Amidst
the regular crowd that gathers at the UN press
briefing day after day, sat one skeptical newcomer
today. As Secretary General Kofi Annan gave thanks
to his audience and answered questions about Afghanistan,
the Middle East, India and Bosnia, he faced one
question that seemed to take away from the jolly
mood of the press room.
"I
just don't understand why in the world you and the
United Nations got the peace prize when there is so
much disaster in this world!" said the reporter. "Can
you please explain this to me?"
For members of the press, that turned out to
be one of the eye opening questions of the afternoon.
For the Secretary General, it was clearly a question
he had been faced with before.
"Because the committee recognized that
the UN keeps trying," the Secretary General
said.
The world we live in is full of crisis and becomes
increasingly complex everyday, the Secretary
General said. He continued by saying that the
United Nations is one of the few organizations
that keeps the hope of peace alive. He viewed
the award as a recognition of the instrumental
role the UN has played in bringing about peace
throughout the world. While he did not deny the
fact that the UN has faced failure, he highlighted
its many successes.
In his final
press briefing of the year, the Secretary General
captured the many ups and downs
of the past year. "This has been an extraordinary
year- for the United Nations, for New York, for
the United States and for much of the world," he
said. "But there may be parts of the world
for which it was all too ordinary."
The Secretary General's ability to put everything
into perspective gave the audience a taste of
just how he gained such popularity throughout
the world. He spoke of the events of September
11 and those people around the world who live
in fear of such events day after day. For some,
2001 was an earth shattering year, for others
it was normal.
"And there are many people in the world
for whom it might have no particular meaning,
because 2001 was not so different from 2000 or
1999," the Secretary General said, "just
another year of living with HIV/AIDS, or in a
refugee camp, or under repressive rule, or with
crushing poverty, or watching crops dwindle and
children go hungry as the global environment
comes under ever greater threat."
To deal with
such issues, whether it be in Afghanistan,
the Middle East or the Far East, the Secretary
General stressed the need for international cooperation.
In addition, he asked Member States to "provide
the Organization with needed funds" so that "vital
work" can be carried out.
While UN involvement continues to grow, its
budget has not grown in over eight years - yet
another obstacle facing the United Nations in
the upcoming year.
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