Proclamation 3924—United Nations Day, 1969

On December 22, 1968, the crew of Apollo Eight transmitted a television picture of the entire planet Earth. The inescapable unity of mankind was dramatically and forcefully presented for all to see.

The realization of this unity has been at the heart of the United Nations since its creation twenty-four years ago. The United Nations has long realized that the world abounds with problems which call for a cooperative international approach : problems of conflict and war and the keeping of peace in troubled areas; the settlements of disputes by peaceful methods; the control and reduction of nuclear and other weapons, and many other problems ranging from hunger to the sharing of the manifold benefits of science and technology.

Yet the history of the last twenty-four years tells us that the realization of mankind's unity is not enough; men must constantly strive to see to it that in international practice, as well as physical fact, mankind realizes its unity.

On United Nations Day, 1969, it should be the resolve of the American people that our Nation, conscious of mankind's growing interdependence on this planet, shall be a steadfast partner with all who strive for the fulfillment of those hopes.

Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Friday, October 24, 1969, as United Nations Day and I urge the citizens of this Nation to observe that day by means of community programs which will contribute to a realistic understanding of the United Nations and its associated organizations.

I also call upon officials of the Federal and State governments and upon local officials to encourage citizens' groups and agencies of communication—press, radio, television, and motion pictures to engage in appropriate observance of United Nations Day this year in cooperation with the United Nations Association of the United States of America and other interested organizations.

Moreover, in anticipation of the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Year of the United Nations, I call upon the citizens of this Nation and its citizens' groups to plan such community and organization programs for 1970 as will contribute both to an appreciation of the accomplishments of the United Nations and to a realistic understanding of its aims, its limitations, and its potentialities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and ninety-fourth.

RICHARD NIXON