After the end of the cold war, everybody thought, fantastic, finally the UN may be able to do what it was originally set up to do without big power divisions. It would be easy to get them to come together to resolve things. You will recall, on the first Gulf war, you almost got a unanimous resolution and a very solid coalition.

The problem is this. The spread of markets outpaces the ability of societies and their political systems to adjust to them, let alone to guide the course they take

We all make mistakes.

No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline.

A United Nations that will not stand up for human rights is a United Nations that cannot stand up for itself.

Perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date has been the Montreal Protocol.

Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace.