Vatican official calls for U.N. reform, backs new peace-building unit

Published: 2005-09-19

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- The Vatican secretary of state called for institutional reform of the United Nations "that is attentive to the real demands of our peoples rather than to the balance of power" and supported the establishment of a Peace-Building Commission to help people heal after conflicts. Speaking on the last day of the Sept. 14-16 summit of heads of state and government at U.N. headquarters in New York, Cardinal Angelo Sodano said "ordinary men and women, the many millions who constitute the 'we the people' of the U.N. charter," are asking world leaders to "give us a modern institution, capable of taking resolutions and then enforcing them." The cardinal added, "This is an insistent appeal issued to us by men and women who are disheartened by promises made and not kept, resolutions adopted and not enforced." The high-level plenary session brought together leaders of more than 170 countries and resulted in a 35-page final statement that touched on terrorism, development issues, peace-building, human rights, the environment and international health.

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