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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN






 Fourth World Conference on Women

Beijing, China • 4-15 September 1995 United Nations

 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS PRESS RELEASE

WOM/BEI/94 September 1995

SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ADDRESS AT WELCOMING CEREMONYFOR FOURTH WORLD 
CONFERENCE ON WOMEN

Following is the text of the address by United Nations Secretary-General 
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, delivered by Under-Secretary-General Ismat 
Kittani, at the welcoming ceremony organized by the Government of the 
People's Republic of China in the Great Hall of the People: 

We are meeting, here in Beijing, to take this great enterprise forward: 
to consolidate the legal advances, to build on the political 
understandings, to commit ourselves to action. 

I welcome you all to this World Conference on Women. I welcome the 
representatives of the governments of the Member States of the United 
Nations. I welcome, too, the many members of non-governmental 
organizations, and of other elements of civil society from around the 
world, who have joined us. Never before in history have so many 
representatives of non-governmental organizations attended a United 
Nations conference. 

Excellent facilities have been placed at our disposal to make the 
Conference run smoothly. I wish, therefore, to express our heartfelt 
appreciation to the Government of the People's Republic of China. 

China is a key member and a major supporter of the United Nations. At 
the close of the Second World War, the people of China were among the 
first to agree that there would be a United Nations. Today, China is a 
super-Power, with a major role to play in the elaboration of the post-
cold-war international order. This great country has enjoyed significant 
and impressive social, economic and cultural achievements which have had 
many positive influences on States worldwide. 

Visitors to the United Nations in New York are greeted by a remarkable 
sculpture. That sculpture was gifted to the United Nations by the 
People's Republic of China. It depicts the Chengtu-Kunming Railway. To 
all who see it, it brings to mind a range of images. The pride of 
craftsmanship. A pride shared by sculptor and railroad worker. The 
dignity of labour. The equality of all human beings in common cause. The 
harmony that is possible between technology and nature. And that the key 
to development lies in human hands. 

Each of those images is evident in Beijing today. You are hosts to a 
Conference that seeks to unite, not divide. You have invested in it 
great care for detail. You have invited the world to your capital. And 
the world is grateful. 

To be in the Great Hall of the People is a noble experience. It is 
people who affirm the legitimacy of our roots, whether as governments, 
organizations or institutions. It is people who affirm the strengths we 
can summon to the tasks we must address. It is people who affirm the 
support upon which we can count for the realization of the goals we have 
set. It is people who affirm the importance of popular mandate and 
expectation. 

And it is people who affirm the greatness of the resources we can draw 
upon. For centuries, the world has given its women less than their due. 
Those empowered by nature to create life itself have had their own lives 
impoverished. Those who have proven their skills at raising children 
have been considered unfit to participate in popular governance on equal 
terms. Those who have built homes upon foundations of trust and 
affection have been denied the shelter of society's concern and care. 

Yet much has changed. Struggle has brought its reward. 

But much remains unfinished, even undone. And it is entirely fitting 
that the world's largest nation should host a Conference dedicated to so 
large and vital a part of human society. 

Permanent membership of the Security Council has placed upon China 
particular responsibilities. It has exercised these with care and 
discretion. The international situation has placed heavy demands upon 
the world community. United Nations peacekeeping operations have been 
provided by your country at short notice. China has participated in 
missions in Africa, in the Middle East and in the Gulf. Its contribution 
to the political settlement in Cambodia has been of particular 
importance. 

Your citizens have enriched the activities of the United Nations 
Secretariat in diverse fields. Your judges have brought their wisdom and 
sense of fairness to the 

International Court of Justice. Today the United Nations aspires to the 
active prevention of conflict. It is no less important than peace-
keeping; it can render the effort and expense of such operations 
unnecessary. It requires patience, tenacity and tact. And these are 
qualities innate to Chinese character and history. 

As Secretary-General, it is my hope that China will continue to use its 
standing and wise advice in this cause. 

For what, after all, is the United Nations about? Upon what 
determination was it created? In a single word, people. In a single 
phrase, the dignity of the human person. There is no way this can be 
realized where conflict persists. There is no way this can be realized 
when the limited resources of our earth are wasted. There is no way this 
can be realized when the weak are made weaker in order that the strong 
become stronger. 

The world has begun to be aware of this. The leaders of nations have met 
and deliberated upon the most pressing issues of our times. The earth 
and its environment. The rights innate and assured to each human being. 
The harmony that must be preserved between growth in population and the 
progress of nations. The imperative of equitable social development. 

These may not be issues of war and peace. But they compromise the 
security of nations by inhibiting the security of their peoples. 

It is that awareness, that recognition that brings us to Beijing today. 
And, like the workers at Chengtu-Kunming, we shall work to build bridges 
where none had been thought possible. We shall work to breath hope into 
causes we cherish and hold dear. 

*****