisfied.
It has, lastly, been my intention to tell you the considerable importance I attach to the democratic example you are giving to peoples and nations the world over.
Indeed, more than ever, I consider your institution to be one of the most accomplished realizations of the maxim that serves both as prelude and foundation for the world Organization, "We the peoples of the United Nations".
I hope that your Conference will proceed to your full satisfaction, and that your work will prove very fruitful.
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