Many strands of global co-operationand bridge-building exist already

Technicaladvances offer great promise, across a wide range of humanneed. More and more people live in democracies, with Rosetta Stone outlet asay in the decisions affecting their lives. And the work ofeconomic and social development continues, with littlefanfare, in clinics and classrooms far from the spotlight.There are plenty of stories that tell us about people'slives getting better, and the World Service tells them, too.And yet, at the dawn of the 21st century, we face astrange paradox: the more we know about the issues, andabout each other, the more we act as if we were strangers.We all live on the same planet, buffeted by the samewinds, influenced by the same currents of change. Butinstead of acting on what unites us seizing commonopportunities and defending against shared threats weallow a chasm to persist between us: between rich and poor,free and fettered, privileged and humiliated, between thosewho benefit from globalisation, and those who aremarginalised. This gulf is an affront to human dignity.It leaves all our societies vulnerable, and each of usinsecure. We need to mend this great divide with a newfabric of solidarity. The task of the UnitedNations is to bring them all together. Not only throughdevelopment programmes, vital as they are. But also byproviding a forum for dialogue. By promoting universalvalues, such as tolerance, freedom, justice and equalrights. And by projecting them across borders and cultures,so that they guide both individual behaviour and the conductof nations. In place of Realpolitik, we strive tobuttress the rule of law. To improve on a century thatbrought us two world wars, Holocaust and genocide, we workto build a system of collective security. And in a world oftransnational issues, we seek to foster a sense oftransnational values.There is no greater enemy of thiswork than armed conflict. War, more than anything else,drives people to build walls and hunker down behind them.It soaks up resources that should be used for productiveinvestment. It interferes with trade, and provokesshortages. It chokes off escape routes from poverty,robbing the poor of hope. It even ropes in children, whonot only suffer death, injury and bereavement, but are alsoconscripted boys as soldiers, handling guns almost as bigas they are, and girls as sexual slaves.When I think ofvictims of conflict today, I think first of my fellowAfricans. Dear sisters and brothers, I know you share mysense of anger and outrage at the suffering of ourcontinent's people, and the Rosetta Stone Spanish V3 plunder of its naturalresources, at a time when we also have to face the onslaughtof famine and HIV/AIDS. Too often our efforts are hamperedby poor leadership and corrupt or inefficientadministration.But don't lose hope. In many parts ofAfrica for instance Angola, Sudan, Sierra Leone, theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, and now Burundi there isprogress towards peace. Africans are taking control of theirown problems and destinies. That should embolden all of usto shed, once and for all, the image of a continent inperpetual crisis.Next, I think of listeners in the MiddleEast of Israelis and Palestinians trapped in a mutuallydestructive cycle of hatred and mistrust. This not onlyspells misery for the two peoples themselves, but blightsthe whole region's prospects. Yet the solution is clear,and widely agreed on: land for peace, and two states livingside by side. That is what all of us at the United Nationslong to see. We are working hard, with our American,European and Russian fri, to rekindle hope of such apeaceful settlement. Every life lost before we achieve itis a tragic and avoidable waste.And then I think ofcourse of you who are listening in Iraq, under the threatof new hostilities. There, too, a peaceful resolution ispossible, if your Government complies fully with itsobligations under Security Council resolutions.As youknow, it has just made a declaration of Rosetta Stone English its weaponsprogrammes and related work, as the Council required it todo.