We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue to be the most universally cherished aspiration of humankind.

This is an historic step forward in the world's efforts to combat a truly global threat.

To look into some aspects of the future, we do not need projections by supercomputers. Much of the next millennium can be seen in how we care for our children today. Tomorrow's world may be influenced by science and technology, but more than anything, it is already taking shape in the bodies and minds of our children.

National markets are held together by shared values and confidence in certain minimum standards. But in the new global market, people do not yet have that confidence.

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.

For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right.

The [UN Security Council] P5 ought to be dissuaded from using their veto power, which can paralyze the United Nations. The country blocking action ought to have to explain its decision and propose an alternative solution. It has been suggested that a veto only becomes effective if the vetoing state has the support of two or three other permanent members.