UN General Assembly
2000

principle of genuine democracy and justice when all States have equal rights and obligations, irrespective of their economic and political differences. The renewal of international relations should be guided by the understanding that we live now in a global and interdependent world whose overriding principle is global partnership. The United Nations Secretary-General has rightly proclaimed a three- pronged task: freedom from fear, freedom from want and saving the human environment, precisely in the context of globalization. It is also true that globalization should not overshadow the problems and concerns of the ordinary man. Our efforts will be futile if we do not address the issues we face today in this logical sequence. Let me dwell on the three main components of our common goal: making the world a safe, free and prosperous place. While recognizing that global security and stability increasingly depend on economic, environmental and humanitarian aspects of development, we should not belittle the importance of the military and political dimension of security. A fundamental issue of the elimination of weapons of