Bush calls on UN to support war on terror

Speaking at the UN's annual general assembly, US President Bush has called on the world body to support democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the global war on terrorism.

Mr Bush, who will learn whether he will get four more years in the White House after November's polls, proposed establishing a Democracy Fund within the UN to help countries "lay the foundations of democracy by instituting the rule of law and independent courts, a free press, political parties and trade unions".

“Each of us alone can only do so much. Together, we can accomplish so much more,” he said, adding that history will honour the UN’s high ideals.

“Let history show that in a decisive decade, members of the United Nations did not grow weary in our duties, or waver in meeting them.”

On the fight against terror, Mr Bush told UN delegates that the Russian children of Beslan, the people of Madrid, Jerusalem, Istanbul and Baghdad had "done nothing to deserve sudden and random murder".

"These acts violate the standards of justice in all cultures, and the principles of all religions. All civilized nations are in this struggle together, and all must fight the murderers," he said.

"We're determined to destroy terror networks wherever they operate, and the United States is grateful to every nation that is helping to seize terrorist assets, track down their operatives, and disrupt their plans. We're determined to end the state sponsorship of terror -- and my nation is grateful to all that participated in the liberation of Afghanistan. We're determined to prevent proliferation, and to enforce the demands of the world -- and my nation is grateful to the soldiers of many nations who have helped to deliver the Iraqi people from an outlaw dictator."

He also had strong words for the Middle East peace process and warned that those who would lead a new Palestinian state should "adopt peaceful means to achieve the rights of their people, and create the reformed institutions of a stable democracy".

The president went on to call on Arab states to cut off public and private funding for terrorism, and establish normal relations with Israel.

For its part, Israel should impose a settlement freeze, dismantle unauthorised outposts, end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people, and avoid any actions that prejudice final negotiations, he said.

At the beginning of the session, the delegates heard from Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva who appealed for economic and social justice "in a world where the disparity in per capita income between the richest and poorest nations is now 16 times greater than it was nearly two decades ago".

President Abel Pacheco de la Espriella of Costa Rica also pointed to the imbalance between aid funding and military expenditure.

In 2003, he said, the world reached a new record by devoting $956 billion to military expenditure – 17 times the amount of resources devoted to official development assistance and more than the sum of the foreign debt of the 64 countries with the lowest GDP.

(gmcg/mb)