Global ills such as poverty, environmental degradation and economic imbalances were threatening future generations, said Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who urged the international community to address the legitimate needs of developing countries.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe noted that his country is confronted daily by violence which kills some 34,000 people every year.

Violence has made the Colombians poorer every day, discouraged investments, hampered economic growth, diverted valuable resources and prevented the country from overcoming its economic and social backwardness, he added.

President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo said the majority of conflicts plaguing the world stemmed from extreme poverty, particularly in developing countries.

In order to stop the misery in Africa, he said, the continent has adopted NEPAD, or New Partnership for Africa's Development.

Ghana's President John Agyekum Kufuor said NEPAD offers a great opportunity for world leaders to move from rhetoric to purposeful actions.

Africans do not want to be the objects of pity and charity, and do not want to provide the grisly images of war, disease, ignorance, famine and poverty on the world's television screens, he said.

Burundi President Pierre Buyoya said in his speech that the issues of poverty, environmental protection, an end to terrorism, combating of AIDS and sustainable development require international cooperation and solidarity. "The United Nations must lead the way," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2002)