We, citizens, former officials, and representatives of governments and private entities, united by common values, have agreed as follows:
THE PRESENT CHALLENGE
For seven decades, free nations have drawn upon common principles to advance freedom, increase prosperity, and secure peace. The resulting order, built on the foundation of democratic values and human dignity, has brought better lives for our citizens and billions of people around the world.
But the international system must rise to meet new challenges. New technologies are transforming societies. In many of our nations, stagnant wages, income disparities, and uneven bnefits from global trade are leading many to question free market economics and the value of engagement in the world. Increased migration is fueling concerns about job security and national identity.
Around the world, politicians are exploiting these challenges, denigrating the rule of law, and undermining faith in democracy. Autocrats and extremists are attacking these principles, oppressing their own people, threatening security, and contending that might makes right.
Yet, free peoples have met greater challenges in the past, and we can master those in our time.
Innovations in communications, energy, health, and more yet to come are opening possibilities unimaginable before. Entrepreneurship based on freedom and new ideas can drive prosperity. Empowered men and women can address social problems from the bottom up. Governments that answer to their citizens and respect the rule of law can best address inequity, correct injustice, and serve the good of all.
Free nations must adapt and change. Yet our principles remain sound because they reflect the common aspirations of the human spirit. Societies that respect these principles are better placed to produce security and prosperity. Nations that uphold them are more likely to work together in peace. And authoritarians who stifle enterprise, dispense arbitrary justice, and abuse their people ultimately will fail.
Inspired by the inalienable rights derived from our ethics, traditions, and faiths, we commit ourselves to seek a better future for our citizens and our nations. We will defend our values, overcome past failures with new ideas, answer lies with truth, confront aggression with strength, and go forward with the confidence that our principles will prevail.