Excellencies, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Three weeks ago in New York, the Millennium Summit brought together the largest ever group of Heads of Government and Heads of State. I would like to welcome you to our own Millennium Celebration here in Vienna, in furtherance of that event.
First of all, I must introduce a somber note. Just hours before the Summit opened, three UN staff members in West Timor were killed by a militia group. Last week another colleague was killed by a militant gang in Guinea. All were unarmed humanitarian workers from UNHCR helping the victims of conflict. The world is still a very dangerous place, even for the agents of peace. Please join me in a moment of silence in honour and memory of our colleagues.
Thank you.
We are honoured to have with us today Her Excellency Ms. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria, and The Honourable Mrs. Maria Hampel-Fuchs, President of the Vienna Provincial Legislature. Both are true friends of the UN. We are extremely fortunate in Vienna to have such broad and enthusiastic support from our host country and city. Minister Ferrero-Waldner, Mrs. Hampel-Fuchs, we thank you for coming, and we convey through you our thanks to the people of Vienna and Austria for their hospitality.
The press attention given to the Millennium Summit was pervasive. It was indeed a very impressive occasion. But it is always tempting to see such an event as only another opportunity for rhetoric. Something was different this time, and I am convinced that there was a new spirit present.
In the lead-up to the Summit, there was a sense of stock-taking. It could even be called soul-searching. The tone was set by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his pre-Summit report, a publication entitled We the Peoples. I urge each of you to read this document. It combines a penetrating assessment of the state of the world today, along with suggested priorities for the future. It also puts forward -- in concrete terms -- ideas for the future of the United Nations.
The Summit took place in that same spirit. The Millennium Declaration adopted at the end of the event is a remarkable statement. The language is direct. When you read it, you will note that work of the Vienna-based organizations receives strong support.
The Declaration breaks new ground in the area of poverty eradication, establishing targets and deadlines. By the year 2015, the proportion of the world's population earning less than one dollar a day -- around 20 per cent today -- will be cut in half. By the same date all boys -- and girls -- will be able to complete primary school. Maternal mortality will be cut by three-quarters, child mortality by two-thirds. The spread of HIV/Aids will be stopped and reversed. By 2020, one hundred million slum dwellers will have improved living conditions.
Time does not permit me to review the commitments on gender equality, the environment, human rights and many other issues addressed in the Declaration.
We have our marching orders for the next twenty years. They will require hard work and unprecedented investment. And they will require a United Nations Organization that is prepared to innovate and to exercise a new type of leadership. The resolution ends with a reference to the United Nations as QUOTE "the indispensable common house of the entire human family, through which we will seek to realize our universal aspirations for peace, cooperation and development" UNQUOTE.
It is a great honour to work in this common house. To my colleagues, I urge you to take pride in what you do, in the knowledge that the world is depending on you. To our guests from the Austrian Government and from other Governments, I pledge our hard work and our dedication to the goals that you have set.
Thank you.