I am not here as a public offcial, but as a citizen of a troubled world who finds hope in a growing consensus that the generally accepted goals of society are peace, freedom, human rights, environmental quality, the alleviation of suffering, and the rule of law.
at least for children; and an international crimial court to deter and to punish war crimes and genocide. Those agreements already adopted must be fully implemented, and others should be pursued aggressively.
Despite theological differences, all great religions share common commitments that define our ideal secular relationships. I am convinced that Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and others can embrace each other in a common effort to alleviate human suffering and to espouse peace.
At the beginning of this new millennium I was asked to discuss, here in Oslo, the greatest challenge that the world faces. Among all the possible choices, I decided that the most serious and universal problem is the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on earth. Citizens of the ten wealthiest countries are now seventy? five times richer than those who live in the ten poorest ones, and the separation is increasing every year, not only between nations but also within them. The results of this disparity are rootcauses of most of the world’s unresolved problems, including starvation, illitaracy, environmental degradation, violent conflict, and unnecessary illnesses that range from Guinea worm to HIV/AIDS. But tragically, in the industrialized world there is a terrible absence of understanding or concern about those who areenduring lives of despair and hopelessness. We have not yet made the commitment to share with others an appreciable part of our excessive wealth. This is a potentially rewarding burden that we should all be willingto assume.
Ladies and gentlemen,
War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. Wewill not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children. The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices. God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes and we must. Thank you.
中文翻译
我并不是作为一名政府官员，而是作为一个动乱世界的公民来到这里，并在曰益增长的共识中发现了希望，即全社会 普遍接受的目标是和平、自由、人权、环境质量、减轻痛苦和法治。
在过去的几十年当中，通常是在联合国的主持之下，国际社会竭力商议能够帮助我们实现这些基本目标的全球标准，包括：消除地雷和化学武器，终止试验、扩散和进一步部署核弹头，控制全球变暖，废除死刑、至少是针对儿童的死刑，建立阻止和惩罚战争罪犯和种族屠杀的国际刑事法院。这些已被通过的决议必须得到彻底的实施，对于其他协议也应孜孜以求。
尽管存在神学上的分歧，但是所有伟大的宗教都拥有明确 我们理想的世俗关系的共同承诺。我坚信，基督教徒、穆斯林、佛教徒、印度教徒、犹太教徒和其他教派能够在减轻人类苦难和 拥护和平的共同努力中相互拥抱。
在新千年伊始，我曾被要求在奥斯陆这里讨论世界所面临的最大挑战。在所有可能的选择中，我认为最严重和最普遍的问题是地球上最宮有的人和最贫穷的人之间曰益增长的鸿沟。现在，最富有的10个国家的公民要比最贫困的10个国家的公 民富75倍，这种差别每年都在加大，不仅在国家之间，而且在一国的富人和穷人之间。这种差距是导致世界上大多数未解决问 题的根源，包括饥饿、文肓、环境恶化、暴力冲突和从龙线虫病到艾滋病的一系列原可避免的疾病。而悲惨的是，工业化国家对那些正在遭受绝望和痛苦的人们却极不理解和关心。我们并未 做出将我们多余财富的一部分与他人分享的承诺，而这却是一个我们所有人都应该承担的具有巨大回报的责任。
女士们，先生们：
有时候，战争也许是一个必要的恶縻。但是，不管多么必 要，它终究永远是一个恶庚，而绝非福音。我们不可能通过杀戮对方的孩子而学会怎样和平地一起生活。我们共同的人性联结 远远大于我们的恐惧和偏见造成的分歧。上帝给予我们选择的能力。我们能够选择减轻痛苦！我们能够选择一道为和平而工作！我们能够做出这些改变——我们必须这样做！谢谢大家。