September 12, 2005
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that he will attend the United Nations 2005 World Summit being held in New York from September 14 to 16. The Prime Minister will address the high-level plenary meeting of the Summit on September 16.

“Canada welcomes this great opportunity to review the accomplishments of the United Nations over its 60 years of existence and to adopt reforms aimed at enhancing the capacity of the world body,” said the Prime Minister. “The Summit also provides an occasion for Canada to reaffirm its strong support of the UN and its peacebuilding capacity.”

At the Summit, Prime Minister Martin will press for Canada’s priorities: promoting human rights and the responsibility to protect; improving UN performance in peacebuilding; counterterrorism; responding to global heath threats; reaffirming the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development; and improving UN management and oversight mechanisms.

On September 14, the Prime Minister will sign the new United Nations International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. The convention is the first UN terrorism related international instrument adopted since September 11, 2001.

The 2005 World Summit marks the 60th anniversary of the creation of the United Nations and the fifth anniversary of the Millennium Declaration adopted at the UN Millennium Summit. It is expected to be the largest gathering of world leaders in history, bringing together more than 170 heads of state and government. The Summit agenda is based on a set of proposals on development, security, human rights and reform of the UN, outlined by Secretary General Kofi Annan in his March 2005 report In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All.

The Summit will be co-chaired by the President of Gabon, El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba, whose country presided over the 59th session of the General Assembly from September 2004 to September 2005, and the Prime Minister of Sweden, Göran Persson, whose country will preside over the 60th session of the Assembly.

Prime Minister Martin will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew, International Cooperation Minister Aileen Carroll and the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for La Francophonie, Jacques Saada.