Days from now, the human family will welcome its seven billionth member.

Some say our planet is too crowded. I say we are seven billion strong.

The world has made remarkable progress since the United Nations was born 66 years ago today.

We are living longer. More of our children survive. More and more of us live at peace, under democratic rule of law.

As we have seen in this dramatic year, people everywhere are standing up for their rights and human freedoms.

And yet … all this progress is under threat. From economic crisis. Rising joblessness and inequality. Climate change.

Around the world, too many people live in fear. Too many people believe their governments and the global economy can no longer deliver for them.

In these turbulent times, there is only one answer: unity of purpose.

Global problems demand global solutions.

They compel all nations to unite in action on an agenda for the world’s people.

That is the very mission of the United Nations:

To build a better world.

To leave no one behind.

To stand for the poorest and most vulnerable in the name of global peace and social justice.

On this special day, let us recognize:

Never has the United Nations been so needed.

In our increasingly interconnected world, we all have something to give and something to gain by working together.

Let us unite, seven billion strong, in the name of the global common good.

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