U N I T E D    N A T I O N S N A T I O N S   U N I E S

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
--

Message to the
UNESCO round-table to mark the

WORLD SCIENCE DAY FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
Paris, 12 November 2002

The battle for enduring peace must be fought on several fronts. We must strive to win not only freedom from the scourge of war, but freedom from abject and dehumanizing poverty, and freedom from the threat of living on a polluted planet with few natural resources left.

More than ever, science has the potential to be a weapon in that fight. From the struggle against disease to finding more efficient ways to use soil and water resources, science has the power to transform and improve the lives of people everywhere. It is an essential tool in our work to reach the Millennium Development Goals, a blueprint agreed by all the world's countries to lift the world's people out of hardship and misery.

Yet the majority of the world's peoples have yet to benefit from the potential that science offers. Millions die every year from preventable diseases. Environmental degradation continues to threaten human survival. Almost 20 per cent of the world's people do not have access to enough clean water to meet their daily needs. Much remains to be done to find workable solutions to ever-growing demands for energy, food and housing.

Despite the enormous wealth and interconnectedness that characterize our globalizing age, most of the world's scientific potential is still limited to a few countries. They alone have the means and resources to conduct research in many fields, especially in advanced science.

But let us remember that the fruits of scientific knowledge belong to everyone. In its essence, science knows no geographical boundaries. Different civilizations over the ages have contributed towards it. It is the product of, and a tool for, global understanding and co-operation. It is the sum of human enquiry, endeavour and experience.

On this World Science Day, let us resolve to work to do more to ensure that science is used to its full potential, for the benefit of all the world's peoples. As eminent scientists in your respective fields, you are powerful allies in that mission. In that spirit, I wish you a most productive meeting.

Kofi A. Annan