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International Bulletin - December 2001

The Nobel Prize: Kofi Annan & the U.N.

PPSEAWA wishes to recognize Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations upon being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The work of peace is ongoing and difficult. The untiring devotion to its end merits this award.

Kofi Annan focused his global attention on human rights, poverty Africa's civil conflicts and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He led U.N. organizational and peacekeeping reform. Now he and the United Nations have jointly received the world's top champion of peace award. As the Nobel tradition celebrates its 100th anniversary, none could be more deserving.

A soft-spoken native of Ghana, Annan has been praised for his character, moral leadership and serene dignity. Yet his quiet leadership cannot be mistaken for passivity. He deftly leads an often contentious group of 189 member nations that, as the Nobel selection committee pointed out, can "hardly become more that its members permit".

Annan argues forcefully that nations must not use sovereignty to hide their own human-rights sins. Though he is proud of his African roots, he has taken African leaders to task for continued civil wars and poor leadership in combating HIV/AIDS.

The first U.N. career staff person to rise through the ranks, Annan took the top job in 1997. In an overwhelming vote of confidence earlier this year, Annan was unanimously reappointed to a second five-year term.

With strong leadership and a renewed sense of purpose, the United Nations and Annan are uniquely positioned to address international issues - including terrorism. Receiving the Nobel Prize confirms their past accomplishments and sets the stage for future ones.

Complied from news articles and editorial comment from the New York Times and the Minneapolis Tribune by Ann Aurelius

Last Modified: November 29, 2002