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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><span style="font-weight: bold">October 22, 2004 <i>(1:15 p.m. EDT)</i> No. 122</span></span></span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14pt"><span style="font-weight: bold">CANADA MARKS UNITED NATIONS DAY</span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew issued the following statement today on the
59th anniversary of the United Nations:</span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“October 24 is United Nations Day, a day on which we celebrate the founding of this
global organization and its achievements. In its nearly sixty years, the UN has played an
essential role in the maintenance of peace and security and the promotion of human
rights and economic development around the world. As the world continues to face
violence, civil strife and human tragedies, such as the crisis in Darfur, the HIV/AIDS
pandemic and the challenges of building peace and prosperity in places such as Haiti,
Afghanistan and the Great Lakes region of Africa, the need for effective multilateral
cooperation within the UN has never been greater.</span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“Since the UN’s inception in 1945, Canada has actively supported and participated in a
wide range of UN initiatives and programs. We have served six terms on the Security
Council, most recently in 1999-2000, and have been an active participant in many UN
peacekeeping missions.</span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">“Canada recognizes the need to both strengthen the UN and make it more effective.
We believe the time has come for member states to engage in an honest debate about
the responsibility to protect, and to reach an agreement on when intervention on
humanitarian grounds is warranted. Canada will be there to support the UN in
addressing this and other political questions on its road to reform. We applaud its
current effort to re-examine how it addresses challenges to peace and security and the
potential for collective solutions. We await with great interest and will be active in the
follow-up to the December report to the Secretary-General by the High-Level Panel on
Threats, Challenges and Change.”</span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt">For more information about the UN, or to know more about Canadian policies and
participation in the UN, visit </span></span><a href="https://bac-lac.wayback.archive-it.org/web/20071123090948/http://www.international.gc.ca/canada_un/"><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #0000ff"><span style="text-decoration: underline">http://www.international.gc.ca/canada_un/</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #000000">.</span></span></span></p>
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<p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #000000">- 30 -</span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #000000">For further information, media representatives may contact:</span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #000000">Sébastien Théberge<br>
Director of Communications<br>
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs<br>
(613) 995-1851</span></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #000000">Media Relations Office<br>
Foreign Affairs Canada and International Trade Canada<br>
(613) 995-1874<br>
</span></span></span><a href="https://bac-lac.wayback.archive-it.org/web/20071123090948/http://www.international.gc.ca/"><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #0000ff"><span style="text-decoration: underline">http://www.international.gc.ca</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Arial', sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt"><span style="color: #000000"></span></span></span></p>
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