UN General Assembly
2000

The current political debate is taking place against the background that is not quite usual. This Hall just heard statements by the participants in the Millennium Summit. Unprecedented round tables have just been conducted. The last several days have brought unusual hectic activity to the United Nations and the city that hosts the headquarters of our Organization. The most spectacular thing, however, is that the Summit has triggered an intellectual burst, an explosion of collective thinking. Apparently, this has been predetermined by a special quality of this particular moment in time, as we find ourselves at the threshold not just of a new century, but of a new millennium. Our acquisitive mind tries to look forward as far as possible and aspires to see there, against all odds, a better future. Such is the predominant human trait to look forward with optimism. Our past experience, however, warns us against excessive euphoria and illusions. We realize that the world is still full of threats, and our common impulse is to understand these threats and their causes and to find