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| MILLENNIUM SUMMIT | |
 September 8, 2000  |
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Over 152 leaders from around the world met in New York for the United Nation's Millennium Summit. After a background report, Ray Suarez leads a discussion of the policy issues discussed by the leaders and the summit's historical significance.
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U.N. PHOTOGRAPHER: One, two... RAY SUAREZ: They came to talk and to set new goals to reduce poverty, fight AIDS, and enhance U.N. peacekeeping around the world. Before his opening remarks, Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for minute of silence to honor three U.N. peacekeepers killed by pro-Indonesia militias in West Timor. He then outlined the summit's goal. KOFI ANNAN: You, ladies and gentlemen, are the leaders to whom the world's people have entrusted their destiny. We need to decide our priorities, and we must adapt our United Nations so that in the future those priorities are reflected in clear and prompt decisions leading to real change in people's lives. That, my friends, is what the peoples expect of us. Let us not disappoint them.
NEW YORKER: It's so bad, it's unbelievable. You cannot move anywhere. RAY SUAREZ: More than 170 motorcades involving some 1,300 vehicles for world leaders and their entourages caused traffic jams and major headaches for New York drivers throughout the city. |
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| A bevy of issues | ||||||||||||||||||||
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And with the world leaders came demonstrators protesting a melting pot of issues, from opposition to Fidel Castro's dictatorship in Cuba to demonstrations against religious oppression in China. Officials issued permits for at least 91 protests at the summit. Inside the hall, the leaders pushed their own issues in speeches limited to five minutes. President Clinton called on the U.N. to take a stronger stand in civil wars. PRESIDENT CLINTON: We find today fewer wars between nations, but more wars within them. Such internal conflicts, often driven by ethnic and religious differences, took five million lives in the last decade, most of them completely innocent victims. These conflicts present us with a stark challenge. Are they part of the scourge the U.N. was established to prevent? If so, we must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, but still find a way to protect people, as well as borders.
TONY BLAIR: We need U.N. units appropriate for more robust peacekeeping that can be inserted quickly, rather than whatever the secretary general's staff has been able to gather from reluctant member states. RAY SUAREZ: Russian President Vladimir Putin used the summit to call for a drastic reduction in nuclear weapons and a ban on satellite defense systems. Cuba's Castro said the U.N. was controlled by a small group of superpowers, and called for more power for small countries like his. Outside the formal sessions, there were numerous private meetings between heads of state. President Clinton met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat in an effort to advance peace in the Middle East. At the summit's conclusion today, the leaders adopted the so-called Millennium Declaration, which committed them to the goals they hope to achieve in the 21st century. |
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RAY
SUAREZ: The ringing of the peace bell marked the opening of the Millennium
Summit this week at United Nations headquarters in New York. It was
billed as the largest gathering of world leaders in history, drawing
152 monarchs, prime ministers, and presidents. 
RAY
SUAREZ: The three-day summit was filled with speeches, discussions,
and the ultimate power lunch. Tight security around the U.N. shut down
a number of streets on Manhattan's East side. 
RAY
SUAREZ: British Prime Minister Tony Blair called for a stronger role
for U.N. peacekeepers.