On 72nd birthday, UN reaffirms goals

China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Wu Haitao reads the preamble to the UN Charter in Chinese at a ceremony celebrating UN Day at headquarters in New York on Tuesday. HONG XIAO / CHINA DAILY

The United Nations celebrated its birthday and the 72nd anniversary of the coming into force of the UN Charter with a commemoration ceremony and flag-raising at its headquarters in New York on Tuesday morning.

The United Nations Day ceremony, organized by the UN staff union, included a reading of the preamble of the charter in six languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

China's deputy permanent representative to the UN Wu Haitao read the first two sections of the document in Chinese.

The charter was signed in 1945 by 51 countries, paving the way for the creation of the United Nations on Oct 24, 1945.

"Since that day, the world has changed significantly and the organization has been evolving with it. Membership has grown to 193 countries from every region," said Miroslav Lajck, president of the 72nd session of the General Assembly.

The aim of the charter is to save humanity from war, reaffirm human rights and the dignity and worth of the individual, proclaim equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small and to promote the prosperity of all of mankind. The charter aims to lay a foundation for international peace and security.

Lajck called for reinforcing actions to meet the purposes set out in the charter to maintain international peace and security, promote friendly relations among nations and solve economic and humanitarian problems.

"The charter commits us all to the purpose of being a center for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals," he added.

Lajck also said that he maintains an abiding faith in the importance of multilateralism. "As our founders knew, it is only through collective action that we can achieve the progress needed to fulfill these aims," he said.

While each country is sovereign and independent, "we cannot afford unilateral approaches that threaten to unravel the fabric of global security development and harmony", he added.

"On the UN's birthday, let us place its founding principles as our daily guide. Let us work further to achieve its common purpose. Let us continue to jointly respond to shared challenges and forge a future of hope and dignity for all people," Lajck said.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com