Proclamation 4525—United Nations Day, 1977

Each year on October 24, Americans join with the people of other countries in celebrating the anniversary of the United Nations--an institution created to maintain international peace and security, to promote the self-determination of peoples, to encourage respect for human rights, and to foster economic and social welfare.

Americans have been instrumental in creating the United Nations, in advancing cooperation through its forums, and in providing, over the years, the largest share of its financial support.

Since its establishment at San Francisco in 1945, the United Nations has undergone profound change. Its membership has nearly trebled from the original 51 members, as most of the former colonial areas of Asia and Africa received their independence. New problems brought on by developments in science and technology and by global interdependence have tested the ability of governments to cooperate harmoniously. Problems like the arms race, the spread of nuclear weapons, the international economic order, the disposition of the world's oceanic resources, energy, and environmental pollution transcend national boundaries, making the United Nations and its specialized and technical agencies of continuing importance to the international community.

Now, Therefore, I, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Monday, October 24, 1977, as United Nations Day. I have appointed Henry Ford II to be United States National Chairman for United Nations Day and I urge appropriate observances to inform citizens of the aims and achievements of the United Nations and its affiliated agencies.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and second.

JIMMY CARTER