THE EARTH IS NOT OURS

 THE EARTH IS NOT OURS

The  Millennium might have been no more than an accident of the calendar, But you, the Governments and peoples of the world, have chosen to make it more than that an occasion for all humanity to celebrate, and to reflect. 

If one word encapsulates the changes we are living through, it is 'globalisation'. We live in a world that is interconnected as never before- one in which groups and individuals interact more and more directly across State frontiers, often without involving the States at all. 

This has its dangers, of course. Crime, narcotics, terrorism, disease, weapons- all these move back and forth faster, and in greater numbers, than in the past. People feel threatened by events far away. 

But the benefits of globalization are obvious too: faster growth, higher liv:ng standards, and new opportunities- not only for individuals but also for better understanding between nations, and for common action. 

One problem is that, at present, these opportunities are far from equally distributed. How can we say that half of the human race, which l as yet o make or receive a telephone call, let alone use a Coriputer, is iaking part in globalization? We cannot, without insulting their poverty. 

The overarching challenge of our times is to make g obalization mé an more than bigger markets. To make a success of this great pheaval we nust lec. n how to govern better, and, above all, how to govern better together. 

What are these global issues? I have grouped them under three headings, each of which I relate to a fundamental human freedom freedom from want, freedom from fear, and the freedom of future generations to Susan their liVes on this planet. First, freedom from want. How can we call human Eindhoven tree equal in dignity when over a billion of them are struggling to survive on less than one dollar a day, without safe drinking water, and when half of all humanity lacks adequate sanitation? Some of us are worrying about whether the stock market will crash, or struggling to master our latest computer, while more than half of our fellowmen and women have much more basic worries, such as where their children's next meal is coming from. 

The second main heading is freedom from fear. Wars between states are mercifully less frequent than they used to be. But in the last decade internal wars have claimed more than five million lives, and driven many times that number of people from their homes. Moreover, we still live under the shadow of weapons of mass destruction. 

We must do more to prevent conflicts happening at all. Most conflicts happen in poor countries, especially those which are badly governed or where power and wealth are very unfairly distributed between ethnic or religious groups. 

So the bost way to prevent conflict is to promote political arrangements in which all groups are fairly represented, combined with human rights, minority rights, and broad-based economic development. 

The third fundamental freedom is one that is not clearly identified in the United Neti:is Charter, because in 1945 our founders could scarcely imagine that it wod ever be threatened. I mean the freedom of future generations to sustain their lii s ou t.s planet. 

Even n w, many of us have not understood how seriously that freedom is t.areatened. If I could sum it up in one sentence, I should say we are plundering our children's heritage to pay for our present unsustainable practices. We must preserve our forests,fisheries, and the diversity of living species,all of which are close to collapsing under the pressure of human consumption and destruction. 

In short, we need a new ethic of stewardship. We need a much better informed public, and we need to take environmental costs and benefits fully into account in our economic policy decisions. We need regulations and incentives to discourage pollution and over-consumption of non-renewable resources, and to encourage environment-friendly practices. And we need more accurate scientific data. 

Above all we need to remember the old African wisdom which I learned as a child-that the earth is not ours. It is a treasure we hold in trust for our descendants. 

Those are the problems and the tasks which affect the everyday lives of our People. Itis on how we handle them, that the utility of the United Nations will be judged. If we lose sight of that point, the United Nations will have little or no role to play in the twenty first century. 

Letus never forget, that our Organisation was found in the name of "We, the Peoples". We are at the service of the world's people, and we must listen to them. They are telling us that our past achievements are not enough. They are telling us we must do more, and do it better. 

This knowledge is given by Kofi Annan

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